The conundrum of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus: Current and novel approaches to diagnosis.

Recognising neuropsychiatric involvement by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is of growing importance, however many barriers to this exist at multiple levels of our currently available diagnostic algorithms that may ultimately delay its diagnosis and subsequent treatment. The heterogeneous and non-specific clinical syndromes, serological and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers and neuroimaging findings that often do not mirror disease activity, highlight important research gaps in the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE). Formal neuropsychological assessments or the more accessible screening metrics may also help improve objective recognition of cognitive or mood disorders.

Investigating the neural basis of cognitive control dysfunction in mood disorders.

Objectives: Dysfunction of cognitive control is a feature of both bipolar disorder (BP) and major depression (MDD) and persists through to remission. However, it is unknown whether these disorders are characterized by common or distinct disruptions of cognitive control function and its neural basis. We investigated this gap in knowledge in asymptomatic BP and MDD participants, interpreted within a framework of normative function.

Amygdala Activation and Connectivity to Emotional Processing Distinguishes Asymptomatic Patients With Bipolar Disorders and Unipolar Depression.

Background: Mechanistically based neural markers, such as amygdala reactivity, offer one approach to addressing the challenges of differentiating bipolar and unipolar depressive disorders independently from mood state and acute symptoms. Although emotion-elicited amygdala reactivity has been found to distinguish patients with bipolar depression from patients with unipolar depression, it remains unknown whether this distinction is traitlike and present in the absence of an acutely depressed mood. We addressed this gap by investigating patients with bipolar disorder (BP) and unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD) in remission.

Cognitive ability is associated with changes in the functional organization of the cognitive control brain network.

Cognitive control is one of the most important skills in day-to-day social and intellectual functioning but we are yet to understand the neural basis of the group of behaviors required to carry this out. Here, we probed changes over time in the brain network associated with cognitive control (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the dorsal posterior parietal cortex, and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) using both behavioral assays and functional brain imaging during a selective working memory task in 69 healthy participants within the age range 18-38 years (mean: 25, SD: ±6), assessed twice, 2 years apart. We aimed to explore the relationship of changing network activation and connectivity with behavioral tasks associated with cognitive control in this otherwise neurodevelopmentally stable group.

Cognitive control network anatomy correlates with neurocognitive behavior: A longitudinal study.

Cognitive control is the process of employing executive functions, such as attention, planning or working memory, to guide appropriate behaviors in order to achieve a specific goal. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest a superordinate cognitive control network, comprising the dorsal regions of the lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and parietal cortex (DPC). How gray matter structure changes across this network throughout neurodevelopment and how these changes impact cognitive control are not yet fully understood.

Growth Rate Analysis of an Untreated Glomus Vagale on MRI.

Paragangliomas are slow growing, hypervascular neuroendocrine tumors that develop in the extra-adrenal paraganglion tissues. Paraganglioma involving the vagus nerve ganglia is termed glomus vagale. The slow growth of head and neck paragangliomas especially in the absence of symptom may obviate the necessity for any active intervention, in which case, a "wait and scan" policy is implemented involving long-term clinical and radiologic follow-ups.

Potential structural and functional biomarkers of upper motor neuron dysfunction in ALS.

Assessment of upper motor neuron (UMN) function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains clinically based. Given the potential difficulties in identifying UMN signs, objective biomarkers of UMN dysfunction are important. Consequently, the present study assessed utility of cortical thickness analysis combined with threshold tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as biomakers of UMN dysfunction in ALS.

Does preference influence performance when reading different sizes of cranial computed tomography?

Radiology practice is based on the implicit assumption that the preference for a particular presentation mode goes hand in hand with superior performance. The present experiment tests this assumption in what pertains to image size. Forty-three radiologists were asked to identify intracranial hemorrhages on 20 cranial computed tomography scans in two image sizes, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text].

Clinical equipoise: Protons and the child with craniopharyngioma.

Introduction: Childhood craniopharyngioma is a complex condition to manage. Survival figures are high but the potential for long-term morbidity is great. There is much debate regarding the best management for these tumours with increasing interest in the use of proton beam therapy.

The utility of multimodal evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis prognostication.

The ability to predict disability development in multiple sclerosis (MS) is limited. While abnormalities of evoked potentials (EP) have been associated with disability, the prognosticating utility of EP in MS remains to be fully elucidated. The present study assessed the utility of multimodal EP as a prognostic biomarker of disability in a cohort of clinically heterogeneous MS patients.

Synovial chondrosarcoma arising in synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint.

