White matter microstructure of superior longitudinal fasciculus II is associated with intelligence and treatment response of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Although the potential role of superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in intellectual deficits and treatment response (TR) in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) has been previously described, little is known about the white-matter (WM) integrity of SLF subcomponents (SLF I, II, III, and arcuate fasciculus) and their particular relationships with the clinical presentations of the illness. This study examined the associations between fractional anisotropy (FA) of SLF subcomponents and intelligence level and 6-month treatment response (TR) of negative symptoms (NS) in patients with SZ. At baseline, 101 patients with SZ and 101 healthy controls (HCs) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Effects of Uric Acid on the Alterations of White Matter Connectivity in Patients with Major Depression.

Objective: Uric acid is a non-enzymatic antioxidant associated with depression. Despite its known protective role in other brain disorders, little is known about its influence on the structural characteristics of brains of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study explored the association between uric acid and characteristics of white matter (WM) in patients with MDD.

Novel hyaluronate-atelocollagen/beta-TCP-hydroxyapatite biphasic scaffold for the repair of osteochondral defects in rabbits.

The authors devised a novel biphasic scaffold combining hyaluronic acid and atelocollagen for the chondral phase and combining hydroxyapatite (HA) and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) for the osseous phase. The biphasic scaffold was fabricated by placing the freeze-dried chondral phase over the HA/beta-TCP scaffold prewetted with hyaluronate/atelocollagen solution. Chondrocytes were isolated in 28 rabbits, expanded, injected inside the chondral phase of the biphasic scaffold, and then cultured in chondrogenic medium.