Freezing of gait (FOG) is a disabling motor symptom prevalent in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD); however, its pathophysiological mechanisms are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) pattern alterations in PD patients with FOG. A total of 18 PD patients, 10 with FOG (PD-FOG) and 8 without FOG (PD-nFOG), and 10 healthy controls were enrolled.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Using pediatric anthropomorphic phantoms (APs), we aimed to determine the scanning tube voltage/current combinations that could achieve optimal image quality and avoid excessive radiation exposure in pediatric patients.
Materials And Methods: A 64-slice scanner was used to scan a standard test phantom to determine the volume CT dose indices (CTDIvol), and three pediatric anthropomorphic phantoms (APs) with highly accurate anatomy and tissue-equivalent materials were studied. These specialized APs represented the average 1-year-old, 5-year-old, and 10-year-old children, respectively.
Background: Delayed neuropsychiatric syndrome (DNS) is characterized by motor dysfunction after acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. We examined the relationship between dopamine transporter (DAT) loss using kit-based Tc-99m-TRODAT-1 (DAT single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) radioligand) and globus pallidus necrosis on MRI, DAT availability before and after hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), and feasibility of Tc-99m-TRODAT-1 as an index for parkinsonian syndrome in CO poisoning. Methods: Twenty-one CO-intoxicated patients (mean ± SD age, 38.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) tractography has been widely used in brain tumor surgery to ensure thorough resection and minimize functional damage. However, due to enhanced anisotropic uncertainty in the area with peritumoral edema, diffusion tractography is generally not practicable leading to high false-negative results in neural tracking. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of the neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) derived tractography for investigating structural heterogeneity of the brain in patients with brain tumor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been employed for over 2 decades to noninvasively quantify central nervous system diseases/injuries. However, DTI is an inadequate simplification of diffusion modeling in the presence of coexisting inflammation, edema and crossing nerve fibers. We employed a tissue phantom using fixed mouse trigeminal nerves coated with various amounts of agarose gel to mimic crossing fibers in the presence of vasogenic edema.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: While insomnia and migraine are often comorbid, the shared and distinct neuroanatomical substrates underlying these disorders and the brain structures associated with the comorbidity are unknown. We aimed to identify patterns of neuroanatomical substrate alterations associated with migraine and insomnia comorbidity.
Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired from subjects with insomnia, migraine, and comorbid migraine and insomnia, respectively, and healthy controls (HC).
This study introduces expanded application of the endoscopic transcanal approach with anterior petrosectomy (ETAP) in reaching the petroclival region, which was compared through a quantitative analysis to the middle fossa transpetrosal-transtentorial approach (Kawase approach). Anatomical dissections were performed in five cadaveric heads. For each head, the ETAP was performed on one side with a detailed description of each step, while the Kawase approach was performed on the contralateral side.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the relationship between time to peak enhancement (TPE) of malignant hypervascular hepatic tumors and that of the aorta.
Method: Sixty patients with malignant hypervascular hepatic tumors (48 with hepatocellular carcinoma and 12 with metastatic neuroendocrine tumor) who received abdominal MRI with test bolus sequence between January 2015 and May 2019 were enrolled. The test bolus images were monitored every 3 s after the injection of 2 mL gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) and 10 mL saline flush, to evaluate the TPE of the tumors and aorta.
Sertraline is one of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by spontaneous thoughts that are laden with negative affect-a "malignant sadness". Prior neuroimaging studies have identified abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the spontaneous brain networks of MDD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Clin Transl Neurol
January 2019
Objectives: Migraine and restless legs syndrome (RLS) are often comorbid and share elements of pathology; however, their neuroanatomical underpinnings are poorly understood. This study aimed to identify patterns of gray matter volume (GMV) alteration specific to and common among patients with RLS, migraine, and comorbid migraine and RLS.
Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired from 116 subjects: 27 RLS patients, 22 migraine patients, 22 patients with comorbid migraine and RLS, and 45 healthy controls.
A ruptured cavernous carotid aneurysm (CCA) with carotid cavernous fistula can appear as a benign headache but progress to a swollen and bloodshot eye overnight. A 66-year-old woman visited emergency department with sudden onset of pain behind her left forehead and vomiting. She was treated for a migraine-like headache and discharged.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To compare diffusion tensor (DT)-derived indices from the thalamic nuclei and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamic parameters for the prediction of gait responsiveness to the CSF tap test in early iNPH patients.
Methods: In this study, 22 patients with iNPH and 16 normal controls were enrolled with the approval of an institutional review board. DT imaging and phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging were performed in patients and controls to determine DT-related indices of the sensorimotor-related thalamic nuclei and CSF hydrodynamics.
Background: Migraine is frequently comorbid with restless legs syndrome (RLS), both displaying functional connectivity (FC) alterations in multiple brain networks, although the neurological basis of this association is unknown.
Methods: We performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and network-wise analysis of FC in migraine patients with and without RLS and healthy controls (CRL). Network-based statistics (NBS) and composite FC matrix analyses were performed to identify the patterns of FC changes.
Purpose: To present a case of orbital cellulitis initially mimicking giant cell arteritis.
Case Report: An 80-year-old man with a history of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus was referred with a prominent progressive headache over the right temporal and periorbital areas. Non-contrast brain CT results were normal, but ESR was elevated.
Evaluation of acute white matter injuries caused by carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can be limited by conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. We aim to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) for early detection of white matter alterations in patients with acute CO intoxication.A total of 30 subjects including 15 acute CO patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we aimed to investigate the reactive changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived diffusion metrics of the anterior thalamic nucleus (AN), a relaying center for the Papez circuit, in early idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients with memory impairment, as well as its correlation with the patients' neuropsychological performances. In total, 28 probable iNPH patients with symptom onset within 1 year and 17 control subjects were prospectively recruited between 2010 and 2013 for this institutional review board-approved study. Imaging studies including DTI and a neuropsychological assessment battery were performed in all subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSortilin receptor 1 (SORL1) is involved in cellular trafficking of amyloid precursor protein and plays an essential role in amyloid-beta peptide generation in Alzheimer disease (AD). The major A allele in a SORL1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs3824968, is associated with an increased AD risk. However, the role of SORL1 rs3824968 in the normal ageing process has rarely been examined in relation to brain structural morphology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicine (Baltimore)
December 2015
Calcification of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is uncommon in the healthy elderly. Whether calcification of the MCA is associated with cerebral ischemic stroke remains undetermined. We intended to investigate the association using Agatston calcium scoring of the MCA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To present a rare case of recurrent ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) with systemic embolic events.
Case Report: A 60-year-old woman with a history of OCCC presented with an acute ischemic stroke. Magnetic resonance imaging showed multifocal, bilateral infarctions over the cerebrum and cerebellum.
Medicine (Baltimore)
September 2015
Cyclophilin A (CyPA), an oxidative stress-induced factor, was found to play an important role in the aneurysm formation. Our working hypothesis was that the plasma level of CyPA in ruptured intracranial aneurysm could predict the neurological outcome. From 2011 to 2013, a total of 36 patients with ruptured saccular intracranial aneurysm were recruited in our study.
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