The existence of a global minimizer for a variational problem arising in registration of diffusion tensor images is proved, which ensures that there is a regular spatial transformation for the registration of diffusio...The existence of a global minimizer for a variational problem arising in registration of diffusion tensor images is proved, which ensures that there is a regular spatial transformation for the registration of diffusion tensor images.展开更多
BACKGROUND： Limbic encephalitis is a rare syndrome that specifically affects the limbic system. Magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） has been typically used to detect brain changes in this disease. However, the mechani...BACKGROUND： Limbic encephalitis is a rare syndrome that specifically affects the limbic system. Magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） has been typically used to detect brain changes in this disease. However, the mechanisms of limbic encephalitis-related white matter damage remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVE： To characterize white matter connectivity changes secondary to injuries of the limbic system in limbic encephalitis through combined application of diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and voxel-based morphometry. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A non-randomized, controlled, clinical, neuroimaging, DTI study was performed at the Department of Radiology, West China Hospital in December 2008. PARTICIPANTS： A male, 46-year-old, limbic encephalitis patient, as well as 11 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers, were enrolled in the present study. METHODS： MRI was performed on the limbic encephalitis patient using a 3.0T MR scanner. Three-dimensional SPGR Tl-weighted images and DTI were acquired in the patient and controls. Data were analyzed using Matlab 7.0 and SPM2 software. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Results from routine MRI scan with contrast enhancement of patient, as well as fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity value map differences between patient and controls. RESULTS： Significant symmetric MRI signal intensity abnormalities were observed with routine MRI Affected bilateral hippocampi and amygdala exhibited hypointense signals in TIWI and hyperintense signals in T2 images. The DTI study revealed decreased fractional anisotropy values in the bilateral alveus and fimbria of the hippocampus, bilateral internal and external capsules, white matter of the right prefrontal area, and left corona radiate in the patient compared with normal controls （P 〈 0.001） Significantly increased fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, or decreased mean diffusivity were not observed in the patient, compared with controls. CONCLUSION： Secondary white matter damage to the hippocampal afveus and fimbria was apparent in the limbic encephalitis patient. In addition, other white matter fiber injuries surrounded the limbic structures, which were not attributed to secondary limbic system injuries.展开更多
Three high dimensional spatial standardization algorithms are used for diffusion tensor image(DTI)registration,and seven kinds of methods are used to evaluate their performances.Firstly,the template used in this paper...Three high dimensional spatial standardization algorithms are used for diffusion tensor image(DTI)registration,and seven kinds of methods are used to evaluate their performances.Firstly,the template used in this paper was obtained by spatial transformation of 16 subjects by means of tensor-based standardization.Then,high dimensional standardization algorithms for diffusion tensor images,including fractional anisotropy(FA)based diffeomorphic registration algorithm,FA based elastic registration algorithm and tensor-based registration algorithm,were performed.Finally,7 kinds of evaluation methods,including normalized standard deviation,dyadic coherence,diffusion cross-correlation,overlap of eigenvalue-eigenvector pairs,Euclidean distance of diffusion tensor,and Euclidean distance of the deviatoric tensor and deviatoric of tensors,were used to qualitatively compare and summarize the above standardization algorithms.Experimental results revealed that the high-dimensional tensor-based standardization algorithms perform well and can maintain the consistency of anatomical structures.展开更多
Watermarking algorithms that use convolution neural networks have exhibited good robustness in studies of deep learning networks.However,after embedding watermark signals by convolution,the feature fusion eficiency of...Watermarking algorithms that use convolution neural networks have exhibited good robustness in studies of deep learning networks.However,after embedding watermark signals by convolution,the feature fusion eficiency of convolution is relatively low;this can easily lead to distortion in the embedded image.When distortion occurs in medical images,especially in diffusion tensor images(DTIs),the clinical value of the DTI is lost.To address this issue,a robust watermarking algorithm for DTIs implemented by fusing convolution with a Transformer is proposed to ensure the robustness of the watermark and the consistency of sampling distance,which enhances the quality of the reconstructed image of the watermarked DTIs after embedding the watermark signals.In the watermark-embedding network,Ti-weighted(Tlw)images are used as prior knowledge.The correlation between T1w images and the original DTI is proposed to calculate the most significant features from the T1w images by using the Transformer mechanism.The maximum of the correlation is used as the most significant feature weight to improve the quality of the reconstructed DTI.In the watermark extraction network,the most significant watermark features from the watermarked DTI are adequately learned by the Transformer to robustly extract the watermark signals from the watermark features.Experimental results show that the average peak signal-to-noise ratio of the watermarked DTI reaches 50.47 dB,the diffusion characteristics such as mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy remain unchanged,and the main axis deflection angleαAc is close to 1.Our proposed algorithm can effectively protect the copyright of the DTI and barely affects the clinical diagnosis.展开更多
The human brain is known to contain a maximum of eight cholinergic nuclei： the basal forebrain region： the medial septal nucleus （Ch 1）, the vertical nucleus of the diagonal band （Ch 2）, the horizontal limb of t...The human brain is known to contain a maximum of eight cholinergic nuclei： the basal forebrain region： the medial septal nucleus （Ch 1）, the vertical nucleus of the diagonal band （Ch 2）, the horizontal limb of the diago- nal band （Ch 3）, and the nucleus basalis of Meynert （Ch 4）; the brainstem： the pedunculopontine nucleus （Ch 5）, the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus （Ch 6）, and the para- bigeminal nucleus （Ch 8）; and the thalamus： the medial habenular nucleus （Ch 7） （Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008; Naidich and Duvernoy, 2009）. The cingulum is the neu- ral tract extending from the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe （Mufson and Pandya, 1984）. The cingulum plays an important role in memory because it is a passage of the medial cholinergic pathway, which pro- vides cholinergic innervations to the cerebral cortex after originating from Ch 1 and Ch 2 as well as Ch 4 （mainly） （Selden et al., 1998; Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008; Hong and lang, 2010）.展开更多
BACKGROUND Spinal cord injury can lead to long-term disability,but current imaging methods are limited in predicting outcomes.Rapid diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)has shown promise,yet its clinical utility remains under...BACKGROUND Spinal cord injury can lead to long-term disability,but current imaging methods are limited in predicting outcomes.Rapid diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)has shown promise,yet its clinical utility remains underexplored.AIM To evaluate the potential applications of a short DTI sequence,incorporated into a cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)protocol,for characterizing a range of symptomatic spinal cord pathologies.We propose that cervical spine tractography can provide essential diagnostic information beyond what is currently available from conventional MRI.METHODS We utilized a quick DTI sequence to create tractography models of the cervical spinal cord in four patients with distinct pathologies of various etiologies:Cord contusion,metastasis,myelopathy,and multiple sclerosis.We used DSI Studio software for post-processing of tractography cases.Fiber tract findings for each pathology case were compared to five control cases from the same scanner by looking for individual differences in white matter tract integrity based on the fractional anisotropy(FA)and mean diffusivity(MD)of the regions of interest from controls.These correlated with clinical presentations and conventional MRI findings.RESULTS Control cases showed consistent and intact tract patterns with stable FA and MD values.In pathological cases,abnormalities in fiber orientation and tract continuity correlated with clinical symptoms and lesion locations.CONCLUSION The tractography models can provide additional information on white matter disruption that was not discernible on standard MRI sequences.However,its clinical use remains limited due to the need for specialized imaging protocols and complex post-processing,restricting its use to mostly academic settings.展开更多
