Automated segmentation of deep brain structures from Inversion-Recovery MRI.

Methods for the automated segmentation of brain structures are a major subject of medical research. The small structures of the deep brain have received scant attention, notably for lack of manual delineations by medical experts. In this study, we assessed an automated segmentation of a novel clinical dataset containing White Matter Attenuated Inversion-Recovery (WAIR) MRI images and five manually segmented structures (substantia nigra (SN), subthalamic nucleus (STN), red nucleus (RN), mammillary body (MB) and mammillothalamic fascicle (MT-fa)) in 53 patients with severe Parkinson's disease.

Changes in Descending Pain Modulation During Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy: A Prospective Study in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis.

Objective: In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA), managing persistent pain remains challenging. Little is known regarding impaired pain pathways in these patients and the impact of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). The objective of the Rheumatism Pain Inhibitory Descending Pathways study was to assess pain thresholds and descending pain modulation in patients with active RA or SpA following introduction of a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi).

Prolonged use of chlormadinone acetate and risk of intracranial meningioma: A population-based cohort study.

Background And Purpose: Chlormadinone acetate (CMA) is a synthetic progestin for which cases of intracranial meningioma have been reported following prolonged exposure.

Method: An observational cohort study was conducted based on the French national health data system. Women aged 10-70 years and who started CMA between 2007 and 2017 were included.

Brain color-coded diffusion imaging: Utility of ACPC reorientation of gradients in healthy subjects and patients.

Background And Objective: The common structural interpretation of diffusion color-encoded (DCE) maps assumes that the brain is aligned with the gradients of the MRI machine. This is seldom achieved in the field, leading to incorrect red (R), green (G) and blue (B) DCE values for the expected orientation of fiber bundles. We studied the virtual reorientation of gradients according to the anterior commissure - posterior commissure (ACPC) system on the RGB derivatives.

Prolonged use of nomegestrol acetate and risk of intracranial meningioma: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Nomegestrol acetate (NOMAC) is a synthetic potent progestogen. This study aimed to assess the risk of intracranial meningioma associated with the prolonged use of NOMAC.

Methods: Observational cohort study using SNDS data (France).

Probabilistic stimulation mapping from intra-operative thalamic deep brain stimulation data in essential tremor.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET). The mechanism of action of DBS is still incompletely understood. Retrospective group analysis of intra-operative data recorded from ET patients implanted in the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (Vim) is rare.

Metrological performances of the global chronic morbidity indicator of the Minimum European Health Module and implications for chronic disease prevalence and socioeconomic gradient estimations.

Background: Although the global chronic morbidity indicator (GCMI) of the Minimum European Health Module (MEHM) was not specifically designed to monitor chronic disease in the population, it is increasingly used for this purpose in Europe and elsewhere. However, its metrological characteristics have seldom been examined, with various sensitivity issues being raised. The present study investigated the metrological performances of the GCMI and analyzed its implications in terms of prevalence and demographic and socioeconomic gradients of chronic conditions in the population.

Equating and linking Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29-item questionnaire and 36-item Short-Form Health Survey domains using Rasch modeling.

Objectives: To develop a simple, practical methodology to equate or link equivalent domains of the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29-item questionnaire (PROMIS-29) using the Rasch framework.

Study Design And Setting: In April 2016, the PROMIS-29 and SF-36 were completed by 1501 individuals selected to be representative of the French population. For each domain common to the two questionnaires, a Partial Credit Model was fitted to the items related to that dimension in the two questionnaires.

Multimorbidity and frailty are associated with poorer SARS-CoV-2-related outcomes: systematic review of population-based studies.

Background: Estimating the risks and impacts of COVID-19 for different health groups at the population level is essential for orienting public health measures. Adopting a population-based approach, we conducted a systematic review to explore: (1) the etiological role of multimorbidity and frailty in developing SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-related short-term outcomes; and (2) the prognostic role of multimorbidity and frailty in developing short- and long-term outcomes. This review presents the state of the evidence in the early years of the pandemic.

Complex association between post-COVID-19 condition and anxiety and depression symptoms.

Background: To assess the associations between anxiety and depressive symptoms and post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) by exploring the direction of these associations and their relevance in the definition of PCC.

Methods: Nationwide survey among French adults, recruited between March and April, 2022, using a quota method to capture a representative sample of the general population with regard to sex, age, socioeconomic status, size of the place of residence, and region. We included all participants who met the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of PCC in addition to a random sample of participants infected with SARS-COV-2 for at least 3 months but without PCC.

Prevalence, demographic and spatial distribution of treated epilepsy in France in 2020: a study based on the French national health data system.

Background: Although still incomplete, the epidemiology of epilepsy shows substantial variations in the burden of the condition according to demographic, social and territorial characteristics. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of treated epilepsy and to investigate its demographic and spatial distribution in 2020 in France, a country where the nationwide epidemiological situation of the condition remains largely unknown.

Methods: We used the French national health data system, which covers nearly the entire population residing in France (over 67 million of inhabitants in metropolitan and overseas departments).

Dimensionality and invariance of ADL, IADL, BI-M2/WG-SS, and GALI in large surveys in France (2008-2014) and implications for measuring disability in epidemiology.

Background: The epidemiological investigation and surveillance of disability requires well-constructed, invariant, and, if possible, exchangeable measures. However, the current or recommended measures have not been thoroughly investigated with respect to these issues. Here we examined the dimensional structure and invariance of four measures across sociodemographic groups: Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Budapest Initiative Mark 2 (BI-M2) and Washington Group on Disability Statistics Short Set (WG-SS), and Global Activity Limitation Indicator (GALI).

Dyspnea-induced Limitation (DYSLIM), a new self-administered concise questionnaire to evaluate dyspnea-related activity limitation in chronic respiratory diseases.

Background And Aim: Few questionnaires are available for routine assessment of dyspnea. The study aimed to design a self-administered questionnaire assessing the impact of chronic dyspnea on daily activities, named DYSLIM (Dyspnea-induced Limitation).

Methods: The development followed 4 steps: 1: selection of relevant activities and related questions (focus groups); 2: clinical study: internal and concurrent validity vs.

Positive Correlation Between 18 F-FDG Uptake and Tumor-Proliferating Antigen Ki-67 Expression in Adrenocortical Carcinomas.

Purpose Of The Report: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an extremely rare endocrine malignancy, which cannot always be diagnosed during conventional radiology and hormonal investigations. 18 F-FDG PET could help predict malignancy, but more data are necessary to support future guidelines.

Methods: A cohort of 63 patients with histologically proven ACC (n = 55) or metastatic ACC with steroid oversecretion (n = 8) was assembled.

Impact of the First COVID-19 Pandemic Wave on Hospitalizations and Deaths Caused by Geriatric Syndromes in France: A Nationwide Study.

Background: The fear of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the preventive measures taken during the health crisis affected both people's lifestyles and the health system. This nationwide study aimed to investigate the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalizations and mortality related to geriatric syndromes (GS) in older adults in France.

Methods: The French National Health Data System was used to compare hospital admissions (excluding the main diagnosis of COVID-19) and mortality rates (using multiple-cause and initial-cause analyses, and both including or excluding confirmed/probable COVID-19) related to 10 different GS (dementia, other cognitive disorders and symptoms, delirium/disorientation, depression, undernutrition/malnutrition, dehydration, pressure ulcer, incontinence, fall/injury and femoral neck fracture) from January to September 2020 to rates observed in previous years.