Exploring Multi-Pathology Brain Segmentation: From Volume-Based to Component-Based Deep Learning Analysis.

Detection and segmentation of brain abnormalities using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an important task that, nowadays, the role of AI algorithms as supporting tools is well established both at the research and clinical-production level. While the performance of the state-of-the-art models is increasing, reaching radiologists and other experts' accuracy levels in many cases, there is still a lot of research needed on the direction of in-depth and transparent evaluation of the correct results and failures, especially in relation to important aspects of the radiological practice: abnormality position, intensity level, and volume. In this work, we focus on the analysis of the segmentation results of a pre-trained U-net model trained and validated on brain MRI examinations containing four different pathologies: Tumors, Strokes, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and White Matter Hyperintensities (WMH).

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques for Post-Treatment Evaluation After External Beam Radiation Therapy of Prostate Cancer: Narrative Review.

: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of advanced techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). : A comprehensive literature review was conducted to evaluate the role of MRI in detecting BCR of PCa patients after external beam radiation therapy. : National guidelines do not recommend imaging techniques in clinical follow-up PCa.

Evaluating Brain Tumor Detection with Deep Learning Convolutional Neural Networks Across Multiple MRI Modalities.

Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors represent a significant public health concern due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has emerged as a critical non-invasive modality for the detection, diagnosis, and management of brain tumors, offering high-resolution visualization of anatomical structures. Recent advancements in deep learning, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs), have shown potential in augmenting MRI-based diagnostic accuracy for brain tumor detection.

Predictive Markers of Post-Stroke Cognitive Recovery and Depression in Ischemic Stroke Patients: A 6-Month Longitudinal Study.

The growing number of stroke survivors face physical, cognitive, and psychosocial impairments, making stroke a significant contributor to global disability. Various factors have been identified as key predictors of post-stroke outcomes. The aim of this study was to develop a standardized predictive model that integrates various demographic and clinical factors to better predict post-stroke cognitive recovery and depression in patients with ischemic stroke (IS).

Mediterranean diet and brain functional connectivity in a population without dementia.

Introduction: Adjustable lifestyle factors, such as diet, are associated with cognitive functions, structural and functional brain measures, but the association between the functional connectivity (FC) and the Mediterranean Diet (Medicine) in population without dementia is yet to be explored.

Methods: The association between MeDi and brain FC in 105 individuals without dementia aged 63 (SD ± 8.72) years old who underwent brain MRI including resting-state (rs) functional MRI (fMRI) was examined.

MR Imaging of Hemosiderin Deposition in the Ankle Joints of Patients with Haemophilia: The Contribution of a Multi-Echo Gradient-Echo Sequence-Correlation with Osteochondral Changes and the Number and Chronicity of Joint Bleeds.

We aim (a) to introduce an easy-to-perform multi-echo gradient-echo sequence (mGRE) for the detection of hemosiderin deposition in the ankle joints of boys with haemophilia (b) to explore the associations between the presence and severity of hemosiderin deposition and the other components of haemophilic arthropathy, the clinical score, and the number and chronicity of joint bleeds. An MRI of 41 ankle joints of 21 haemophilic boys was performed on a 3 T MRI system using an mGRE sequence in addition to the conventional protocol. Conventional MRI and mGRE were separately and independently assessed by three readers, namely, two musculoskeletal radiologists and a general radiologist for joint hemosiderin.

Objective Sleep Function is Associated with Hippocampal Subfield Volumes in Community-Dwelling Adults.

Background: Sleep patterns often shift as people age, a phenomenon frequently associated with the onset of neurodegenerative conditions. Additionally, distinct alterations occur in brain structure as individuals grow older, particularly within the hippocampus, a region known for its role in cognition and sleep regulation. Yet, how exactly do changes in sleep relate to specific subfields within the hippocampus is still unclear.

The Association between Individual Food Groups, Limbic System White Matter Tracts, and Episodic Memory: Initial Data from the Aiginition Longitudinal Biomarker Investigation of Neurodegeneration (ALBION) Study.

