Accelerating Brain 3D T1-Weighted Turbo Field Echo MRI Using Compressed Sensing-Sensitivity Encoding (CS-SENSE).

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical application of the accelerated 3D T1-weighted turbo field echo (T1W-TFE) using the compressed sensing-sensitivity encoding (CS-SENSE) and identify the appropriate acceleration factor.

Methods: 33 healthy controls (HC), 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) and 10 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients were prospectively recruited. A conventional 3D T1W-TFE sequence and accelerated sequences with CS-SENSE factors of 3, 4.

Spinal cord injury repair by implantation of structured hyaluronic acid scaffold with PLGA microspheres in the rat.

In order to create an optimal microenvironment for neural regeneration in the lesion area after spinal cord injury (SCI), we fabricated a novel scaffold composed of a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel with a longitudinal multi-tubular conformation. The scaffold was modified by binding with an anti-Nogo receptor antibody (antiNgR) and mixed further with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres containing brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor (HA+PLGA). In the rat, after implantation of this composite into an injured area created by a dorsal hemisection at T9-10 of the spinal cord, favorable effects were seen with regard to the promotion of spinal repair, including excellent integration of the implants with host tissue, inhibition of inflammation, and gliosis.

Lesion of the locus coeruleus aggravates dopaminergic neuron degeneration by modulating microglial function in mouse models of Parkinson׳s disease.

The degeneration of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) commonly occurs in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), which is characterized by a selective injury of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). The pathological impact of the LC on the SN in the disease is unknown. In the present study, we used a noradrenergic toxin, N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP4), to deplete noradrenaline (NA) derived from the LC to explore its influence on degeneration or injury of dopaminergic neurons in the SN in mouse model produced by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Comparison of intracerebral transplantation effects of different stem cells on rodent stroke models.

In the present study, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), induced neural stem cells (iNSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and an immortalized cell line (RMNE6), representing different characteristics of stem cells, were transplanted into normal and/or injured brain areas of rodent stroke models, and their effects were compared to select suitable stem cells for cell replacement stroke therapy. The rat and mice ischaemic models were constructed using the middle cerebral artery occlusion technique. Both electrocoagulation of the artery and the intraluminal filament technique were used.

The experimental therapy on brain ischemia by improvement of local angiogenesis with tissue engineering in the mouse.

Neural restoration has proven to be difficult after brain stroke, especially in its chronic stage. This is mainly due to the generation of an unpropitious niche in the injured area, including loss of vascular support but production of numerous inhibitors against neuronal regeneration. Reconstruction of a proper niche for promoting local angiogenesis, therefore, should be a key approach for neural restoration after stroke.