Cerebral small vessel disease encompasses a group of neurological disorders characterized by injury to small blood vessels,often leading to stroke and dementia.Due to its diverse etiologies and complex pathological me...Cerebral small vessel disease encompasses a group of neurological disorders characterized by injury to small blood vessels,often leading to stroke and dementia.Due to its diverse etiologies and complex pathological mechanisms,preventing and treating cerebral small vessel vasculopathy is challenging.Recent studies have shown that the glymphatic system plays a crucial role in interstitial solute clearance and the maintenance of brain homeostasis.Increasing evidence also suggests that dysfunction in glymphatic clearance is a key factor in the progression of cerebral small vessel disease.This review begins with a comprehensive introduction to the structure,function,and driving factors of the glymphatic system,highlighting its essential role in brain waste clearance.Afterwards,cerebral small vessel disease was reviewed from the perspective of the glymphatic system,after which the mechanisms underlying their correlation were summarized.Glymphatic dysfunction may lead to the accumulation of metabolic waste in the brain,thereby exacerbating the pathological processes associated with cerebral small vessel disease.The review also discussed the direct evidence of glymphatic dysfunction in patients and animal models exhibiting two subtypes of cerebral small vessel disease:arteriolosclerosis-related cerebral small vessel disease and amyloid-related cerebral small vessel disease.Diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space is an important non-invasive tool for assessing the clearance function of the glymphatic system.However,the effectiveness of its parameters needs to be enhanced.Among various nervous system diseases,including cerebral small vessel disease,glymphatic failure may be a common final pathway toward dementia.Overall,this review summarizes prevention and treatment strategies that target glymphatic drainage and will offer valuable insight for developing novel treatments for cerebral small vessel disease.展开更多
To evaluate the effect of the positive-indefinite matrix on the diffusion tensor-derived parameters, a modified algorithm is proposed for calculating these parameters. Magnetic resonance （MR） diffusion tensor images...To evaluate the effect of the positive-indefinite matrix on the diffusion tensor-derived parameters, a modified algorithm is proposed for calculating these parameters. Magnetic resonance （MR） diffusion tensor images of five healthy volunteers are collected. The diffusion sensitive gradient magnetic fields are applied along 25 directions and the diffusion weighting value is 1 000 s/mm^2. Many positive-indefinite diffusion tensors can be found in the white matter area, such as the genu and the splenium of corpus callosum. Due to the positive-indefinite matrix, the mean diffusivity （MD） and the fractional anisotropy （FA） are under-estimated and over-estimated by using the conventional algorithm. Thus, the conventional algorithm is modified by using the absolute values of all eigenvalues. Results show that both the robustness and the reliability for deriving these parameters are improved by the modified algorithm.展开更多
The anatomical organization of the corticopontocerebellar tract （CPCT） in the human brain remains poorly understood. The present study investigated probabilistic tractography of the CPCT in the human brain using dif...The anatomical organization of the corticopontocerebellar tract （CPCT） in the human brain remains poorly understood. The present study investigated probabilistic tractography of the CPCT in the human brain using diffusion tensor tractography with functional magnetic resonance imaging. CPCT data was obtained from 14 healthy subjects. CPCT images were obtained from functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor tractography, revealing that the CPCT originated from the primary sensorimotor cortex and descended to the pontine nucleus through the corona radiata, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and the cerebral peduncle. After crossing the pons through the transverse pontine fibers, the CPCT entered the cerebellum via the middle cerebral peduncle. However, some variation was detected in the midbrain （middle cerebral peduncle and/or medial lemniscus） and pons （ventral and/or dorsal transverse pontine fibers）. The CPCT was analyzed in 3 dimensions from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. These results could be informative for future studies of motor control in the human brain.展开更多
To denoise the diffusion weighted images （DWls） featured as multi-boundary, which was very important for the calculation of accurate DTIs （diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging）, a modified Wiener filter was...To denoise the diffusion weighted images （DWls） featured as multi-boundary, which was very important for the calculation of accurate DTIs （diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging）, a modified Wiener filter was proposed. Through analyzing the widely accepted adaptive Wiener filter in image denoising fields, which suffered from annoying noise around the edges of DWIs and in turn greatly affected the denoising effect of DWIs, a local-shift method capable of overcoming the defect of the adaptive Wiener filter was proposed to help better denoising DWIs and the modified Wiener filter was constructed accordingly. To verify the denoising effect of the proposed method, the modified Wiener filter and adaptive Wiener filter were performed on the noisy DWI data, respectively, and the results of different methods were analyzed in detail and put into comparison. The experimental data show that, with the modified Wiener method, more satisfactory results such as lower non-positive tensor percentage and lower mean square errors of the fractional anisotropy map and trace map are obtained than those with the adaptive Wiener method, which in turn helps to produce more accurate DTIs.展开更多
Mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation is an effective and promising approach for treating various systemic and diffuse diseases.However,the biological characteristics of transplanted mesenchymal stromal cells in hu...Mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation is an effective and promising approach for treating various systemic and diffuse diseases.However,the biological characteristics of transplanted mesenchymal stromal cells in humans remain unclear,including cell viability,distribution,migration,and fate.Conventional cell tracing methods cannot be used in the clinic.The use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as contrast agents allows for the observation of transplanted cells using magnetic resonance imaging.In 2016,the National Medical Products Administration of China approved a new superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle,Ruicun,for use as a contrast agent in clinical trials.In the present study,an acute hemi-transection spinal cord injury model was established in beagle dogs.The injury was then treated by transplantation of Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells.The results indicated that Ruicunlabeled mesenchymal stromal cells repaired damaged spinal cord fibers and partially restored neurological function in animals with acute spinal cord injury.T2*-weighted imaging revealed low signal areas on both sides of the injured spinal cord.The results of quantitative susceptibility mapping with ultrashort echo time sequences indicated that Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells persisted stably within the injured spinal cord for over 4 weeks.These findings suggest that magnetic resonance imaging has the potential to effectively track the migration of Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells and assess their ability to repair spinal cord injury.展开更多