(1) Background: Many studies link food intake with clinical cognitive outcomes, but evidence for brain biomarkers, such as memory-related limbic white matter (WM) tracts, is limited. We examined the association between food groups, limbic WM tracts integrity, and memory performance in community-dwelling individuals. (2) Methods: We included 117 non-demented individuals (ALBION study).

Left ventricular structural integrity on tetralogy of Fallot patients: approach using longitudinal relaxation time mapping.

Purpose: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is a congenital heart disease, and patients undergo surgical repair early in their lives. The evaluation of TOF patients is continuous through their adulthood. The use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is vital for the evaluation of TOF patients.

A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study on Polarity Subphenotypes in Bipolar Disorder.

Although magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has provided in vivo measurements of brain chemical profiles in bipolar disorder (BD), there are no data on clinically and therapeutically important onset polarity (OP) and predominant polarity (PP). We conducted a proton MRS study in BD polarity subphenotypes, focusing on emotion regulation brain regions. Forty-one euthymic BD patients stratified according to OP and PP and sixteen healthy controls (HC) were compared.

A Comprehensive Review on the Role of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Predicting Post-Stroke Motor and Sensory Outcomes.

Stroke is a major leading cause of chronic disability, often affecting patients' motor and sensory functions. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the most commonly used method of functional neuroimaging, and it allows for the non-invasive study of brain activity. The time-dependent coactivation of different brain regions at rest is described as resting-state activation.

Brain multi-contrast, multi-atlas segmentation of diffusion tensor imaging and ensemble learning automatically diagnose late-life depression.

We investigated the potential of machine learning for diagnostic classification in late-life major depression based on an advanced whole brain white matter segmentation framework. Twenty-six late-life depression and 12 never depressed individuals aged > 55 years, matched for age, MMSE, and education underwent brain diffusion tensor imaging and a multi-contrast, multi-atlas segmentation in MRIcloud. Fractional anisotropy volume, mean fractional anisotropy, trace, axial and radial diffusivity (RD) extracted from 146 white matter parcels for each subject were used to train and test the AdaBoost classifier using stratified 12-fold cross validation.

Early metabolic alterations in the normal‑appearing grey and white matter of patients with clinically isolated syndrome suggestive of multiple sclerosis: A proton MR spectroscopic study.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) is an advanced method of examining metabolic profiles. The present study aimed to assess metabolite levels in areas of normal-appearing grey (thalamus) and white matter (centrum semiovale) using H-MRS in patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) suggestive of multiple sclerosis and compare them to healthy controls (HCs). Data from 35 patients with CIS (CIS group), of which 23 were untreated (CIS-untreated group) and 12 were treated (CIS-treated group) with disease-modifying-therapies (DMTs) at the time of H-MRS, and from 28 age- and sex-matched HCs were collected using a 3.

Hippocampal Metabolic Alterations in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study.

Background: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been overwhelmingly applied to motor regions to date and our understanding of frontotemporal metabolic signatures is relatively limited. The association between metabolic alterations and cognitive performance in also poorly characterised.

Material And Methods: In a multimodal, prospective pilot study, the structural, metabolic, and diffusivity profile of the hippocampus was systematically evaluated in patients with ALS.

Predominant polarity as a neurobiological specifier in bipolar disorder: Evidence from a multimodal neuroimaging study.

Background: While predominant (PP) and onset polarity (OP) have considerable clinical and treatment implications in bipolar disorder (BD), the neurobiological underpinnings of PP and OP from a radiological perspective remain largely unknown. The main objective of this study is to investigate the neuroanatomical profile of polarity subphenotypes (PP and OP) in euthymic BD patients, using a standardized multimodal neuroimaging protocol to evaluate regional gray matter (GM) volumes, cortical thickness, as well as white matter (WM) integrity of major projection, commissural and association tracts.

