Vulnerability of Thalamic Nuclei at CSF Interface During the Entire Course of Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Objectives: Thalamic atrophy can be used as a proxy for neurodegeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS). Some data point toward thalamic nuclei that could be affected more than others. However, the dynamic of their changes during MS evolution and the mechanisms driving their differential alterations are still uncertain.

Quantitative MRI Biomarkers Measure Changes in Targeted Brain Areas in Patients With Obesity.

Context: Obesity is accompanied by damages to several tissues, including the brain. Pathological data and animal models have demonstrated an increased inflammatory reaction in hypothalamus and hippocampus.

Objective: We tested whether we could observe such pathological modifications in vivo through quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) metrics.

Etiologic and prognostic value of external carotid artery thrombus detection during endovascular therapy for anterior circulation proximal occlusions.

Background And Purpose: An early understanding of stroke mechanism may improve treatment and outcome in patients presenting with large vessel occlusion stroke (LVOS) treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT). We aimed to investigate whether spontaneous external carotid artery (ECA) embolism detection during MT is associated with stroke etiology and clinical outcome.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our prospectively maintained institutional database including consecutive patients with anterior circulation LVOS treated with MT between January 2015 and August 2020.

Location-weighted versus Volume-weighted Mismatch at MRI for Response to Mechanical Thrombectomy in Acute Stroke.

Background A target mismatch profile can identify good clinical response to recanalization after acute ischemic stroke, but does not consider region specificities. Purpose To test whether location-weighted infarction core and mismatch, determined from diffusion and perfusion MRI performed in patients with acute stroke, could improve prediction of good clinical response to mechanical thrombectomy compared with a target mismatch profile. Materials and Methods In this secondary analysis, two prospectively collected independent stroke data sets (2012-2015 and 2017-2019) were analyzed.

Differential vulnerability of thalamic nuclei in multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: Investigating differential vulnerability of thalamic nuclei in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: In a secondary analysis of prospectively collected datasets, we pooled 136 patients with MS or clinically isolated syndrome and 71 healthy controls all scanned with conventional 3D-T1 and white-matter-nulled magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (WMn-MPRAGE) and tested for cognitive performance. T1-based thalamic segmentation was compared with the reference WMn-MPRAGE method.

Validation of a Denoising Method Using Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction to Quantify Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Load on Fast FLAIR Imaging.

Background And Purpose: Accurate quantification of WM lesion load is essential for the care of patients with multiple sclerosis. We tested whether the combination of accelerated 3D-FLAIR and denoising using deep learning-based reconstruction could provide a relevant strategy while shortening the imaging examination.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight patients with multiple sclerosis were prospectively examined using 4 implementations of 3D-FLAIR with decreasing scan times (4 minutes 54 seconds, 2 minutes 35 seconds, 1 minute 40 seconds, and 1 minute 15 seconds).

Microstructural Gray Matter Integrity Deteriorates After an Ischemic Stroke and Is Associated with Processing Speed.

Microstructural changes after an ischemic stroke (IS) have mainly been described in white matter. Data evaluating microstructural changes in gray matter (GM) remain scarce. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the integrity of GM on longitudinal data using mean diffusivity (MD), and its influence on post-IS cognitive performances.

Normal-Appearing White Matter Deteriorates over the Year After an Ischemic Stroke and Is Associated with Global Cognition.

Normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) is a hub of plasticity, but data relating to its influence on post-ischemic stroke (IS) outcome remain scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between NAWM integrity and cognitive outcome after an IS. A longitudinal study was conducted including supra-tentorial IS patients.

Visualization of the saccule and utricle with non-contrast-enhanced FLAIR sequences.

Objectives: 3D-fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) collected 4 h after intravenous gadolinium injection can delineate the perilymphatic space (PLS) from the endolymphatic space (ELS) to capture endolymphatic hydrops, the pathological counterpart of Ménière's disease. We aimed to optimize visualization of such inner ear internal anatomy using 3D-FLAIR without injection.

Methods: 3D-FLAIR signal from different fluid compartments such as PLS and ELS was first simulated.

Severity of Small Vessel Disease Biomarkers Reduces the Magnitude of Cognitive Recovery after Ischemic Stroke.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of radiological biomarkers suggestive of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) on the evolution of cognitive performances after an ischemic stroke (IS).

Methods: We studied patients with a supratentorial IS recruited consecutively to a prospective monocentric longitudinal study. A cognitive assessment was performed at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year and was based on a Montreal Cognitive Assessment, an Isaacs set test of verbal fluency (IST), and a Zazzo's cancellation task (ZCT) for the evaluation of attentional functions and processing speed.

Delayed Gadolinium Leakage in Ocular Structures: A Potential Marker for Age- and Vascular Risk Factor-Related Small Vessel Disease?

Background: Gadolinium leakage in ocular structures (GLOS) was recently observed in fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images obtained the day after an initial gadolinium injection in stroke patients. The specificity of GLOS to stroke and its mechanisms remain unclear.

Objective: We investigated the factors associated with GLOS in a cohort of patients presenting with acute neurological deficits.

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease MRI Features Do Not Improve the Prediction of Stroke Outcome.

Objective: To determine whether the total small vessel disease (SVD) score adds information to the prediction of stroke outcome compared to validated predictors, we tested different predictive models of outcome in patients with stroke.