Some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus experience neuropsychiatric symptoms.Although magnetic resonance imaging can detect abnormal signals in the white matter of the brain,conventional methods often struggle...Some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus experience neuropsychiatric symptoms.Although magnetic resonance imaging can detect abnormal signals in the white matter of the brain,conventional methods often struggle to accurately capture microstructural changes.Various diffusion models have been used to study white matter in systemic lupus erythematosus;however,comparative analyses of their sensitivity and specificity for detecting microstructural changes remain insufficient.To address this,our team designed a diagnostic trial that used multimodal diffusion imaging techniques to observe white matter microstructural changes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,with an aim to identify key diagnostic biomarkers for these patients.Patients with active lupus who received treatment at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology,The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University,from September 2023 to March 2024 were recruited.According to the standards of the American College of Rheumatology,patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms were assigned to the systemic lupus erythematosus group,whereas those without neuropsychiatric symptoms were assigned to the non-systemic lupus erythematosus group.Additionally,healthy volunteers matched by region,sex,and age were recruited as controls.All three groups underwent the same diffusion magnetic resonance imaging examination protocol to compare differences in diffusion parameters.Advanced diffusion imaging models were able to sensitively detect microstructural changes in the white matter fibers of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,with specific diffusion parameters showing significant abnormalities in key brain regions.In the left superior longitudinal fasciculus subregion and the right thalamic radiations of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,we also identified abnormal diffusion characteristics that were clearly correlated with disease activity,suggesting that microstructural changes in these areas may reflect the dynamic process of neuroinflammatory damage.The present study addresses critical challenges in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus by identifying specific white matter imaging biomarkers and elucidating the association between microstructural damage and clinical manifestations.The main contributions of our study include:1)establishing axial regression probability parameters from mean apparent propagator magnetic resonance imaging as sensitive biomarkers for systemic lupus erythematosus,particularly in the third subregion of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus;2)demonstrating that multimodal diffusion imaging may be superior to conventional diffusion tensor imaging for detecting white matter microstructural abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus;and 3)integrating tract-based spatial statistics with clinically relevant analyses to link imaging findings to pathological mechanisms.展开更多
Major ozonated autohemotherapy has been shown to promote recovery of upper limb motor function in patients with acute cerebral infarction, but whether naajor ozonated autohelnotherapy affects remote in）ury remains po...Major ozonated autohemotherapy has been shown to promote recovery of upper limb motor function in patients with acute cerebral infarction, but whether naajor ozonated autohelnotherapy affects remote in）ury remains poorly understood. Here, we assumed that major ozonated autohemotherapy contributes to recovery of clinical function, possibly by reducing remote injury after acute cerebral infarction. Sixty acute cerebral infarction patients aged 30-80 years were equally and randomly allocated to ozone treatment and control groups. Patients in the ozone treatment group received medical treatment and major ozonated autohemotherapy （47 mg/L, 100 mL ozone） for 10 ± 2 days. Patients in the control group received medical treatment only. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, modified Rankin scale score, and reduced degree of fractional anisotropy values of brain magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging were remarkably decreased, brain function improved, clinical efficiency significantly increased, and no obvious adverse reactions detected in the ozone treatment group compared with the control group. These findings suggest that major ozonated autohemotherapy promotes recovery of neurological function in acute cerebral infarction patients by reducing re,note injury, and additionally, exhibits high safety.展开更多
To investigate the feasibility and time window of early detection of Wallerian degeneration in the corticospinal tract after middle cerebral artery infarction, 23 patients were assessed using magnetic resonance diffus...To investigate the feasibility and time window of early detection of Wallerian degeneration in the corticospinal tract after middle cerebral artery infarction, 23 patients were assessed using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging at 3.0T within 14 days after the infarction. The fractional anisotropy values of the affected corticospinal tract began to decrease at 3 days after onset and decreased in all cases at 7 days. The diffusion coefficient remained unchanged. Experimental findings indicate that diffusion tensor imaging can detect the changes associated with Wallerian degeneration of the corticospinal tract as early as 3 days after cerebral infarction.展开更多
With improvements in care of at-risk neonates, more and more children survive. This makes it increasingly important to assess, soon after birth, the prognosis of children with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Computed...With improvements in care of at-risk neonates, more and more children survive. This makes it increasingly important to assess, soon after birth, the prognosis of children with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Computed tomography, ultrasound, and conventional magnetic resonance imaging are helpful to diagnose brain injury, but cannot quantify white matter damage. In this study, ten full-term infants without brain injury and twenty-two full-term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy （14 moderate cases and 8 severe cases） underwent diffusion tensor imaging to assess its feasibility in evaluating white matter damage in this condition. Results demonstrated that fractional anisotropy, voxel volume, and number of fiber bundles were different in some brain areas between infants with brain injury and those without brain injury. The correlation between fractional anisotropy values and neonatal behavioral neurological assessment scores was closest in the posterior limbs of the internal capsule. We conclude that diffusion tensor imaging can quantify white matter injury in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.展开更多
Motor imagery is the mental representation of an action without overt movement or muscle activation. However, the effects of motor imagery on stroke-induced hand dysfunction and brain neural networks are still unknown...Motor imagery is the mental representation of an action without overt movement or muscle activation. However, the effects of motor imagery on stroke-induced hand dysfunction and brain neural networks are still unknown. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the China Rehabilitation Research Center. Twenty stroke patients, including 13 males and 7 females, 32–51 years old, were recruited and randomly assigned to the traditional rehabilitation treatment group（PP group, n = 10） or the motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment group（MP group, n = 10）. All patients received rehabilitation training once a day, 45 minutes per session, five times per week, for 4 consecutive weeks. In the MP group, motor imagery training was performed for 45 minutes after traditional rehabilitation training, daily. Action Research Arm Test and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the upper extremity were used to evaluate hand functions before and after treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to analyze motor evoked potentials in the affected extremity. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess changes in brain neural networks. Compared with the PP group, the MP group showed better recovery of hand function, higher amplitude of the motor evoked potential in the abductor pollicis brevis, greater fractional anisotropy of the right dorsal pathway, and an increase in the fractional anisotropy of the bilateral dorsal pathway. Our findings indicate that 4 weeks of motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment improves hand function in stroke patients by enhancing the dorsal pathway. This trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry（registration number： Chi CTR-OCH-12002238）.展开更多
Objective： To determine the value of diffusion-tensor imaging （DTI） as an adjunct to dynamic contrastenhanced magnetic resonance imaging （DCE-MRI） for improved accuracy of differential diagnosis between breast du...Objective： To determine the value of diffusion-tensor imaging （DTI） as an adjunct to dynamic contrastenhanced magnetic resonance imaging （DCE-MRI） for improved accuracy of differential diagnosis between breast ductal carcinoma in situ （DCIS） and invasive breast carcinoma （IBC）. Methods： The MRI data of 63 patients pathologically confirmed as breast cancer were analyzed. The conventional MRI analysis metrics included enhancement style, initial enhancement characteristic, maximum slope of increase, time to peak, time signal intensity curve （TIC） pattern, and signal intensity on FS- T2WI. The values of apparent diffusion coefficient （ADC）, directionally-averaged mean diffusivity （D^vg）, exponential attenuation （EA）, fractional anisotropy （FA）, volume ratio （VR） and relative anisotropy （RA） were calculated and compared between DCIS and IBC. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent factors for distinguishing IBC and DCIS. The diagnostic performance of the diagnosis equation was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve. The diagnostic efficacies of DCE- MRI, DWI and DTI were compared independently or combined. Results： EA value, lesion enhancement style and TIC pattern were identified as independent factor for differential diagnosis of IBC and DCIS. The combination diagnosis showed higher diagnostic efficacy than a single use of DCE-MRI （P=0.02）, and the area of the curve was improved from 0.84 （95% CI, 0.67-0.99） to 0.94 （95% CI, 0.85-1.00）. Conclusions： Quantitative DTI measurement as an adjunct to DCE-MRI could improve the diagnostic performance of differential diagnosis between DCIS and IBC compared to a single use of DCE-MRI.展开更多
Visual field defect is one of the various clinical manifestations in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage（SAH）. Little is known about the pathogenic mechanism of visual field defect in SAH. In the current study,we ...Visual field defect is one of the various clinical manifestations in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage（SAH）. Little is known about the pathogenic mechanism of visual field defect in SAH. In the current study,we investigated the diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） finding of the optic radiation in patients with SAH followingrupture of a cerebral artery aneurysm. We recruited 21 patients with aneurismal SAH （12 males, 9 females, mean age, 52.67 years; range, 41–68 years） who showed no definite lesion along the visual pathway.Twenty-one age-and sex-matched normal control subjects were also recruited. DTI data were acquired at an average of 5.9 weeks （range： 3–12 weeks） after onset and reconstruction of the optic radiation was performed using DTI-Studio software. The fractional anisotropy value, apparent diffusion coefficient value,and fiber number of the optic radiation were measured. The fractional anisotropy value of the optic radiation was significantly decreased, and the apparent diffusion coefficient value was significantly increased, in patients with aneurismal SAH than in normal control subjects. However, there was no significant difference in the fiber number of the optic radiation between patients with aneurismal SAH and normal control subjects. The decrement of fractional anisotropy value and increment of apparent diffusion coefficient value of the optic radiation in patients with aneurismal SAH suggest optic radiation injury. Therefore, we recommend a thorough evaluation for optic radiation injury in patient with aneurismal SAH.展开更多
AIM: To evaluate the value of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in assessing the axonal and myelin damage of the optic nerves and optic radiations in patients with chronic primary angle -closure glaucoma (PA...AIM: To evaluate the value of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in assessing the axonal and myelin damage of the optic nerves and optic radiations in patients with chronic primary angle -closure glaucoma (PACG) by using high -field magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (3T). METHODS: Twenty patients with bilateral chronic PACG and twenty age - and sex matched disease -free control subjects were enrolled. Conventional MRI and DTI were performed on all subjects using 3T MR scanner. Mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivities (AD) and radial diffusivities (RD) of each optic nerve and each optic radiation were measured by using post -processing software of DTI studio 2.3, and then compared between left eyes and right eyes and between patients group and control group. The pairedsample t- test were used. RESULTS: There was no abnormality in the shape and signal intensity of the optic nerves and optic radiations in patients group and control group on the conventional MRI. No significant differences were observed in the FA, MD, AD and RD between the right and left optic nerves and optic radiations within patients group and control group (P>0.05). The optic nerves and optic radiations of patients with chronic PACG, as compared with control subjects, had significantly higher MD, AD, RD and significantly lower FA (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The diffusivity of optic nerves and optic radiations in chronic PACG group showed abnormal and diffusivity parameters could be used markers of axonal and myelin injury in glaucoma.展开更多
BACKGROUND： Conventional neuroimaging diagnosis does not assist with the monitoring or evaluation of basal nuclei ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, or motor functional recovery. Magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor im...BACKGROUND： Conventional neuroimaging diagnosis does not assist with the monitoring or evaluation of basal nuclei ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, or motor functional recovery. Magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography have all been used to observe features of cerebral white matter fibrous structures. In addition, diffusion tensor tractography is the only non-invasive imaging method to display the corticospinal tract in vivo. OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the impairment degree of corticospinal tract induced by basal nuclei ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke through the use of magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography, and to analyze the correlation to muscular strength. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A retrospective case analysis was performed at the Department of Medical Imaging, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA between November 2002 and June 2008. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 15 patients with acute or subacute cerebral ischemic stroke and nine with hemorrhagic stroke in the basal nuclei were selected. METHODS： Magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography results and data were analyzed. Fractional anisotropy and directionally encoded color maps were obtained. Three-dimensional tractography of bilateral corticospinal tract was created, and corticospinal tract integrity was graded. Fractional anisotropy of infarct region and corresponding contralateral normal regions were measured, and hematoma volume in hemorrhagic stroke patients was determined. Hand motor function ability was evaluated using Brunstorm criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Fractional anisotropy of infarct region and corresponding contralateral normal regions; hematoma volume in hemorrhagic stroke patients; correlation between muscular strength and corticospinal tract impairment degree in ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke patients before and after treatment. RESULTS： In ischemic stroke patients, the fractional anisotropy value was significantly lower in the infarct area of white matter than in the normal hemisphere （P 〈 0.01）. The impairment degree of corticospinal tract negatively correlated with muscular strength of the corresponding hand （r = -0.97 P 〈 0.01）. The hematoma volume of hemorrhagic stroke patients significantly negatively correlated with Spearman test results for muscular strength of the corresponding hand （r = -0.88, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Corticospinal tract impairment severity negatively correlated with muscular strength and motor functional recovery, which suggested that diffusion tensor imaging and diffusion tensor tractography could be used to evaluate corticospinal tract motor function.展开更多
基金supported by NSFC under grant No.11471331partially supported by National Center for Mathematics and Interdisciplinary Sciences
文摘The existence of a global minimizer for a variational problem arising in registration of diffusion tensor images is proved, which ensures that there is a regular spatial transformation for the registration of diffusion tensor images.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.30800263
