Publications by authors named "Ulug A"

Purpose: This study aims to assess the diagnostic power of brain asymmetry indices and neuropsychological tests for differentiating mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and schizophrenia (SCZ).

Methods: We studied a total of 39 women including 13 MTLE, 13 SCZ, and 13 healthy individuals (HC). A neuropsychological test battery (NPT) was administered and scored by an experienced neuropsychologist, and NeuroQuant (CorTechs Labs Inc.

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Background: Injury patterns in hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury (HIBI) are well recognised but there are few studies evaluating cerebral injury using neuroquantification models.

Objectives: Quantification of brain volumes in a group of patients with clinically determined cerebral palsy.

Method: In this retrospective study, 297 children with cerebral palsy were imaged for suspected HIBI with analysis of various cerebral substrates.

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Objective: To investigate metabolic changes of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI) using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (H-MRSI).

Methods: Sixteen healthy controls (HC), 26 cognitively normal Parkinson's disease (PD-CN) patients, and 34 PD-MCI patients were scanned in this prospective study. Neuropsychological tests were performed, and three-dimensional H-MRSI was obtained at 3 T.

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Objective: Our goal is to find distinct characteristics of brain white matter in bipolar disorder, of which the development of diagnostic imaging measures is necessary for early diagnosis and prospective studies.

Methods: Given a tractogram dataset which is a dense set of white matter fiber pathways of the whole brain obtained from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, we propose to compute a global measure for a voxel from the dispersion statistics of a set of fibers which indicates the complexity of the white matter voxel not locally but at macroscopic scales.

Results: Our findings demonstrate that macro-structural dispersion information is significant for discrimination of the bipolar patients from the healthy controls, particularly in the frontally associative bundles such as cingulum and inferior occipito-frontal fascicles.

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Parkinson's disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) is currently diagnosed based on an arbitrarily predefined standard deviation of neuropsychological test scores, and more objective biomarkers for PD-MCI diagnosis are needed. The purpose of this study was to define possible brain perfusion-based biomarkers of not only mild cognitive impairment, but also risky gene carriers in PD using arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI). Fifteen healthy controls (HC), 26 cognitively normal PD (PD-CN), and 27 PD-MCI subjects participated in this study.

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Objective This pilot study aimed to examine longitudinal changes in brain structure and function in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neuropsychological testing. Methods Fifteen female SLE patients with no history of major neuropsychiatric (NP) manifestations had brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with DTI at baseline and approximately 1.5 years later.

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Background: Standard diffusion tensor imaging measures (e.g., fractional anisotropy; FA) are difficult to interpret in brain regions with crossing white-matter (WM) fibers.

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Introduction: Episodic memory processes are supported by different subregions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL). In contrast to a unitary model of memory recognition supported solely by the hippocampus, a current model suggests that item encoding engages perirhinal cortex, whereas relational encoding engages parahippocampal cortex and the hippocampus. However, this model has not been examined in the context of aging, neurodegeneration, and MTL morphometrics.

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Purpose: The goal of this study was to compare diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) using high b-value (b=3000s/mm) to DW-MRI using standard b-value (b=1000s/mm) in the preoperative grading of supratentorial gliomas.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-three patients with glioma had brain DW-MRI at 3T using two different b-values (b=1000s/mm and b=3000s/mm). There were 35 men and 18 women with a mean age of 40.

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Objective: Standardized cognitive tests and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients demonstrate deficits in working memory and executive function. These neurobehavioral abnormalities are not well studied in antiphospholipid syndrome, which may occur independently of or together with SLE. This study compares an fMRI paradigm involving motor skills, working memory, and executive function in SLE patients without antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) (the SLE group), aPL-positive non-SLE patients (the aPL-positive group), and controls.

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Background: It is known that QRS duration is related to prognosis in acute myocardial infarction. The relation between QRS duration and coronary collateral circulation is uncertain. In the present study, we aimed to determine the relation between QRS duration and coronary collateral circulation in patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction.