Methods: White matter hyperintensity, lacunes, perivascular spaces, microbleeds, and atrophy were quantified in 2 prospective datasets of 428 and 197 patients with first-ever stroke, using MRI collected 24 to 72 hours after stroke onset. Functional, cognitive, and psychological status were assessed at the 3- to 6-month follow-up.

Higher b-values improve the correlation between diffusion MRI and the cortical microarchitecture.

Purpose: In diffusion MRI (dMRI), it remains unclear to know how much increase of b-value is conveying additional biological meaning. We tested the correlations between cortical microarchitecture and diffusion metrics computed from standard (1000 s/mm), high (3000 s/mm), to very high (5000 s/mm) b-value dMRI.

Methods: Healthy volunteers were scanned with a dMRI pulse sequence that was first optimized together with a T1-WI and T2-WI.

New OFSEP recommendations for MRI assessment of multiple sclerosis patients: Special consideration for gadolinium deposition and frequent acquisitions.

Purpose: New multiple sclerosis (MS) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), which exert beneficial effects through prevention of relapse, limitation of disability progression, and improvement of patients' quality of life, have recently emerged. Nonetheless, these DMTs are not without associated complications (severe adverse events like. progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy).

Normal-Appearing White Matter Integrity Is a Predictor of Outcome After Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose- The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) integrity and postischemic stroke recovery in 4 main domains including cognition, mood, gait, and dependency. Methods- A prospective study was conducted, including patients diagnosed for an ischemic supratentorial stroke on a 3T brain MRI performed 24 to 72 hours after symptom onset. Clinical assessment 1 year after stroke included a Montreal Cognitive Assessment, an Isaacs set test, a Zazzo cancelation task, a Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, a 10-meter walking test, and a modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

Active learning strategy and hybrid training for infarct segmentation on diffusion MRI with a U-shaped network.

Automatic and reliable stroke lesion segmentation from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is critical for patient care. Methods using neural networks have been developed, but the rate of false positives limits their use in clinical practice. A training strategy applied to three-dimensional deconvolutional neural networks for stroke lesion segmentation on diffusion MRI was proposed.

Chronic Cortical Cerebral Microinfarcts Slow Down Cognitive Recovery After Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background and Purpose- Cortical cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs) have been associated with vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of cortical CMI detected on 3T magnetic resonance imaging, on the evolution of cognition during the year following an acute ischemic stroke. Methods- We conducted a prospective and monocentric study, including patients diagnosed for a supratentorial ischemic stroke with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥1, without prestroke dementia or neurological disability.

The sustainable impact of an educational approach to improve the appropriateness of laboratory test orders in the ICU.

Introduction: Few studies described strategies to improve the use of diagnostic tests in intensive care units (ICU). No study assessed whether their impact was sustained or not. In this study, we assessed whether a multi-faceted intervention for more appropriate use of laboratory testing can decrease the number of tests, is sustainable, is not associated with additional morbidity and represents a potential cost saving.

Neurodegeneration of the Substantia Nigra after Ipsilateral Infarct: MRI R2* Mapping and Relationship to Clinical Outcome.

Background The substantia nigra (SN) is suspected to be affected after remote infarction, in view of its large array of connections with the supratentorial brain. Whether secondary involvement of SN worsens overall clinical outcome after a supratentorial stroke has not previously been studied. Purpose To assess longitudinal changes in SN R2* by using MRI in the setting of ipsilesional supratentorial infarct and the relationship of SN signal change to clinical outcome.

White-matter-nulled MPRAGE at 7T reveals thalamic lesions and atrophy of specific thalamic nuclei in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Investigating the degeneration of specific thalamic nuclei in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains challenging.

Methods: White-matter-nulled (WMn) MPRAGE, MP-FLAIR, and standard T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed on MS patients ( = 15) and matched controls ( = 12). Thalamic lesions were counted in individual sequences and lesion contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was measured.

The Influence of Stroke Location on Cognitive and Mood Impairment. A Voxel-Based Lesion-Symptom Mapping Study.

Background And Purpose: The role of stroke location as a determinant of mood and cognitive symptoms is still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to identify the predictive value of ischemic stroke location, on a voxel basis, for mood and cognitive outcome.

Materials And Methods: A prospective monocentric study including patients with a supratentorial ischemic stroke was conducted.

Assessment of Translocator Protein Density, as Marker of Neuroinflammation, in Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot, Multicenter, Comparative, Controlled, Brain PET Study (INFLADEP Study).

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious public health problem with high lifetime prevalence (4.4-20%) in the general population. The monoamine hypothesis is the most widespread etiological theory of MDD.

Diagnostic value of 3DFLAIR in clinical practice for the detection of infratentorial lesions in multiple sclerosis in regard to dual echo T2 sequences.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this prospective study is to investigate and evaluate in clinical practice the diagnostic impact of 3DFLAIR in regards to 2DT2/PD in terms of infratentorial lesions detection in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Material And Methods: 164 MS patients from the OFSEP database were reviewed retrospectively. MR examinations were performed on 1.

Deciphering the microstructure of hippocampal subfields with in vivo DTI and NODDI: Applications to experimental multiple sclerosis.

The hippocampus contains distinct populations of neurons organized into separate anatomical subfields and layers with differential vulnerability to pathological mechanisms. The ability of in vivo neuroimaging to pinpoint regional vulnerability is especially important for better understanding of hippocampal pathology at the early stage of neurodegenerative disorders and for monitoring future therapeutic strategies. This is the case for instance in multiple sclerosis whose neurodegenerative component can affect the hippocampus from the early stage.