文摘BACKGROUND： Limbic encephalitis is a rare syndrome that specifically affects the limbic system. Magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） has been typically used to detect brain changes in this disease. However, the mechanisms of limbic encephalitis-related white matter damage remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVE： To characterize white matter connectivity changes secondary to injuries of the limbic system in limbic encephalitis through combined application of diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and voxel-based morphometry. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A non-randomized, controlled, clinical, neuroimaging, DTI study was performed at the Department of Radiology, West China Hospital in December 2008. PARTICIPANTS： A male, 46-year-old, limbic encephalitis patient, as well as 11 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers, were enrolled in the present study. METHODS： MRI was performed on the limbic encephalitis patient using a 3.0T MR scanner. Three-dimensional SPGR Tl-weighted images and DTI were acquired in the patient and controls. Data were analyzed using Matlab 7.0 and SPM2 software. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Results from routine MRI scan with contrast enhancement of patient, as well as fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity value map differences between patient and controls. RESULTS： Significant symmetric MRI signal intensity abnormalities were observed with routine MRI Affected bilateral hippocampi and amygdala exhibited hypointense signals in TIWI and hyperintense signals in T2 images. The DTI study revealed decreased fractional anisotropy values in the bilateral alveus and fimbria of the hippocampus, bilateral internal and external capsules, white matter of the right prefrontal area, and left corona radiate in the patient compared with normal controls （P 〈 0.001） Significantly increased fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, or decreased mean diffusivity were not observed in the patient, compared with controls. CONCLUSION： Secondary white matter damage to the hippocampal afveus and fimbria was apparent in the limbic encephalitis patient. In addition, other white matter fiber injuries surrounded the limbic structures, which were not attributed to secondary limbic system injuries.
基金Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFC0100300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61402371,61771369)+1 种基金the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China(2017JM6008)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China(3102017zy032,3102018zy020)
文摘Three high dimensional spatial standardization algorithms are used for diffusion tensor image(DTI)registration,and seven kinds of methods are used to evaluate their performances.Firstly,the template used in this paper was obtained by spatial transformation of 16 subjects by means of tensor-based standardization.Then,high dimensional standardization algorithms for diffusion tensor images,including fractional anisotropy(FA)based diffeomorphic registration algorithm,FA based elastic registration algorithm and tensor-based registration algorithm,were performed.Finally,7 kinds of evaluation methods,including normalized standard deviation,dyadic coherence,diffusion cross-correlation,overlap of eigenvalue-eigenvector pairs,Euclidean distance of diffusion tensor,and Euclidean distance of the deviatoric tensor and deviatoric of tensors,were used to qualitatively compare and summarize the above standardization algorithms.Experimental results revealed that the high-dimensional tensor-based standardization algorithms perform well and can maintain the consistency of anatomical structures.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.62062023)the Guizhou Science and Technology Plan Project of China(No.ZK[2021]-YB314)the Stadholder Foundation of Guizhou Province,China(No.2007(14))。
文摘Watermarking algorithms that use convolution neural networks have exhibited good robustness in studies of deep learning networks.However,after embedding watermark signals by convolution,the feature fusion eficiency of convolution is relatively low;this can easily lead to distortion in the embedded image.When distortion occurs in medical images,especially in diffusion tensor images(DTIs),the clinical value of the DTI is lost.To address this issue,a robust watermarking algorithm for DTIs implemented by fusing convolution with a Transformer is proposed to ensure the robustness of the watermark and the consistency of sampling distance,which enhances the quality of the reconstructed image of the watermarked DTIs after embedding the watermark signals.In the watermark-embedding network,Ti-weighted(Tlw)images are used as prior knowledge.The correlation between T1w images and the original DTI is proposed to calculate the most significant features from the T1w images by using the Transformer mechanism.The maximum of the correlation is used as the most significant feature weight to improve the quality of the reconstructed DTI.In the watermark extraction network,the most significant watermark features from the watermarked DTI are adequately learned by the Transformer to robustly extract the watermark signals from the watermark features.Experimental results show that the average peak signal-to-noise ratio of the watermarked DTI reaches 50.47 dB,the diffusion characteristics such as mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy remain unchanged,and the main axis deflection angleαAc is close to 1.Our proposed algorithm can effectively protect the copyright of the DTI and barely affects the clinical diagnosis.
基金supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Ministry of Education,Science and Technology,No.2012R1A1A4A01001873
文摘The human brain is known to contain a maximum of eight cholinergic nuclei： the basal forebrain region： the medial septal nucleus （Ch 1）, the vertical nucleus of the diagonal band （Ch 2）, the horizontal limb of the diago- nal band （Ch 3）, and the nucleus basalis of Meynert （Ch 4）; the brainstem： the pedunculopontine nucleus （Ch 5）, the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus （Ch 6）, and the para- bigeminal nucleus （Ch 8）; and the thalamus： the medial habenular nucleus （Ch 7） （Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008; Naidich and Duvernoy, 2009）. The cingulum is the neu- ral tract extending from the orbitofrontal cortex to the medial temporal lobe （Mufson and Pandya, 1984）. The cingulum plays an important role in memory because it is a passage of the medial cholinergic pathway, which pro- vides cholinergic innervations to the cerebral cortex after originating from Ch 1 and Ch 2 as well as Ch 4 （mainly） （Selden et al., 1998; Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008; Hong and lang, 2010）.
文摘BACKGROUND Spinal cord injury can lead to long-term disability,but current imaging methods are limited in predicting outcomes.Rapid diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)has shown promise,yet its clinical utility remains underexplored.AIM To evaluate the potential applications of a short DTI sequence,incorporated into a cervical spine magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)protocol,for characterizing a range of symptomatic spinal cord pathologies.We propose that cervical spine tractography can provide essential diagnostic information beyond what is currently available from conventional MRI.METHODS We utilized a quick DTI sequence to create tractography models of the cervical spinal cord in four patients with distinct pathologies of various etiologies:Cord contusion,metastasis,myelopathy,and multiple sclerosis.We used DSI Studio software for post-processing of tractography cases.Fiber tract findings for each pathology case were compared to five control cases from the same scanner by looking for individual differences in white matter tract integrity based on the fractional anisotropy(FA)and mean diffusivity(MD)of the regions of interest from controls.These correlated with clinical presentations and conventional MRI findings.RESULTS Control cases showed consistent and intact tract patterns with stable FA and MD values.In pathological cases,abnormalities in fiber orientation and tract continuity correlated with clinical symptoms and lesion locations.CONCLUSION The tractography models can provide additional information on white matter disruption that was not discernible on standard MRI sequences.However,its clinical use remains limited due to the need for specialized imaging protocols and complex post-processing,restricting its use to mostly academic settings.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.82274304(to YH)the Major Clinical Study Projects of Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center,No.SHDC2020CR2046B(to YH)Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Talent Plan,No.2022LJ010(to YH).
