Influence of natalizumab on resting-state connectivity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Background: Changes in brain connectivity occur in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), even in patients under disease-modifying therapies. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to asses patients treated with disease-modifying therapies, such as natalizumab, can elucidate the mechanisms involved in clinical deterioration in MS.

Objectives: To evaluate differences in resting-state functional connectivity among MS patients treated with natalizumab, MS patients not treated with natalizumab, and controls.

The digiti quinti sign in hemiplegic migraine: An fMRI study.

Background And Purpose: The digiti quinti sign (DQS) consists of a wider angle between the fourth and fifth fingers (ANG) indicative of subtle hemiparesis that has been found interictally in hemiplegic migraine (HM), suggesting a permanent subtle motor dysfunction. The aim of this study was to find a possible cortical origin for the DQS using blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional (f) MRI.

Methods: Eight HM patients and 13 controls entered the cross-sectional study.

Preliminary comparative study of cortical thickness in HIV-infected patients with and without working memory deficit.

Purpose: Changes in cerebral cortical regions occur in HIV-infected patients, even in those with mild neurocognitive disorders. Working memory / attention is one of the most affected cognitive domain in these patients, worsening their quality of life. Our objective was to assess whether cortical thickness differs between HIV-infected patients with and without working memory deficit.

A Deep Learning-based Model for Detecting Abnormalities on Brain MR Images for Triaging: Preliminary Results from a Multisite Experience.

Purpose: To develop a deep learning model for detecting brain abnormalities on MR images.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective study, a deep learning approach using T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images was developed to classify brain MRI findings as "likely normal" or "likely abnormal." A convolutional neural network model was trained on a large, heterogeneous dataset collected from two different continents and covering a broad panel of pathologic conditions, including neoplasms, hemorrhages, infarcts, and others.

Posterior cingulate gyri metabolic alterations in HIV-positive patients with and without memory deficits.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate whether human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with and without clinically significant memory deficits and healthy control participants differ on in vivo hydrogen-1 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) in the posterior cingulate gyri.

Materials And Methods: In total, 21 HIV-positive patients with memory deficit (HIV+wMD) were compared with 15 HIV-positive patients without memory deficit (HIV+wOMD) and 22 sex-, age-, and education-matched control participants. Memory impairments were classified based on the participants' performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

Anterior Insular Resting-State Functional Connectivity is Related to Cognitive Reserve in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Cognitive dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis (MS). The dorsal anterior insula (dAI) is a key hub of the salience network (SN) orchestrating access to critical cognitive brain regions. The aim of this study was to assess whole-brain dAI intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) in people with MS and healthy controls (HC) and test the relationship between cognitive reserve (CR) and dAI iFC in people with MS.

Pain appraisal and quality of life in 108 outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Individual differences in emotional functioning, pain appraisal processing, and perceived social support may play a relevant role in the subjective experience of pain. Due to the paucity of data regarding individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), the present study aimed to examine pain intensity, emotional functioning (psychological distress and alexithymia), pain appraisal (pain beliefs, pain catastrophizing, and pain-related coping strategies) and social support, and their relationships with the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with RA. Data were collected from 108 female patients diagnosed with RA.

The Traumatic Experience of Breast Cancer: Which Factors Can Relate to the Post-traumatic Outcomes?

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is considered a positive outcome of struggling with a traumatic event, distinct, and opposite from negative outcomes, i.e., psychological distress.

Anterior to Midposterior Corpus Callosum Subregions Are Volumetrically Reduced in Male Alcoholics but Only the Anterior Segment Is Associated to Alcohol Use.

Alcohol consumption seems to affect corpus callosum morphometry irrespectively of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis. The present study examined the relationship between corpus callosum (CC) subregion volumes and alcohol use patterns in AUD and non-AUD subjects. Twenty-two male AUD patients and 23 healthy matched non-AUD subjects were recruited from March 2016 to July 2017.

Lower Choline Rate in the Left Prefrontal Cortex Is Associated With Higher Amount of Alcohol Use in Alcohol Use Disorder.

Excessive and long-term alcohol consumption produce metabolic changes, such as of choline, in many brain regions in alcohol use disorder (AUD) and in non-AUD subjects as well. This study examined the association of choline proportion in the prefrontal cortex with pattern of alcohol use in AUD patients. The choline metabolite was acquired through a single voxel Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (H MRS).

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a tool to track mouse neural stem cells in vivo.

Cell transplantation offers a promising approach in many neurological disorders. Neural stem (NS) cells are potential candidates for cell therapy. The ability to track the grafted cells in the host tissue will refine this therapy.

Widespread white matter DTI alterations in mesial temporal sclerosis independent of disease side.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate white matter (WM) integrity in vivo in patients with unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).

Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) findings from patients with left-sided MTS (L-MTS; N = 14) and right-sided MTS (R-MTS; N = 13), all taking antiepileptic medication, were compared with those from gender- and age-matched controls; DTI was performed along 30 noncollinear directions in a 1.5-T scanner.

White-matter integrity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and memory deficits.

Purpose: Cognitive dysfunction is common in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Memory is a commonly affected cognitive domain. Clinically, however, it is difficult to detect memory deficits.

Migraine improvement correlates with posterior cingulate cortical thickness reduction.

Objective The main goal of this study was to correlate migraine improvement, after prophylactic therapy, with cortical thickness changes. Methods Cortical thickness maps were obtained with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 19 patients with migraine before (first scan) and after (second scan) prophylactic treatment, and these were compared with controls using the FreeSurfer MRI tool. Cortical changes were correlated with the headache index (HI).

Default-mode network and deep gray-matter analysis in neuromyelitis optica patients.

Objective: The aim of our study was to detect functional changes in default-mode network of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) patients using resting-state functional magnetic resonance images and the evaluation of subcortical gray-matter structures volumes.

Materials And Methods: NMO patients (n=28) and controls patients (n=19) were enrolled. We used the integrated registration and segmentation tool, part of FMRIB's Software Library (FSL) to segment subcortical structures including the thalamus, caudate nucleus, putamen, hippocampus and amygdalae.