Smaller hippocampal volume in APOE ε4 carriers independent of amyloid-β (Aβ) burden.

Objective: To investigate the association of the APOE ε4 genotype with hippocampal volume, independent of Aβ burden.

Method: This cross-sectional study included 71 participants with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD. All participants were divided into carriers or non-carriers of the ε4 allele.

Development of a Phosphor Screen with Mirror Coating to Improve Optical Properties in Radiography.

Phosphor screens have attracted increasing global interest because they can aid the acquisition of high-quality images while simultaneously reducing exposure. However, although increasing the thickness of the phosphor screen increases exposure efficiency due to scattered light, it also leads to a broader light spread, which results in poorer resolution. Hence, in this study, we implemented a reflector using a mirror-coating technique on the surface of a phosphor screen and analyzed its characteristics in terms of luminescence intensity and resolution.

Quantitative Validation of a Visual Rating Scale for Defining High-Iron Putamen in Patients With Multiple System Atrophy.

To validate a visual rating scale reflecting sub-regional patterns of putaminal hypointensity in susceptibility-weighted imaging of patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). Using a visual rating scale (from G0 to G3), 2 examiners independently rated putaminal hypointensities of 37 MSA patients and 21 control subjects. To investigate the correlation with the scales, R2 values and the volume of the entire putamen were measured.

Speculating the timing of iron deposition in the putamen in multiple system atrophy.

Background & Objective: Although iron accumulation is thought to be associated with neurodegenerative processes, the timing of putaminal iron deposition during the disease course of multiple system atrophy (MSA) remains unclear. We sought to investigate the temporal pattern of iron deposition in the putamen of MSA patients by calculating the conditional probabilities (CPs) of multimodal MRI changes.

Methods: We simultaneously measured putaminal R2*, volume and MD values of 39 probable MSA patients and 22 control subjects.

Spatial correlation and segregation of multimodal MRI abnormalities in multiple system atrophy.

Objective: The variability of the severity and regional distribution of pathological process in basal ganglia (BG) and brainstem-cerebellar systems results in clinical heterogeneity and represents the motor subtype of multiple system atrophy (MSA). This study aimed to quantify spatial patterns of multimodal MRI abnormalities in BG and stem-CB regions and define structural MRI findings that correlate with clinical characteristics.

Methods: We simultaneously measured R2*, mean diffusivity (MD), and volume in the subcortical structures (BG, thalamus, brainstem-cerebellar regions) of 39 probable MSA and 22 control subjects.

Feasibility Study of Phosphor Screen Containing Nano-Scale Anti-Reflection Layer for Improved Optical Properties in Indirect X-ray Detector.

With increasingly strict regulations regarding patient exposure, research on digital radiography technology has recently focused on indirect methods that can produce high-quality images for a low radiation dose. In particular, medical imaging systems based on indirect methods universally use rare-earth metal phosphors, because of their high atomic number and excellent luminescence efficiency. Thus, various studies aiming to improve the luminescence efficiency of phosphors have been conducted.

Distinguishing tendon and ligament fibroblasts based on H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Tendon and ligament (T/L) have been known to be obviously different from each other in tissue level. However, due to the overlapping gene markers, distinction in cellular level has not been clearly verified yet. Recently, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has shown the potential to detect biological markers in cellular level.

Decreased gray matter volume is associated with the subtypes of psychotic symptoms in patients with antipsychotic-naïve mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease: A voxel-based morphometry study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between brain regional gray matter volume and two subtypes of psychotic symptoms, namely paranoid and misidentification subtypes, in antipsychotic-naïve mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Forty AD patients with psychotic symptoms and 25 AD patients without psychotic symptoms were assessed for cognitive and functional impairment. Presence and subtype of psychotic symptoms were assessed by using the delusion and hallucination subscale of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI).

Gray matter volumes and treatment response of psychotic symptoms to risperidone in antipsychotic-naïve Alzheimer's disease patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether gray matter volumes are associated with treatment response of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Method: Risperidone, which is commonly used as an atypical antipsychotic drug, was administered in a clinical setting for 6 weeks from April 2012 to February 2013 to 25 antipsychotic-naïve AD patients with psychosis, diagnosed according to Jeste and Finkel's proposed diagnostic criteria for psychosis of Alzheimer's disease. Psychotic symptoms were rated with the Korean version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI) at baseline and at 6 weeks, and treatment response was defined as the change in K-NPI score from baseline to 6 weeks.

Noninvasive and repetitive measurement of cellular metabolite from human osteosarcoma cells (MG-63) using 3.0 tesla proton ( H) MR spectroscopy.

Purpose: This study suggests a noninvasive and repetitive measurement method using H magnetic resonance spectroscopy to monitor changes in cellular metabolites within a single sample.

Methods: Longitudinal acquisition of cellular metabolites from three-dimensional cultured human osteosarcoma (MG-63) cells was conducted using 3.0 Tesla H MRS for 2 weeks at three time points: days 1, 7, and 14.

Cytotoxicity of TSP in 3D Agarose Gel Cultured Cell.

Purpose: A reference reagent, 3-(trimethylsilyl) propionic-2, 2, 3, 3-d4 acid sodium (TSP), has been used frequently in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) as an internal reference to identify cell and tissue metabolites, and determine chemical and protein structures. This reference material has been exploited for the quantitative and dynamic analyses of metabolite spectra acquired from cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of TSP on three-dimensionally, agarose gel, cultured cells.