文摘Cerebral small vessel disease encompasses a group of neurological disorders characterized by injury to small blood vessels,often leading to stroke and dementia.Due to its diverse etiologies and complex pathological mechanisms,preventing and treating cerebral small vessel vasculopathy is challenging.Recent studies have shown that the glymphatic system plays a crucial role in interstitial solute clearance and the maintenance of brain homeostasis.Increasing evidence also suggests that dysfunction in glymphatic clearance is a key factor in the progression of cerebral small vessel disease.This review begins with a comprehensive introduction to the structure,function,and driving factors of the glymphatic system,highlighting its essential role in brain waste clearance.Afterwards,cerebral small vessel disease was reviewed from the perspective of the glymphatic system,after which the mechanisms underlying their correlation were summarized.Glymphatic dysfunction may lead to the accumulation of metabolic waste in the brain,thereby exacerbating the pathological processes associated with cerebral small vessel disease.The review also discussed the direct evidence of glymphatic dysfunction in patients and animal models exhibiting two subtypes of cerebral small vessel disease:arteriolosclerosis-related cerebral small vessel disease and amyloid-related cerebral small vessel disease.Diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space is an important non-invasive tool for assessing the clearance function of the glymphatic system.However,the effectiveness of its parameters needs to be enhanced.Among various nervous system diseases,including cerebral small vessel disease,glymphatic failure may be a common final pathway toward dementia.Overall,this review summarizes prevention and treatment strategies that target glymphatic drainage and will offer valuable insight for developing novel treatments for cerebral small vessel disease.
基金Supported by the Research Project of Dongguan Higher Education (200910815252)the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(7102102)the Scientific Research Key Program of Beijing Municipal Commission of Ed-ucation(KZ200810025011)~~
文摘To evaluate the effect of the positive-indefinite matrix on the diffusion tensor-derived parameters, a modified algorithm is proposed for calculating these parameters. Magnetic resonance （MR） diffusion tensor images of five healthy volunteers are collected. The diffusion sensitive gradient magnetic fields are applied along 25 directions and the diffusion weighting value is 1 000 s/mm^2. Many positive-indefinite diffusion tensors can be found in the white matter area, such as the genu and the splenium of corpus callosum. Due to the positive-indefinite matrix, the mean diffusivity （MD） and the fractional anisotropy （FA） are under-estimated and over-estimated by using the conventional algorithm. Thus, the conventional algorithm is modified by using the absolute values of all eigenvalues. Results show that both the robustness and the reliability for deriving these parameters are improved by the modified algorithm.
基金the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government,No. KRF-2008-314-E00173
文摘The anatomical organization of the corticopontocerebellar tract （CPCT） in the human brain remains poorly understood. The present study investigated probabilistic tractography of the CPCT in the human brain using diffusion tensor tractography with functional magnetic resonance imaging. CPCT data was obtained from 14 healthy subjects. CPCT images were obtained from functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor tractography, revealing that the CPCT originated from the primary sensorimotor cortex and descended to the pontine nucleus through the corona radiata, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and the cerebral peduncle. After crossing the pons through the transverse pontine fibers, the CPCT entered the cerebellum via the middle cerebral peduncle. However, some variation was detected in the midbrain （middle cerebral peduncle and/or medial lemniscus） and pons （ventral and/or dorsal transverse pontine fibers）. The CPCT was analyzed in 3 dimensions from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. These results could be informative for future studies of motor control in the human brain.
基金Project(2009AA04Z214) supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of ChinaProject(07JJ6133) supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, China
文摘To denoise the diffusion weighted images （DWls） featured as multi-boundary, which was very important for the calculation of accurate DTIs （diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging）, a modified Wiener filter was proposed. Through analyzing the widely accepted adaptive Wiener filter in image denoising fields, which suffered from annoying noise around the edges of DWIs and in turn greatly affected the denoising effect of DWIs, a local-shift method capable of overcoming the defect of the adaptive Wiener filter was proposed to help better denoising DWIs and the modified Wiener filter was constructed accordingly. To verify the denoising effect of the proposed method, the modified Wiener filter and adaptive Wiener filter were performed on the noisy DWI data, respectively, and the results of different methods were analyzed in detail and put into comparison. The experimental data show that, with the modified Wiener method, more satisfactory results such as lower non-positive tensor percentage and lower mean square errors of the fractional anisotropy map and trace map are obtained than those with the adaptive Wiener method, which in turn helps to produce more accurate DTIs.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China,Nos.2017YFA0104302(to NG and XM)and 2017YFA0104304(to BW and ZZ)
文摘Mesenchymal stromal cell transplantation is an effective and promising approach for treating various systemic and diffuse diseases.However,the biological characteristics of transplanted mesenchymal stromal cells in humans remain unclear,including cell viability,distribution,migration,and fate.Conventional cell tracing methods cannot be used in the clinic.The use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as contrast agents allows for the observation of transplanted cells using magnetic resonance imaging.In 2016,the National Medical Products Administration of China approved a new superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle,Ruicun,for use as a contrast agent in clinical trials.In the present study,an acute hemi-transection spinal cord injury model was established in beagle dogs.The injury was then treated by transplantation of Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells.The results indicated that Ruicunlabeled mesenchymal stromal cells repaired damaged spinal cord fibers and partially restored neurological function in animals with acute spinal cord injury.T2*-weighted imaging revealed low signal areas on both sides of the injured spinal cord.The results of quantitative susceptibility mapping with ultrashort echo time sequences indicated that Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells persisted stably within the injured spinal cord for over 4 weeks.These findings suggest that magnetic resonance imaging has the potential to effectively track the migration of Ruicun-labeled mesenchymal stromal cells and assess their ability to repair spinal cord injury.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation Joint Fund,No.U22A20309(to PY)the Natural Science Foundation of LiaoningProvince,No.2023-MS-07(to HuL)the Unveiling Key Scientific and Technological Projects of Liaoning Province,No.2021JH1/10400051(to HuL).