Methods: Forty-two euthymic BD patients stratified for PP and OP and 42 healthy controls (HC) were included in this computational neuroimaging study to comprehensively characterize gray and white matter alterations.

Hippocampal subfield volumetry in corticobasal syndrome of diverse underlying pathologies.

Introduction: Multiple pathologies may underlie corticobasal syndrome (CBS), including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Typical amnestic AD is characterized by early selective hippocampal atrophy. The profile of hippocampal atrophy in AD patients presenting as CBS (CBS-AD), compared to CBS patients of non-AD pathologies (CBS-nAD) and amnestic AD patients, has not been studied.

The Clinical Utility of Leukoaraiosis as a Prognostic Indicator in Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Stroke constitutes a major cause of functional disability with increasing prevalence among adult individuals. Thus, it is of great importance for both clinicians and stroke survivors to be provided with a timely and accurate prognostication of functional outcome. A great number of biomarkers capable of yielding useful information regarding stroke patients' recovery propensity have been evaluated so far with leukoaraiosis being among them.

Elucidating the Role of Baseline Leukoaraiosis on Forecasting Clinical Outcome of Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Undergoing Reperfusion Therapy.

Stroke stands as a major cause of death and disability with increasing prevalence. The absence of clinical improvement after either intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) or mechanical thrombectomy (MT) represents a frequent concern in the setting of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). In an attempt to optimize overall stroke management, it is clinically valuable to provide important insight into functional outcomes after reperfusion therapy among patients presenting with AIS.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a Prognostic Tool for Recovery in Acute and Hyperacute Stroke.

Stroke represents a major cause of mortality and long-term disability among adult populations, leaving a devastating socioeconomic impact globally. Clinical manifestation of stroke is characterized by great diversity, ranging from minor disability to considerable neurological impairment interfering with activities of daily living and even death. Prognostic ambiguity has stimulated the interest for implementing stroke recovery biomarkers, including those provided by structural neuroimaging techniques, i.

Specific disruption of the ventral anterior temporo-frontal network reveals key implications for language comprehension and cognition.

Recent investigations have raised the question of the role of the anterior lateral temporal cortex in language processing (ventral language network). Here we present the language and overall cognitive performance of a rare male patient with chronic middle cerebral artery cerebrovascular accident with a well-documented lesion restricted to the anterior temporal cortex and its connections via the extreme capsule with the pars triangularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (i.e.

Executive Dysfunction, Social Cognition Impairment, and Gray Matter Pathology in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2: A Pilot Study.

Background: In contrast to myotonic dystrophy type 1, the cognitive and radiologic profile of myotonic dystrophy type 2 (DM2) is relatively poorly characterized.

Objective: To conduct a pilot study to systematically evaluate cognitive and radiologic features in a cohort of Greek individuals with DM2.

Method: Eleven genetically confirmed individuals with DM2 and 26 age- and education-matched healthy controls were administered the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Screen (ECAS) to screen for impairment in multiple cognitive domains.

Dietary and Nutrient Patterns and Brain MRI Biomarkers in Dementia-Free Adults.

Cognitive impairment is a rapidly growing public health problem. As there is no curative treatment for dementia, the proactive management of modifiable risk factors and the identification of early biomarkers indicative of the cognitive decline are of great importance. Although nutrition is one of the most extensively studied lifestyle factor in relation to cognitive health, its association with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers is not well established.

Neurometabolic Alterations in Motor Neuron Disease: Insights from Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has contributed important academic insights in motor neuron diseases (MNDs), particularly in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Over the past three decades momentous methodological advances took place, including the emergence of high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) platforms, multi-voxel techniques, whole-brain protocols, novel head-coil designs, and a multitude of open-source imaging suites. Technological advances in MRS are complemented by important conceptual developments in MND, such as the recognition of the importance of extra-motor brain regions, multi-timepoint longitudinal study designs, assessment of asymptomatic mutation carriers, description of genotype-associated signatures, and the gradual characterisation of non-ALS MND phenotypes.