The distal femoral epiphysis in forensic age diagnostics: studies on the evaluation of the ossification process by means of T1- and PD/T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.

The age of majority, which corresponds to the age of 18 years in most European countries, plays a crucial role for a large number of legal decisions. Accordingly, an increasing number of requests by authorities to forensic age estimation experts comprise the question of whether the age of 18 years has been reached by an individual. In recent years, novel study data suggested that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the knee might likewise allow for the determination of majority beyond reasonable doubt.

Quantitative Assessment of Breast-Tumor Stiffness Using Shear-Wave Elastography Histograms.

Purpose: Shear-wave elastography (SWE) measures tissue elasticity using ultrasound waves. This study proposes a histogram-based SWE analysis to improve breast malignancy detection. Methods: N = 22/32 (patients/tumors) benign and n = 51/64 malignant breast tumors with histological ground truth.

Microglia Activation in the Midbrain of the Human Neonate: The Effect of Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury.

Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia (PHI) is a major risk factor for the development of neuropsychiatric deficits later in life. We previously reported that after prolonged PHI, the dopaminergic neurons of the human neonate showed a dramatic reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the substantia nigra, without important signs of neuronal degeneration despite the significant reduction in their cell size. Since microglia activation could precede neuronal death, we now investigated 2 microglia activation markers, ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), and the phagocytosis marker Cd68.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal tibial epiphysis is suitable for statements as to the question of majority: a validation study in forensic age diagnostics.

Determining majority plays a key role for forensic age diagnostics in living individuals. Recent data suggest that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the proximal tibial epiphysis (PTE) may be a suitable alternative or at least an additional tool to clarify whether an individual has reached majority. However, the reference data situation is still sparse.

Reliability of a Risk-Factor Questionnaire for Osteoporosis: A Primary Care Survey Study with Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry Ground Truth.

(1) Purpose: Predisposing factors to osteoporosis (OP) as well as dual-source x-ray densitometry (DXA) steer therapeutic decisions by determining the FRAX index. This study examines the reliability of a standard risk factor questionnaire in OP-screening. (2) Methods: = 553 eligible questionnaires encompassed 24 OP-predisposing factors.

Neuronal gamma oscillations and activity-dependent potassium transients remain regular after depletion of microglia in postnatal cortex tissue.

Microglial cells (resident macrophages) feature rapid activation in CNS disease and can acquire multiple phenotypes exerting neuroprotection or neurotoxicity. The functional impact of surveying ("resting") microglia on neural excitability and neurotransmission in physiology is widely unknown, however. We addressed this issue in male rat hippocampal slice cultures (in situ) by pharmacological microglial ablation within days and by characterizing neuronal gamma-band oscillations (30-70 Hz) that are highly sensitive to neuromodulators and disturbances in ion and energy regulation.

The role of gadolinium in magnetic resonance imaging for early prostate cancer diagnosis: A diagnostic accuracy study.

Objective: Prostate lesions detected with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) are classified for their malignant potential according to the Prostate Imaging-Reporting And Data System (PI-RADS™2). In this study, we evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the mpMRI with and without gadolinium, with emphasis on the added diagnostic value of the dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE).

Materials And Methods: The study was retrospective for 286 prostate lesions / 213 eligible patients, n = 116/170, and 49/59% malignant for the peripheral (Pz) and transitional zone (Tz), respectively.

One-Stop Management of 230 Consecutive Acute Stroke Patients: Report of Procedural Times and Clinical Outcome.

Background And Purpose: Rapid thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion leads to improved outcome. Optimizing intrahospital management might diminish treatment delays. To examine if one-stop management reduces intrahospital treatment delays and improves functional outcome of acute stroke patients with large vessel occlusion.

Evaluation of an optimized metal artifact reduction algorithm for flat-detector angiography compared to DSA imaging in follow-up after neurovascular procedures.

Background: Flat detector CT - angiography (FDCTA) has become a valuable imaging tool in post- and peri-interventional imaging after neurovascular procedures. Metal artifacts produced by radiopaque implants like clips or coils still impair image quality.