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Spatial covariance mapping can be used to identify and measure the activity of disease-related functional brain networks. While this approach has been widely used in the analysis of cerebral blood flow and metabolic PET scans, it is not clear whether it can be reliably applied to resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data. In this study, we present a novel method based on independent component analysis (ICA) to characterize specific network topographies associated with Parkinson's disease (PD).

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Although primary dystonia is defined by its characteristic motor manifestations, non-motor signs and symptoms have increasingly been recognized in this disorder. Recent neuroimaging studies have related the motor features of primary dystonia to connectivity changes in cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathways. It is not known, however, whether the non-motor manifestations of the disorder are associated with similar circuit abnormalities.

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Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a plasma protein and associated with cholesterol transport system. In several studies, the relationship between ApoE gene polymorphism and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) has been shown. However, the relationship between ApoE gene polymorphism and severity of CAD in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) has not been well known.

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Objectives: Despite the significant role of certain hematologic parameters in reperfusion injury, their relationship with microvascular reperfusion remains not well understood. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the relationship between hematologic parameters at admission and microvascular reperfusion in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (primary PCI).

Methods: A total of 213patients (mean age: 57.

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TorsinA is an important protein in brain development, and plays a role in the regulation of neurite outgrowth and synaptic function. Patients with the most common form of genetic dystonia carry a mutation (DYT1) in one copy of the Tor1a gene, a 3-bp deletion, causing removal of a single glutamic acid from torsinA. Previous imaging studies have shown that abnormal cerebellar metabolism and damaged cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway contribute to the pathophysiology of DYT1 dystonia.

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There is a compelling need for early, accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Various magnetic resonance imaging modalities are being explored as an adjunct to diagnosis. A significant challenge in using MR imaging for diagnosis is developing appropriate algorithms for extracting diagnostically relevant information from brain images.

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an often severely disabling illness with onset generally in childhood or adolescence. Little is known, however, regarding the pattern of brain resting state activity in OCD early in the course of illness. We therefore examined differences in brain resting state activity in patients with pediatric OCD compared with healthy volunteers and their clinical correlates.

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Dystonia is a brain disorder characterized by abnormal involuntary movements without defining neuropathological changes. The disease is often inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait with incomplete penetrance. Individuals with dystonia, whether inherited or sporadic, exhibit striking phenotypic variability, with marked differences in the somatic distribution and severity of clinical manifestations.

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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by multiorgan inflammation, neuropsychiatric disorders (NPSLE), and anti-nuclear antibodies. We previously identified a subset of anti-DNA antibodies (DNRAb) cross-reactive with the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, present in 30% to 40% of patients, able to enhance excitatory post-synaptic potentials and trigger neuronal apoptosis. DNRAb+ mice exhibit memory impairment or altered fear response, depending on whether the antibody penetrates the hippocampus or amygdala.

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Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the cognitive function of antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)-negative systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and aPL-positive non-SLE patients.

Methods: Twenty aPL-negative SLE and 20 aPL-positive non-SLE female patients with no history of overt neuropsychiatric manifestations took standardised cognitive tests of learning and memory, attention and working memory, executive functions, verbal fluency, visuoconstruction, and motor function. The primary outcome measure was an established global cognitive impairment index (CII).

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Background: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) studies on healthy aging have reported inconsistent findings and have not systematically taken into account the possible modulatory effect of APOE genotype. We aimed to quantify brain metabolite changes in healthy subjects in relation to age and the presence of the APOE E4 genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, we examined these measures in relation to cognition.

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Purpose: To make a group comparison of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) results of dystonia patients and controls to reveal occult pathology. We propose using an early registration method that produces sharper group images and enables us to do group tractography.

Materials And Methods: Twelve dystonia patients manifesting the disease, seven nonmanifesting dystonia mutation carriers (DYT1 and DYT6 gene mutations), and eight age-matched normal control subjects were imaged for a previous study.

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Purpose: To determine brain tissue affected by dystonia by making group comparison of parameter-based diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) distributions of patients with control subjects. A 2D distribution analysis of mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy index was used for modeling brain tissues according to the inherent diffusion characteristics.

Materials And Methods: Seven affected carriers of the DYT1 dystonia mutation and eight healthy control subjects were imaged for a previous study.

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