Unsupervised Pattern Analysis to Differentiate Multiple Sclerosis Phenotypes Using Principal Component Analysis on Various MRI Sequences.

: Multiple sclerosis (MS) has two main phenotypes: relapse-remitting MS (RRMS) and progressive MS (PMS), distinguished by disability profiles and treatment response. Differentiating them using conventional MRI is challenging. : This study explores the use of scaled subprofile modelling using principal component analysis (SSM/PCA) on MRI data to distinguish between MS phenotypes.

Innate immune cells and myelin profile in multiple sclerosis: a multi-tracer PET/MR study.

Purpose: Neuropathological studies have demonstrated distinct profiles of microglia activation and myelin injury among different multiple sclerosis (MS) phenotypes and disability stages. PET imaging using specific tracers may uncover the in vivo molecular pathology and broaden the understanding of the disease heterogeneity.

Methods: We used the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) tracer (R)-[C]PK11195 and [C]PIB PET images acquired in a hybrid PET/MR 3 T system to characterize, respectively, the profile of innate immune cells and myelin content in 47 patients with MS compared to 18 healthy controls (HC).

The effect of lesion filling on brain network analysis in multiple sclerosis using structural magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Graph theoretical network analysis with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients can be used to assess subtle changes in brain networks. However, the presence of multiple focal brain lesions might impair the accuracy of automatic tissue segmentation methods, and hamper the performance of graph theoretical network analysis. Applying "lesion filling" by substituting the voxel intensities of a lesion with the voxel intensities of nearby voxels, thus creating an image devoid of lesions, might improve segmentation and graph theoretical network analysis.

Cognitive dysfunction and serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in primary anti-phospholipid syndrome (PAPS).

Objectives: Cognitive dysfunction (CD) is a poorly understood non-stroke central neurological manifestation in anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that plays an important role in neural plasticity and could potentially be a biomarker of CD in primary APS (PAPS). The aim of the study is to assess CD in PAPS patients and to evaluate its association with clinical data, anti-phospholipid antibodies and serum BDNF levels.

Longitudinal analysis of verbal episodic memory in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Objective: A 4.5-year follow-up study was conducted to characterize baseline verbal episodic memory (VEM) and its behavior and to assess the effects of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) on this domain.

Methods: Twenty-nine patients with RRMS underwent two neuropsychological assessments performed an average of 4.

Normative values of the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests in a Brazilian population sample: discrete and regression-based norms.

Objective Cognitive dysfunction is common in multiple sclerosis. The Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-N) was developed to assess cognitive functions most-frequently impaired in multiple sclerosis. However, normative values are lacking in Brazil.

Impact of sociodemographic variables on executive functions.

Unlabelled: Executive functions (EFs) regulate human behavior and allow individuals to interact and act in the world. EFs are sensitive to sociodemographic variables such as age, which promotes their decline, and to others that can exert a neuroprotective effect.

Objective: To assess the predictive role of education, occupation and family income on decline in executive functions among a sample with a wide age range.

Altered Functional Connectivity Between Precuneus and Motor Systems in Parkinson's Disease Patients.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects motor skills and cognition. As brain structure and function are compromised, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be a helpful tool to further investigate how intrinsic connectivity is impaired on the disease. The precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are hub regions involved on the default mode network (DMN), a system that is active during rest and related to cognitive processes.

Substantia nigra fractional anisotropy is not a diagnostic biomarker of Parkinson's disease: A diagnostic performance study and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Our goal was to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of substantia nigra fractional anisotropy (SN-FA) for Parkinson's disease (PD) diagnosis in a sample similar to the clinical setting, including patients with essential tremor (ET) and healthy controls (HC). We also performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate mean change in SN-FA induced by PD and its diagnostic accuracy.

Methods: Our sample consisted of 135 subjects: 72 PD, 21 ET and 42 HC.

Cognitive and Functional Impairment in Stroke Survivors with Basilar Artery Occlusive Disease.

Background: Despite growing literature on posterior vascular disease, specific information about the cognitive and functional profiles of patients with basilar artery occlusion disease (BAOD) is scarce. The aims of this study were (1) to compare the cognitive statuses of BAOD survivors versus healthy controls and (2) to correlate the functional capacity outcomes with the cognitive profiles of BAOD patients.

Methods: Comprehensive cognitive and functional assessments were carried out in 28 patients with BAOD and 27 age- and education level-matched healthy controls.

Performance of a sample of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and healthy elderly on a lexical decision test (LDT) as a measure of pre-morbid intelligence.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the performance of healthy elderly patients with aging-related pathologies (MCI) and patients with AD on a lexical decision test.

Methods: The study included 38 healthy elderly subjects, 61 MCI and 26 AD patients from the Neurology Department of the Hospital das Clinicas, Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology Group. The neuropsychological instruments included the episodic memory test (RAVLT), subtests from the WAIS-III (Matrix Reasoning and Vocabulary) to determine estimated IQ, the Boston naming test (BNT) and Lexical Decision Test (LDT).

Performance of an adult Brazilian sample on the Trail Making Test and Stroop Test.

Objective: The Trail Making Test (TMT) and Stroop Test (ST) are attention tests widely used in clinical practice and research. The aim of this study was to provide normative data for the adult Brazilian population and to study the influence of gender, age and education on the TMT parts A and B, and ST cards A, B and C.

Methods: We recruited 1447 healthy subjects aged ≥18 years with an educational level of 0-25 years who were native speakers of Portuguese (Brazilian).