Publications by authors named "Alex Guo"
Obesity and weight regulation disorders are determined by the combined effects of genetics and environment. Polygenic obesity results from the combination of common variants in several genes which predisposes the individual to obesity and its related complications. In contrast, monogenic obesity results from changes in single genes, especially those in leptin-melanocortin pathway, and presents with early onset severe obesity, with or without other syndromic features.
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- * A study involving 138 cognitively unimpaired adults investigated how myelin content impacts gait speed over approximately 6.42 years, using advanced imaging techniques to assess myelin levels and standard protocols for measuring usual and rapid gait speeds.
- * Results indicate that lower myelin content is associated with a notable decline in usual gait speed, particularly in brain areas related to motor planning, suggesting that monitoring gait speed could help identify neurodegeneration in otherwise healthy individuals.
Emerging evidence suggests that altered myelination is an important pathophysiologic correlate of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases. Thus, improving myelin integrity may be an effective intervention to prevent and treat age-associated neurodegenerative pathologies. It has been suggested that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) may preserve and enhance cerebral myelination throughout the adult lifespan, but this hypothesis has not been fully tested.
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- Myelin water fraction (MWF) imaging is becoming a key tool in MRI for studying brain function and composition, focusing on issues like aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
- The review covers the theoretical background of MWF, including MR physics and imaging methods, while also discussing its clinical applications, advantages, and limitations.
- It suggests that MWF could eventually be used as a predictive biomarker for neurological disorders and highlights the need for further research to improve MWF imaging protocols and interpretations.