文摘Some patients with systemic lupus erythematosus experience neuropsychiatric symptoms.Although magnetic resonance imaging can detect abnormal signals in the white matter of the brain,conventional methods often struggle to accurately capture microstructural changes.Various diffusion models have been used to study white matter in systemic lupus erythematosus;however,comparative analyses of their sensitivity and specificity for detecting microstructural changes remain insufficient.To address this,our team designed a diagnostic trial that used multimodal diffusion imaging techniques to observe white matter microstructural changes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,with an aim to identify key diagnostic biomarkers for these patients.Patients with active lupus who received treatment at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology,The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University,from September 2023 to March 2024 were recruited.According to the standards of the American College of Rheumatology,patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms were assigned to the systemic lupus erythematosus group,whereas those without neuropsychiatric symptoms were assigned to the non-systemic lupus erythematosus group.Additionally,healthy volunteers matched by region,sex,and age were recruited as controls.All three groups underwent the same diffusion magnetic resonance imaging examination protocol to compare differences in diffusion parameters.Advanced diffusion imaging models were able to sensitively detect microstructural changes in the white matter fibers of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,with specific diffusion parameters showing significant abnormalities in key brain regions.In the left superior longitudinal fasciculus subregion and the right thalamic radiations of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus who had neuropsychiatric symptoms,we also identified abnormal diffusion characteristics that were clearly correlated with disease activity,suggesting that microstructural changes in these areas may reflect the dynamic process of neuroinflammatory damage.The present study addresses critical challenges in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus by identifying specific white matter imaging biomarkers and elucidating the association between microstructural damage and clinical manifestations.The main contributions of our study include:1)establishing axial regression probability parameters from mean apparent propagator magnetic resonance imaging as sensitive biomarkers for systemic lupus erythematosus,particularly in the third subregion of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus;2)demonstrating that multimodal diffusion imaging may be superior to conventional diffusion tensor imaging for detecting white matter microstructural abnormalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus;and 3)integrating tract-based spatial statistics with clinically relevant analyses to link imaging findings to pathological mechanisms.
基金supported by the Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province of China,No.2013B021800164the Scientific Research Project in Medicine of Guangdong Province of China,No.B200258
文摘Major ozonated autohemotherapy has been shown to promote recovery of upper limb motor function in patients with acute cerebral infarction, but whether naajor ozonated autohelnotherapy affects remote in）ury remains poorly understood. Here, we assumed that major ozonated autohemotherapy contributes to recovery of clinical function, possibly by reducing remote injury after acute cerebral infarction. Sixty acute cerebral infarction patients aged 30-80 years were equally and randomly allocated to ozone treatment and control groups. Patients in the ozone treatment group received medical treatment and major ozonated autohemotherapy （47 mg/L, 100 mL ozone） for 10 ± 2 days. Patients in the control group received medical treatment only. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, modified Rankin scale score, and reduced degree of fractional anisotropy values of brain magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging were remarkably decreased, brain function improved, clinical efficiency significantly increased, and no obvious adverse reactions detected in the ozone treatment group compared with the control group. These findings suggest that major ozonated autohemotherapy promotes recovery of neurological function in acute cerebral infarction patients by reducing re,note injury, and additionally, exhibits high safety.
基金supported by the National Stroke Rehabilitation Research Foundation of the Ministry of Health, China,No.01BA703B18bthe Young and Middle-Aged Clinical Scientists Research Foundation of Shanghai Government,No.01YZK
文摘To investigate the feasibility and time window of early detection of Wallerian degeneration in the corticospinal tract after middle cerebral artery infarction, 23 patients were assessed using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging at 3.0T within 14 days after the infarction. The fractional anisotropy values of the affected corticospinal tract began to decrease at 3 days after onset and decreased in all cases at 7 days. The diffusion coefficient remained unchanged. Experimental findings indicate that diffusion tensor imaging can detect the changes associated with Wallerian degeneration of the corticospinal tract as early as 3 days after cerebral infarction.
基金supported by a grant from the Clinical Medicine Science and Technology Projects in Jiangsu Province of China,No.BL2014037a grant from the Changzhou City Science and Technology Support Plan in China,No.CE20165027+1 种基金a grant from the Changzhou Health Development Planning Commission Major Projects in China,No.ZD201515the Changzhou High-Level Health Personnel Training Project Funding
文摘With improvements in care of at-risk neonates, more and more children survive. This makes it increasingly important to assess, soon after birth, the prognosis of children with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Computed tomography, ultrasound, and conventional magnetic resonance imaging are helpful to diagnose brain injury, but cannot quantify white matter damage. In this study, ten full-term infants without brain injury and twenty-two full-term neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy （14 moderate cases and 8 severe cases） underwent diffusion tensor imaging to assess its feasibility in evaluating white matter damage in this condition. Results demonstrated that fractional anisotropy, voxel volume, and number of fiber bundles were different in some brain areas between infants with brain injury and those without brain injury. The correlation between fractional anisotropy values and neonatal behavioral neurological assessment scores was closest in the posterior limbs of the internal capsule. We conclude that diffusion tensor imaging can quantify white matter injury in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.U1613228a grant from the Sub-Project under National “Twelfth Five-Year” Plan for Science & Technology Support Project in China,No.2011BAI08B11+1 种基金a grant from the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission in China,No.Z161100002616018the Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research Business of Central Public Scientific Research Institutes in China,No.2014CZ-5,2015CZ-30
文摘Motor imagery is the mental representation of an action without overt movement or muscle activation. However, the effects of motor imagery on stroke-induced hand dysfunction and brain neural networks are still unknown. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in the China Rehabilitation Research Center. Twenty stroke patients, including 13 males and 7 females, 32–51 years old, were recruited and randomly assigned to the traditional rehabilitation treatment group（PP group, n = 10） or the motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment group（MP group, n = 10）. All patients received rehabilitation training once a day, 45 minutes per session, five times per week, for 4 consecutive weeks. In the MP group, motor imagery training was performed for 45 minutes after traditional rehabilitation training, daily. Action Research Arm Test and the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the upper extremity were used to evaluate hand functions before and after treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to analyze motor evoked potentials in the affected extremity. Diffusion tensor imaging was used to assess changes in brain neural networks. Compared with the PP group, the MP group showed better recovery of hand function, higher amplitude of the motor evoked potential in the abductor pollicis brevis, greater fractional anisotropy of the right dorsal pathway, and an increase in the fractional anisotropy of the bilateral dorsal pathway. Our findings indicate that 4 weeks of motor imagery training combined with traditional rehabilitation treatment improves hand function in stroke patients by enhancing the dorsal pathway. This trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry（registration number： Chi CTR-OCH-12002238）.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(Grant No.2011CB707705)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.81471640,81371715)the Capital Health Research and Development of Special Foundation(Grant No.2011-2015-02)
文摘Objective： To determine the value of diffusion-tensor imaging （DTI） as an adjunct to dynamic contrastenhanced magnetic resonance imaging （DCE-MRI） for improved accuracy of differential diagnosis between breast ductal carcinoma in situ （DCIS） and invasive breast carcinoma （IBC）. Methods： The MRI data of 63 patients pathologically confirmed as breast cancer were analyzed. The conventional MRI analysis metrics included enhancement style, initial enhancement characteristic, maximum slope of increase, time to peak, time signal intensity curve （TIC） pattern, and signal intensity on FS- T2WI. The values of apparent diffusion coefficient （ADC）, directionally-averaged mean diffusivity （D^vg）, exponential attenuation （EA）, fractional anisotropy （FA）, volume ratio （VR） and relative anisotropy （RA） were calculated and compared between DCIS and IBC. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify independent factors for distinguishing IBC and DCIS. The diagnostic performance of the diagnosis equation was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve. The diagnostic efficacies of DCE- MRI, DWI and DTI were compared independently or combined. Results： EA value, lesion enhancement style and TIC pattern were identified as independent factor for differential diagnosis of IBC and DCIS. The combination diagnosis showed higher diagnostic efficacy than a single use of DCE-MRI （P=0.02）, and the area of the curve was improved from 0.84 （95% CI, 0.67-0.99） to 0.94 （95% CI, 0.85-1.00）. Conclusions： Quantitative DTI measurement as an adjunct to DCE-MRI could improve the diagnostic performance of differential diagnosis between DCIS and IBC compared to a single use of DCE-MRI.
基金supported by the National Research Foundation(NRF)of Korea Grant funded by the Korean Government(MSIP)(2015R1A2A2A01004073)
文摘Visual field defect is one of the various clinical manifestations in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage（SAH）. Little is known about the pathogenic mechanism of visual field defect in SAH. In the current study,we investigated the diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） finding of the optic radiation in patients with SAH followingrupture of a cerebral artery aneurysm. We recruited 21 patients with aneurismal SAH （12 males, 9 females, mean age, 52.67 years; range, 41–68 years） who showed no definite lesion along the visual pathway.Twenty-one age-and sex-matched normal control subjects were also recruited. DTI data were acquired at an average of 5.9 weeks （range： 3–12 weeks） after onset and reconstruction of the optic radiation was performed using DTI-Studio software. The fractional anisotropy value, apparent diffusion coefficient value,and fiber number of the optic radiation were measured. The fractional anisotropy value of the optic radiation was significantly decreased, and the apparent diffusion coefficient value was significantly increased, in patients with aneurismal SAH than in normal control subjects. However, there was no significant difference in the fiber number of the optic radiation between patients with aneurismal SAH and normal control subjects. The decrement of fractional anisotropy value and increment of apparent diffusion coefficient value of the optic radiation in patients with aneurismal SAH suggest optic radiation injury. Therefore, we recommend a thorough evaluation for optic radiation injury in patient with aneurismal SAH.
文摘AIM: To evaluate the value of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in assessing the axonal and myelin damage of the optic nerves and optic radiations in patients with chronic primary angle -closure glaucoma (PACG) by using high -field magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (3T). METHODS: Twenty patients with bilateral chronic PACG and twenty age - and sex matched disease -free control subjects were enrolled. Conventional MRI and DTI were performed on all subjects using 3T MR scanner. Mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivities (AD) and radial diffusivities (RD) of each optic nerve and each optic radiation were measured by using post -processing software of DTI studio 2.3, and then compared between left eyes and right eyes and between patients group and control group. The pairedsample t- test were used. RESULTS: There was no abnormality in the shape and signal intensity of the optic nerves and optic radiations in patients group and control group on the conventional MRI. No significant differences were observed in the FA, MD, AD and RD between the right and left optic nerves and optic radiations within patients group and control group (P>0.05). The optic nerves and optic radiations of patients with chronic PACG, as compared with control subjects, had significantly higher MD, AD, RD and significantly lower FA (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The diffusivity of optic nerves and optic radiations in chronic PACG group showed abnormal and diffusivity parameters could be used markers of axonal and myelin injury in glaucoma.
基金a Grant from the Science and Technology Department of Fujian Province,No.2006J0192
文摘BACKGROUND： Conventional neuroimaging diagnosis does not assist with the monitoring or evaluation of basal nuclei ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, or motor functional recovery. Magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography have all been used to observe features of cerebral white matter fibrous structures. In addition, diffusion tensor tractography is the only non-invasive imaging method to display the corticospinal tract in vivo. OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the impairment degree of corticospinal tract induced by basal nuclei ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke through the use of magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography, and to analyze the correlation to muscular strength. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A retrospective case analysis was performed at the Department of Medical Imaging, Neurology and Neurosurgery, Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA between November 2002 and June 2008. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 15 patients with acute or subacute cerebral ischemic stroke and nine with hemorrhagic stroke in the basal nuclei were selected. METHODS： Magnetic resonance, diffusion tensor imaging, and diffusion tensor tractography results and data were analyzed. Fractional anisotropy and directionally encoded color maps were obtained. Three-dimensional tractography of bilateral corticospinal tract was created, and corticospinal tract integrity was graded. Fractional anisotropy of infarct region and corresponding contralateral normal regions were measured, and hematoma volume in hemorrhagic stroke patients was determined. Hand motor function ability was evaluated using Brunstorm criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Fractional anisotropy of infarct region and corresponding contralateral normal regions; hematoma volume in hemorrhagic stroke patients; correlation between muscular strength and corticospinal tract impairment degree in ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke patients before and after treatment. RESULTS： In ischemic stroke patients, the fractional anisotropy value was significantly lower in the infarct area of white matter than in the normal hemisphere （P 〈 0.01）. The impairment degree of corticospinal tract negatively correlated with muscular strength of the corresponding hand （r = -0.97 P 〈 0.01）. The hematoma volume of hemorrhagic stroke patients significantly negatively correlated with Spearman test results for muscular strength of the corresponding hand （r = -0.88, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Corticospinal tract impairment severity negatively correlated with muscular strength and motor functional recovery, which suggested that diffusion tensor imaging and diffusion tensor tractography could be used to evaluate corticospinal tract motor function.