Progression of subcortical atrophy and iron deposition in multiple system atrophy: a comparison between clinical subtypes.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be useful not only for the diagnosis of multiple system atrophy (MSA) itself, but also to distinguish between different clinical subtypes. This study aimed to investigate whether there are differences in the progression of subcortical atrophy and iron deposition between two variants of MSA. Two serial MRIs at baseline and follow-up were analyzed in eight patients with the parkinsonian variant MSA (MSA-P), nine patients with cerebellar variant MSA (MSA-C), and fifteen patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Apolipoprotein E genotype modulates effects of vitamin B12 and homocysteine on grey matter volume in Alzheimer's disease.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the effects of vitamin B12 and homocysteine on brain volume are influenced by apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. We examined the effects in each subgroup (APOE ε4 carriers and non-carriers) of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and healthy normal controls.

Methods: Forty participants with AD and 20 healthy normal controls were recruited from memory impairment clinics at Pusan National University Hospital in Korea.

Impact of Apolipoprotein E4 Polymorphism on the Gray Matter Volume and the White Matter Integrity in Subjective Memory Impairment without White Matter Hyperintensities: Voxel-Based Morphometry and Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study under 3-Tesla MRI.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare gray matter (GM) volume and white matter (WM) integrity in Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE ε4) carriers with that of ApoE ε4 noncarriers using the voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the effect of the ApoE ε4 on brain structures in subjective memory impairment (SMI) without white matter hyperintensities (WMH).

Methods: Altogether, 26 participants with SMI without WMH were finally recruited from the Memory impairment clinics of Pusan National University Hospital in Korea. All participants were ApoE genotyped (ApoE ε4 carriers: n = 13, matched ApoE ε4 noncarriers: n = 13) and underwent 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including 3-dimensional volumetric images for GM volume and DTI for WM integrity.

Automated Classification to Predict the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease Using Whole-Brain Volumetry and DTI.

Objective: This study proposes an automated diagnostic method to classify patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) of degenerative etiology using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers.

Methods: Twenty-seven patients with subjective memory impairment (SMI), 18 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 27 patients with AD participated. MRI protocols included three dimensional brain structural imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to assess the cortical thickness, subcortical volume and white matter integrity.

Cortical atrophy, reduced integrity of white matter and cognitive impairment in subcortical vascular dementia of Binswanger type.

Aims: An association between white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and cognitive dysfunction has long been recognized. However, subjects with identically appearing WMH on magnetic resonance imaging present with a wide variance in cognitive function ranging from normal cognition to dementia. The aim of this study was to compare cortical atrophy and integrity of white matter of patients with subcortical vascular dementia of Binswanger type (SVaD-BT) with those of the normal cognition group with WMH (ncWMH).

Evaluation of brain iron content in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Neuroimaging studies in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) show similar structural and functional changes to alpha-synucleinopathies, including PD. Until now, there have been few attempts to characterize brain iron deposition in iRBD. The aim of this study was to investigate brain iron content in patients with iRBD using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Evaluation of metabolomic changes as a biomarker of chondrogenic differentiation in 3D-cultured human mesenchymal stem cells using proton (1H) nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the metabolomic changes in 3D-cultured human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in alginate beads, so as to identify biomarkers during chondrogenesis using (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

Materials And Methods: hMSCs (2×10(6) cells/mL) were seeded into alginate beads, and chondrogenesis was allowed to progress for 15 days. NMR spectra of the chondrogenic hMSCs were obtained at 4, 7, 11, and 15 days using a 14.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of pregabalin in alleviating pain associated with fibromyalgia: using functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy of pregabalin by showing differences in the neuronal activities of fibromyalgia (FM) patients before and after longitudinal treatment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Materials And Methods: In total, 21 female patients with FM and 11 age- and gender-matched healthy controls participated. FM patients underwent fMRI at baseline and following pharmacological therapy with pregabalin to diminish their pain.

Quantitative assessment of subcortical atrophy and iron content in progressive supranuclear palsy and parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy.

It is a matter of debate whether increased brain iron levels are the cause or only the consequence of neurodegenerative process in degenerative parkinsonism. The aim of this study is to characterize disease-related changes in volumes and iron-related R2 values of basal ganglia and thalamus. 13 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 15 with a parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-p), 29 with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 21 age-matched controls underwent 3-Tesla MRI.

Topographical differences of brain iron deposition between progressive supranuclear palsy and parkinsonian variant multiple system atrophy.

Objective: There have been various studies showing increased iron levels in parkinsonian disorders. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate topographical differences of brain iron deposition between progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and the parkinsonian variant of multiple system atrophy (MSA-p) with SWI images.

Methods: A total of 11 patients with PSP, 12 with MSA-p, 15 with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 20 age-matched healthy controls underwent SWI of the brain.

Evaluation of the brain activation induced by functional electrical stimulation and voluntary contraction using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: To observe brain activation induced by functional electrical stimulation, voluntary contraction, and the combination of both using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods: Nineteen healthy young men were enrolled in the study. We employed a typical block design that consisted of three sessions: voluntary contraction only, functional electrical stimulation (FES)-induced wrist extension, and finally simultaneous voluntary and FES-induced movement.