Impact of complete recanalization on clinical recovery in cardioembolic stroke patients with M2 occlusion.

Background And Purpose: We investigated the impact of complete recanalization beyond partial recanalization in distal (M2) middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion.

Methods: Data regarding M2 occlusion patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) and/or intravenous thrombolysis (tPA) were reviewed from our prospective EVT registry and multicenter tPA (YAMATO study) data bank. Complete recanalization was modified thrombolysis with cerebral infarction score (TICI) of 3 at the end of EVT or similar appearances of both MCAs on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) within 1.

Diabetes mellitus inhibits complete recanalization in patients with middle cerebral artery occlusion.

: This was a retrospective cohort study. Data from 165 patients, with middle cerebral occlusion before t-PA therapy (from the YAMATO study databank), were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were classified into diabetic (D) or non-diabetic (ND) groups based on the history of diabetes mellitus (DM) or hemoglobin A1c levels of ≥ 6.

Asymptomatic Isolated Calf Deep Vein Thrombosis: Does It Worsen after Varicose Vein Surgery?

In our varicose vein center, on a trial basis, among the patients with asymptomatic calf deep vein thrombosis (CDVT) we carefully selected the patients for varicose vein surgery using the requirements as follows; 1) the patients had varicose veins with incompetent saphenous veins, 2) sequential examination including DUS confirmed stability and clinical insignificance of asymptomatic CDVT, 3) the patients do not have any risk factors for DVT such as a coagulation profile disorder (antithrombin deficiency, protein C deficiency, protein S deficiency, or antiphospholipid syndrome) or malignancies, 4) surgery is possible under local anesthesia alone, and 5) the patients can understand the concept of asymptomatic CDVT and undergo the surgery on their own will and informed consent. The patients who fulfilled these conditions underwent the varicose vein surgery. Twenty-eight patients with 30 limbs with varicose veins had asymptomatic CDVT, found by preoperative duplex ultrasonography (DUS).

Mutual effect of cerebral amyloid β and peripheral lymphocytes in cognitively normal older individuals.

Objective: We hypothesized that cerebral amyloid accumulation is reflected in the periphery in the pre-dementia stage and used flow cytometry to investigate the peripheral lymphocytes as an easily accessible biomarker to observe neuro-inflammation. We aimed to determine whether peripheral lymphocytes are related to the cortical amyloid burden or vice versa in cognitively normal older subjects.

Methods: We applied [ C] Pittsburgh compound B (PiB)-positron emission tomography to 36 cognitively normal older individuals, and Aβ deposition was quantified by cortical binding potential (PiB-BP ).

Use of T1-weighted/T2-weighted magnetic resonance ratio to elucidate changes due to amyloid β accumulation in cognitively normal subjects.

The ratio of signal intensity in T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was recently proposed to enhance the sensitivity of detecting changes in disease-related signal intensity. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of T1w/T2w image ratios as an easily accessible biomarker for amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation. We performed the T1w/T2w analysis in cognitively normal elderly individuals.

[The Effects of Misalignment between PET and CT Scans on Brain PET Study Using CT-based Attenuation Correction: A Phantom Study].

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inaccurate attenuation correction due to the misalignment between the computed tomography (CT)-based μ-map and the positron emission tomography (PET) data on a brain PET.

Methods: CT and PET scans were performed on a 3-dimension (3D) brain phantom, in which the grey matter region was filled with F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG), and the skull region was filled with/without the bone-equivalent solution. The shifted PET images relative to the CT image were generated by the software-based translation of PET data in the cephalad/caudal and right directions, with a magnitude of the shift up to 30 mm and a step size of 5 mm.

Optimal timing of surgery for active infective endocarditis with cerebral complications: a Japanese multicentre study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the timing of valve surgery on the clinical outcomes of patients with active infective endocarditis (IE) accompanied by cerebral complications.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed a cohort of 568 patients, comprising 118 with non-haemorrhagic cerebral infarction (CI), 54 with intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and 396 without cerebral events (C; control), who underwent surgery for left-sided active IE in 15 Japanese institutes from 2000 to 2011. The mean age was 58.

Clinical implications of the cortical hyperintensity belt sign in fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images after bypass surgery for moyamoya disease.

OBJECTIVE Transient neurological symptoms are frequently observed during the early postoperative period after direct bypass surgery for moyamoya disease. Abnormal signal changes in the cerebral cortex can be seen in postoperative MR images. The purpose of this study was to reveal the radiological features of the "cortical hyperintensity belt (CHB) sign" in postoperative FLAIR images and to verify its relationship to transient neurological events (TNEs) and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF).

High amyloid-β deposition related to depressive symptoms in older individuals with normal cognition: a pilot study.

Objective: Previous studies have reported depressive symptoms in the preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The objective of this study was to determine whether depressive symptoms are associated with cortical amyloid burden. In order to do this, we measured cortical amyloid via (11) C-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B ([(11) C]PIB) uptake using positron emission tomography (PET) in cognitively normal subjects.

Resting-state synchrony between the retrosplenial cortex and anterior medial cortical structures relates to memory complaints in subjective cognitive impairment.

Subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is a clinical state characterized by subjective cognitive deficits without cognitive impairment. To test the hypothesis that this state might involve dysfunction of self-referential processing mediated by cortical midline structures, we investigated abnormalities of functional connectivity in these structures in individuals with SCI using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. We performed functional connectivity analysis for 23 individuals with SCI and 30 individuals without SCI.

Determination of the Clostridium perfringens-binding site on fibronectin.

The extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (Fn) is known to bind to the surface of Clostridium perfringens cells. Fn is a disulfide-linked homodimer protein, with each Fn polypeptide consisting of three types of repeating modules: 12 type I, 2 type II, and 15-17 type III modules. To determine the epitope on Fn recognized by C.

Low amyloid-β deposition correlates with high education in cognitively normal older adults: a pilot study.

Objective: Several epidemiological studies have found a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease in highly educated populations, but the protective mechanism of education against the disease is still unclear. Our objective was to investigate the association between education and (11) C-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB) uptake with positron emission tomography in participants with normal cognitive ability.

Methods: We performed (11) C-labeled PIB positron emission tomography and neuropsychological testing in 30 cognitively normal older participants.

Validity of using a 3-dimensional PET scanner during inhalation of 15O-labeled oxygen for quantitative assessment of regional metabolic rate of oxygen in man.

Use of 15O labeled oxygen (15O2) and positron emission tomography (PET) allows quantitative assessment of the regional metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) in vivo, which is essential to understanding the pathological status of patients with cerebral vascular and neurological disorders. The method has, however, been challenging, when a 3D PET scanner is employed, largely attributed to the presence of gaseous radioactivity in the trachea and the inhalation system, which results in a large amount of scatter and random events in the PET assessment. The present study was intended to evaluate the adequacy of using a recently available commercial 3D PET scanner in the assessment of regional cerebral radioactivity distribution during an inhalation of 15O2.

Adhesive properties of Clostridium perfringens to extracellular matrix proteins collagens and fibronectin.

The adhesive properties of Clostridium perfringens to collagens, gelatin, fibronectin (Fn), Fn-prebound collagens, and Fn-prebound gelatin were investigated. C. perfringens could bind to Fn-prebound collagen type II, type III, and gelatin, but not to gelatin or collagens except for collagen type I directly.

Frequency of emerging positive diffusion-weighted imaging in early repeat examinations at least 24 h after transient ischemic attacks.

Introduction: The relationships between diffusion lesions and risk scores for patients with a Transient ischemic attack (TIA) and the optimal timing for diffusion lesion screening have not been characterized. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the appearance of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions during follow-up examinations of patients with TIA or minor stroke without initial DWI lesions.

Methods: We identified 31 patients who did not show diffusion lesions in initial DWI.

Diffusion tensor imaging of the corticospinal tract in patients with brain neoplasms.

Purpose: To maximize the extent of tumor resection and minimize postoperative neurological deficits in patients with brain neoplasms, it is very important to evaluate the integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) before surgery. We attempted to determine whether CST abnormality in these patients correlates with clinical motor weakness.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 19 patients (16 men, 3 women, aged 39 to 70 years) with pathologically proven brain neoplasms with lesions adjacent to the posterior limb of the internal capsule and categorized their motor function as normal or abnormal based on clinical assessment.

Clinical Application of MR Spectroscopy and Imaging of Brain Tumor.

Advanced imaging techniques, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can provide more information than that regarding anatomy. These techniques have been commonly used in the clinical field and recently been shown useful in diagnosing brain tumors, especially in cases difficult to specify using conventional imaging. Differentiation requires more than attention to each advanced image.

Reversibility of ischemic findings on 3-T T2*-weighted imaging after emergency superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis in patients with progressive ischemic stroke.

Vascular ischemic signs, i.e. multiple hypointense vessels in the ischemic territory, were identified by gradient echo-type 3-T T(2)*-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in 3 patients with acute ischemia due to major vessel occlusion.

Dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion weighted imaging in grading of nonenhancing astrocytomas.

Purpose: To evaluate if the relative tumor blood volume (rTBV) using dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) can aid in distinguishing low- from high-grade nonenhancing astrocytomas.

Materials And Methods: Seventeen patients with histologically proven astrocytomas underwent MRI including DSC-MRI. Maximum TBV regions of interest were recorded from each neoplasm and normalized to contralateral normal white matter.

Relationship between FDG uptake and the pathological risk category in gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Purpose: To evaluate (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake and the pathological risk category of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), and to investigate the possibility of determining the pathological risk category by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).

Patients And Methods: We undertook 29 PET/CT studies in 20 patients with GISTs. Eleven of the 20 patients underwent PET/CT prior to therapy, with three of these also undergoing follow-up PET/CT after operation or imatinib therapy.

Incidence and clinical correlation of intracranial hemorrhages observed by 3-tesla gradient echo T(2)*-weighted images following intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and clinical correlation of intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) detected by 3-tesla gradient echo T(2)*-weighted images after intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) administration.

Methods: We included 43 consecutive patients with anterior-circulation ischemia who underwent MRI studies before and after thrombolysis. Each hemorrhage was classified as a hemorrhagic infarction (HI) or parenchymal hemorrhage (PH) according to the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study definition.

How to manage RI venography in pre-orthopedic surgery patients.

Objective: The preoperative evaluation of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is important to avoid complications, because VTE is often induced by orthopedic surgery. We focused on radioisotope venography (RIV) using 99mTc-macroaggregated human serum albumin, examining orthopedic patients.

Methods: We conducted 34 examinations in 33 patients who were referred for RIV and lung perfusion scintigraphy for the pre-orthopedic operative evaluation of VTE.

Discovery and characterization of a novel potent, selective and orally active inhibitor for mammalian ELOVL6.

The elongase of long chain fatty acids family 6 (ELOVL6) is a rate-limiting enzyme for the elongation of saturated and monounsaturated long chain fatty acids. ELOVL6 is abundantly expressed in lipogenic tissues such as liver, and its mRNA expression is up-regulated in obese model animals. ELOVL6 deficient mice are protected from high-fat-diet-induced insulin resistance, suggesting that ELOVL6 might be a new therapeutic target for diabetes.