Methods: FDCTA was performed in periprocedural or follow-up imaging of 21 patients, who had received neurovascular treatment.

Persistent increase in ventral hippocampal long-term potentiation by juvenile stress: A role for astrocytic glutamine synthetase.

A traumatic childhood is among the most important risk factors for developing stress-related psychopathologies such as posttraumatic stress disorder or depression later in life. However, despite the proven role of astrocytes in regulating transmitter release and synaptic plasticity, the contribution of astrocytic transmitter metabolism to such stress-induced psychopathologies is currently not understood. In rodents, childhood adversity can be modeled by juvenile stress exposure, resulting in increased anxiety, and impaired coping with stress in adulthood.

Computer-Aided Detection of Pulmonary Nodules in Computed Tomography Using ClearReadCT.

This study evaluates the accuracy of a computer-aided detection (CAD) application for pulmonary nodular lesions (PNL) in computed tomography (CT) scans, the ClearReadCT (Riverain Technologies). The study was retrospective for 106 biopsied PNLs from 100 patients. Seventy-five scans were Contrast-Enhanced (CECT) and 25 received no enhancer (NECT).

Seizure-induced microvascular injury is associated with impaired neurovascular coupling and blood-brain barrier dysfunction.

Objective: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment, redistribution of pericytes, and disturbances in cerebral blood flow may contribute to the increased seizure propensity and neurological comorbidities associated with epilepsy. However, despite the growing evidence of postictal disturbances in microcirculation, it is not known how recurrent seizures influence pericytic membrane currents and subsequent vasodilation.

Methods: Here, we investigated successive changes in capillary neurovascular coupling and BBB integrity during recurrent seizures induced by 4-aminopyridine or low-Mg conditions.

Astrocytic glutamine synthetase is expressed in the neuronal somatic layers and down-regulated proportionally to neuronal loss in the human epileptic hippocampus.

Human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) features subregion-specific hippocampal neurodegeneration and reactive astrogliosis, including up-regulation of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and down-regulation of glutamine synthetase (GS). However, the regional astrocytic expression pattern of GFAP and GS upon MTLE-associated neurodegeneration still remains elusive. We assessed GFAP and GS expression in strict correlation with the local neuronal number in cortical and hippocampal surgical specimens from 16 MTLE patients using immunohistochemistry, stereology and high-resolution image analysis for digital pathology and whole-slide imaging.

Local oxygen homeostasis during various neuronal network activity states in the mouse hippocampus.

Cortical information processing comprises various activity states emerging from timed synaptic excitation and inhibition. However, the underlying energy metabolism is widely unknown. We determined the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO) along a tissue depth of <0.

Computer aided detection in prostate cancer diagnostics: A promising alternative to biopsy? A retrospective study from 104 lesions with histological ground truth.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis by means of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) is a current challenge for the development of computer-aided detection (CAD) tools. An innovative CAD-software (Watson Elementary™) was proposed to achieve high sensitivity and specificity, as well as to allege a correlate to Gleason grade.

Aim/objective: To assess the performance of Watson Elementary™ in automated PCa diagnosis in our hospital´s database of MRI-guided prostate biopsies.

Computed tomography perfusion-based selection of endovascularly treated acute ischaemic stroke patients - Are there lessons to be learned from the pre-evidence era?

Introduction Some of the latest groundbreaking trials suggest that noncontrast cranial computed tomography and computed tomography-angiography are sufficient tools for patient selection within six hours of symptom onset. Before endovascular stroke therapy became the standard of care, patient selection was one of the most useful tools to avoid futile reperfusions. We report the outcomes of endovascularly treated stroke patients selected with a perfusion-based paradigm and discuss the implications in the current era of endovascular treatment.

Computer-aided Detection Fidelity of Pulmonary Nodules in Chest Radiograph.

Aim: The most ubiquitous chest diagnostic method is the chest radiograph. A common radiographic finding, quite often incidental, is the nodular pulmonary lesion. The detection of small lesions out of complex parenchymal structure is a daily clinical challenge.

Latest generation of flat detector CT as a peri-interventional diagnostic tool: a comparative study with multidetector CT.

Background And Purpose: Flat detector CT (FDCT) has been used as a peri-interventional diagnostic tool in numerous studies with mixed results regarding image quality and detection of intracranial lesions. We compared the diagnostic aspects of the latest generation FDCT with standard multidetector CT (MDCT).

Materials And Methods: 102 patients were included in our retrospective study.

Amyloid Precursor Protein Protects Neuronal Network Function after Hypoxia via Control of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channels.

Unlabelled: Acute cerebral ischemia and chronic neurovascular diseases share various common mechanisms with neurodegenerative diseases, such as disturbed cellular calcium and energy homeostasis and accumulation of toxic metabolites. A link between these conditions may be constituted by amyloid precursor protein (APP), which plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, but has also been associated with the response to acute hypoxia and regulation of calcium homeostasis. We therefore studied hypoxia-induced loss of function and recovery upon reoxygenation in hippocampal slices of mice lacking APP (APP(-/-)) or selectively expressing its soluble extracellular domain (APPsα-KI).

Brain Endothelial- and Epithelial-Specific Interferon Receptor Chain 1 Drives Virus-Induced Sickness Behavior and Cognitive Impairment.

Sickness behavior and cognitive dysfunction occur frequently by unknown mechanisms in virus-infected individuals with malignancies treated with type I interferons (IFNs) and in patients with autoimmune disorders. We found that during sickness behavior, single-stranded RNA viruses, double-stranded RNA ligands, and IFNs shared pathways involving engagement of melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), retinoic acid-inducible gene 1 (RIG-I), and mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), and subsequently induced IFN responses specifically in brain endothelia and epithelia of mice. Behavioral alterations were specifically dependent on brain endothelial and epithelial IFN receptor chain 1 (IFNAR).

Shifts in excitatory/inhibitory balance by juvenile stress: A role for neuron-astrocyte interaction in the dentate gyrus.

Childhood trauma is a well-described risk factor for the development of stress-related psychopathology such as posttraumatic stress disorder or depression later in life. Childhood adversity can be modeled in rodents by juvenile stress (JS) protocols, resulting in impaired coping with stressful challenges in adulthood. In the current study, we investigated the long-lasting impact of JS on the expression of molecular factors for glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) uptake and turnover in sublayers of the dentate gyrus (DG) using laser microdissection and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.

TLR4-activated microglia require IFN-γ to induce severe neuronal dysfunction and death in situ.

Microglia (tissue-resident macrophages) represent the main cell type of the innate immune system in the CNS; however, the mechanisms that control the activation of microglia are widely unknown. We systematically explored microglial activation and functional microglia-neuron interactions in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, i.e.

A reliable model for gamma oscillations in hippocampal tissue.

Gamma oscillations (30-100 Hz) reflect a fast brain rhythm that provides a fundamental mechanism of complex neuronal information processing in the hippocampus and in the neocortex in vivo. Gamma oscillations have been implicated in higher brain functions, such as sensory perception, motor activity, and memory formation. Experimental studies on synaptic transmission and bioenergetics underlying gamma oscillations have primarily used acute slices of the hippocampus.

Energy substrates that fuel fast neuronal network oscillations.

Fast neuronal network oscillations in the gamma-frequency band (30--100 Hz) provide a fundamental mechanism of complex neuronal information processing in the hippocampus and neocortex of mammals. Gamma oscillations have been implicated in higher brain functions such as sensory perception, motor activity, and memory formation. The oscillations emerge from precise synapse interactions between excitatory principal neurons such as pyramidal cells and inhibitory GABAergic interneurons, and they are associated with high energy expenditure.

Highly energized inhibitory interneurons are a central element for information processing in cortical networks.

Gamma oscillations (∼30 to 100 Hz) provide a fundamental mechanism of information processing during sensory perception, motor behavior, and memory formation by coordination of neuronal activity in networks of the hippocampus and neocortex. We review the cellular mechanisms of gamma oscillations about the underlying neuroenergetics, i.e.