Glutamate concentrations and cognitive deficits in ultra-treatment-resistant schizophrenia: An exploratory and comparative H-MRS study.

Background And Aims: Glutamate plays a crucial role in cognition, learning, and mood regulation, with studies suggesting glutamatergic dysfunction in chronic schizophrenia. This study explored glutamate levels in the occipital cortex (OCC) and cognitive function in ultra-treatment resistant schizophrenia (uTRS) compared to healthy controls.

Methods: Fifteen uTRS participants and 19 healthy controls underwent 3T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) to measure glutamate levels in the OCC.

Glutamatergic neurotransmission in schizophrenia: A systematic review and quantitative synthesis of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies across schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Objective: Studies using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveal substantial inconsistencies in the levels of brain glutamate, glutamine and glutamate + glutamine across schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This systematic review employs qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the patterns and relationships between glutamatergic metabolites, schizophrenia spectrum disorders and brain regions.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using various databases with keywords including glutamate, glutamine, schizophrenia, psychosis and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

A Deep Learning Model to Automate Skeletal Muscle Area Measurement on Computed Tomography Images.

Background: Muscle wasting (Sarcopenia) is associated with poor outcomes in cancer patients. Early identification of sarcopenia can facilitate nutritional and exercise intervention. Cross-sectional skeletal muscle (SM) area at the third lumbar vertebra (L3) slice of a computed tomography (CT) image is increasingly used to assess body composition and calculate SM index (SMI), a validated surrogate marker for sarcopenia in cancer.