Synovial chondromatosis of the temporomandibular joint is rare. Even less commonly documented is the progression of synovial chondromatosis to a synovial chondrosarcoma. The aim of this paper is to present only the third case of synovial chondrosarcoma of the temporomandibular joint.

An inherited TUBB2B mutation alters a kinesin-binding site and causes polymicrogyria, CFEOM and axon dysinnervation.

Microtubules are essential components of axon guidance machinery. Among β-tubulin mutations, only those in TUBB3 have been shown to cause primary errors in axon guidance. All identified mutations in TUBB2B result in polymicrogyria, but it remains unclear whether TUBB2B mutations can cause axon dysinnervation as a primary phenotype.

Cortical dysfunction underlies disability in multiple sclerosis.

Background: Gray matter atrophy has been implicated in the development of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Cortical function may be assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Determining whether cortical dysfunction was a feature of SPMS could be of pathophysiological significance.

The role of imaging in the diagnosis of central nervous system vasculitis.

Cerebral vasculitis is diagnosed with difficulty. Its presentation with heterogeneous symptoms and signs often delays diagnosis. In this context, imaging plays an important role in advancing the diagnosis.

Retinal microvasculature in acute lacunar stroke: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Lacunar stroke accounts for a quarter of cases of acute ischaemic stroke; however, its underlying pathophysiology remains unclear. Our aim was to establish whether there is an association between changes in the retinal microvasculature and lacunar stroke that might provide clues to the pathology of cerebral small vessel disease.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited patients who presented with acute stroke at three centres in two countries (Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, and Singapore).

Delusions and dorso-medial frontal cortex volume in first-episode schizophrenia: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Of the few studies that have directly investigated the neuroanatomical correlates of delusions in patients with recent-onset schizophrenia, a number have paradoxically reported a positive correlation between delusion severity and regional grey matter volume. In order to explore this relationship, 31 patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) underwent a clinical interview and a T1-weighted structural MRI scan. Patients' scores on the Delusions subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale were correlated with the volume of every voxel in their grey matter images in SPM99.

Neural synchrony in patients with a first episode of schizophrenia: tracking relations with grey matter and symptom profile.

Background: Although schizophrenia has been characterized by disruptions to neural synchrony, it remains unknown whether these disturbances are related to symptoms and loss of grey matter. We examined relations between 40 Hz Gamma band synchrony and grey matter in patients with schizophrenia at first episode and after 2.5 years.

Investigating the neuropsychological and neuroanatomical changes that occur over the first 2-3 years of illness in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Objective: This study explored the concurrent courses of the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological changes that occurred over the first 2-3 years of illness in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES).

Methods: Fifty-two patients with FES underwent neuropsychological testing and a structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) scan within three months of their first presentation to mental health services with psychotic symptoms (time1). Patients' cognitive performance was evaluated via an extensive neuropsychological test battery, which assessed 9 cognitive domains.

Volumetric white matter abnormalities in first-episode schizophrenia: a longitudinal, tensor-based morphometry study.

Objective: While schizophrenia has long been considered a disorder of brain connectivity, few studies have investigated white matter abnormalities in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, and even fewer studies have investigated whether there is progressive white matter pathology in the disease.

Method: The authors obtained a T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on 41 patients with first-episode schizophrenia. These first-episode schizophrenia patients were analyzed relative to 47 age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects who also underwent an MRI scan.

Longitudinal changes in neuroanatomy and neural activity in early schizophrenia.

Although there is substantial evidence indicating that patients with first-episode schizophrenia exhibit both anatomical and electrophysiological abnormalities, there has been little research investigating the relationship between these two indices. We acquired structural magnetic resonance images and resting electroencephalographic recordings from 19 patients with schizophrenia, both at the time of their first presentation to mental health services and 2-3 years subsequently. Patients' grey matter images were parcellated into four brain lobes, and slow-wave, alpha- and beta-electroencephalographic power was calculated in four corresponding cortical regions.

Automated generation of curved planar reformations from MR images of the spine.

A novel method for automated curved planar reformation (CPR) of magnetic resonance (MR) images of the spine is presented. The CPR images, generated by a transformation from image-based to spine-based coordinate system, follow the structural shape of the spine and allow the whole course of the curved anatomy to be viewed in individual cross-sections. The three-dimensional (3D) spine curve and the axial vertebral rotation, which determine the transformation, are described by polynomial functions.

Disseminated mucormycosis and orbital ischaemia in combination immunosuppression with a tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitor.

Disseminated mucormycosis, with pulmonary and cerebral angioinvasive disease, developed in a 65-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis being treated with combination immunosuppression including adalimumab. Clinical presentation included progressive orbital ischaemia. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of disseminated mucormycosis in a patient treated with a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor.