Publications by authors named "Renan A Coutinho"

Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates the existence of the clinical-radiological paradox in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients by analyzing the relationship between lesion load and clinical disability.
  • - Using MRI data from 95 patients, researchers found a positive correlation between higher lesion loads and increased disability, particularly in specific brain regions such as the posterior fossa and spinal cord.
  • - The findings suggest that the clinical-radiological paradox may not exist, supporting the idea that lesion locations in MS are logically associated with neurological impairment.
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Background: The genetic predisposition to multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with HLA alleles, especially HLA-DRB1*15:01.

Objective: To identify associations between findings in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genetic features in a Brazilian cohort of patients with MS.

Methods: We retrospectively studied data from 95 consecutive patients with MS.

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What is the influence of sex and age on the quantitative cell composition of the human brain? By using the isotropic fractionator to estimate absolute cell numbers in selected brain regions, we looked for sex- and age-related differences in 32 medial temporal lobes (comprised basically by the hippocampal formation, amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus), sixteen male (29-92 years) and sixteen female (25-82); and 31 cerebella, seventeen male (29-92 years) and fourteen female (25-82). These regions were dissected from the brain, fixed and homogenized, and then labeled with a DNA-marker (to count all nuclei) and with a neuron-specific nuclear marker (to estimate neuron number). Total number of cells in the medial temporal lobe was found to be 1.

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Sex differences in the human olfactory function reportedly exist for olfactory sensitivity, odorant identification and memory, and tasks in which odors are rated based on psychological features such as familiarity, intensity, pleasantness, and others. Which might be the neural bases for these behavioral differences? The number of cells in olfactory regions, and especially the number of neurons, may represent a more accurate indicator of the neural machinery than volume or weight, but besides gross volume measures of the human olfactory bulb, no systematic study of sex differences in the absolute number of cells has yet been undertaken. In this work, we investigate a possible sexual dimorphism in the olfactory bulb, by quantifying postmortem material from 7 men and 11 women (ages 55-94 years) with the isotropic fractionator, an unbiased and accurate method to estimate absolute cell numbers in brain regions.

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