Predicting Auditory Skill Outcomes After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation Using Preoperative Brain Imaging.

Purpose: Our study used preoperative neuroanatomical features to predict auditory development in Chinese-learning children with cochlear implants (CIs).

Method: T1-weighted whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from 17 Chinese-learning pediatric CI candidates (12 females and five males, age at MRI = 23.0 ± 15.

3D external shape analysis and barycentremetry can provide early signs of progression in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Purpose: Our objective was to analysis the barycentremetry, obtained from the external envelope reconstruction of biplanar radiographs, in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and to determine whether assessing would help predict the distinction between progressive and stable AIS at the early stage.

Methods: A retrospective study with a multicentre cohort of 205 AIS was conducted. All AIS underwent a biplanar X-ray between 2013 and 2020.

Gamma-glutamyl transferase: A potential biomarker for pancreas steatosis in patients with concurrent obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

To evaluate the relationship between serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels and fatty pancreas in subjects with concurrent obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) without a history of pancreatitis. From March 2019 to September 2021, 31 adult subjects with concurrent obesity and MASLD were recruited as part of the study investigating the biological impact of bariatric surgery and lifestyle modification on obesity. Chemical shift encoded MRI of the abdomen, LiverMultiScan, anthropometric, clinical and blood biochemistry analyses were performed prior to any intervention at baseline.

The effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) iron corrected T1 in monitoring metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in obesity following bariatric surgery and lifestyle modification: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Bariatric surgery and lifestyle modification are important treatments for obesity, a risk factor for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Studies have related weight reduction with changes in MASH, however, few have used imaging to investigate effects on liver health. We evaluated differences in liver response to obesity treatment using disease activity iron corrected T1 (cT1) and proton density fat fraction (PDFF) in patients with both obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Effect of increasing cognitive activity participation on default mode network in older adults with subjective cognitive decline: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Having more cognitive activities may prevent dementia, but its evidence of modulating the functional brain network is limited. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) investigated the effect of increased cognitive activity participation on the default mode network (DMN) in older adults who had already been having regular cognitive activity participation and experiencing subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

Methods: Community-living Chinese individuals aged 55-75 years with regular practice of Chinese calligraphy and screened positive for SCD (but negative for mild cognitive impairment or dementia) were randomly allocated to either the intervention or control group.

Effect of Focal Zone Size on Treatment Outcomes and Renal Injury Following Extracorporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy of Renal Calculi: A Prospective Randomized Study.

The narrower focal zone (FZ) size of modern lithotripter was considered as one of the factors that resulted in suboptimal treatment result of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (SWL). Therefore, we investigate the efficacy and safety of standard narrow or extended (FZ) sizes in SWL for patients with renal stones. In this prospective study conducted between April 2018 and October 2022, patients with renal stones were randomized to receive SWL with either standard or extended FZ.

Investigation of lacrimal gland and extraocular muscle in thyroid eye disease patients with severe subjective dry eye disease: a multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging study.

Purpose: To analyze the radiological features of the lacrimal gland (LG) and extraocular muscle (EOM) in thyroid eye disease (TED) patients with severe subjective dry eye disease (DED) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, mechanical ocular exposure, dry eye assessment and MRI data were collected. Patients were classified into non-severe subjective DED group with ocular surface disease index (OSDI) < 33 and severe subjective DED group with OSDI ≥ 33.

Giant coronary aneurysm in a toddler with Kawasaki disease: technical challenges in CT coronary angiography.

Kawasaki disease is the most common vasculitis causing acquired coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) and affects mostly children. Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) has unique diagnostic and prognostic values in cases of giant CAA. Here, we report technical challenges encountered when performed CTCA for a case of Kawasaki disease complicated with giant CAA.

Evaluation of the Reliability and the Performance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Radiomics in the Presence of Randomly Generated Irrelevant Features for Prostate Cancer.

Radiomics has the potential to aid prostate cancer (PC) diagnoses and prediction by analyzing and modeling quantitative features extracted from clinical imaging. However, its reliability has been a concern, possibly due to its high-dimensional nature. This study aims to quantitatively investigate the impact of randomly generated irrelevant features on MRI radiomics feature selection, modeling, and performance by progressively adding randomly generated features.

Comparison of the 12-month impact of COVID-19 and SARS on physiological capacity and health-related quality of life.

Background: Little is known about the differences in medium to long-term recovery on spirometry, 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between COVID-19 and SARS.

Methods: We performed a 12-month prospective study on COVID-19 survivors. The changes in dynamic lung volumes at spirometry (%predicted FEV, %predicted FVC), 6MWD and HRQoL at 1-3, 6 to 12 months were compared against a historical cohort of SARS survivors using the same study protocol.

Changes in mesenteric fat thickness and its clinical impact in bariatric surgery.

Obesity, especially central obesity is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study aimed to investigate the associations of the changes of abdominal fat thicknesses with changes of anthropometric indexes and improvements of metabolic phenotypes in patients with obesity and T2DM before and after bariatric surgery. Between April 2016 and January 2017, 34 adult patients with concurrent obesity and T2DM scheduled for different bariatric surgeries were prospectively evaluated by ultrasound before and 1-year after bariatric surgery to determine abdominal fat thicknesses (mesenteric fat, preperitoneal fat and subcutaneous fat) and NAFLD.

Structural Network Topology Reveals Higher Brain Resilience in Individuals with Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease.

The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires the presence of amyloid and tau pathology, but it remains unclear how they affect the structural network in the pre-clinical stage. We aimed to assess differences in topological properties in cognitively normal (CN) individuals with varying levels of amyloid and tau pathology, as well as their association with AD pathology burden. A total of 68 CN individuals were included and stratified by normal/abnormal (-/+) amyloid (A) and tau (T) status based on positron emission tomography results, yielding three groups: A-T- ( = 19), A+T- ( = 28), and A+T+ ( = 21).

Focal cerebral arteriopathy-inflammatory type in a child - MR diagnosis using vessel wall imaging technique with review of classification and diagnostic evaluation criteria.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in childhood is defined by a stroke occurring after 28 days of life to 18 years of age. This presents a distinct clinical challenge in terms of both diagnosis and treatment. The overlapping clinical presentations of acute ischemic stroke and its mimics such as migraine with aura, seizure with Todd paresis and encephalitis renders early accurate diagnosis of this time-sensitive condition difficult, with a change in the final diagnosis in up to 40% of patients.

Clinical, neuroimaging, and behavioural risk factors for neurocognitive impairment in Chinese patients with haemophilia: A multicentre study.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the impact of subclinical microstructural changes and psychosocial factors on cognitive function in patients with haemophilia.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of cognitive impairment in patients with haemophilia, and identify associated risk factors.

Methods: We recruited haemophilia A or B patients who were aged ≥10 years old from three public hospitals in Hong Kong.

Intracranial nasofrontal dermoid cyst and a hair in the nose tip without a sinus tract identified with single-staged combined approach excision done.

This is the first reported case of intracranial nasofrontal dermoid without sinus tract, with complete excision done in single-staged combined approach frontal craniotomy and open rhinoplasty, and satisfactory nasal reconstruction.

Tuberculosis revisted: classic imaging findings in childhood.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the major public health threats worldwide, despite improved diagnostic and therapeutic methods. Tuberculosis is one of the main causes of infectious disease in the chest and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in paediatric populations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Due to the difficulty in obtaining microbiological confirmation of pulmonary TB in children, diagnosis often relies on a combination of clinical and radiological findings.

Clinical Significance of Corneal Striae in Thyroid Associated Orbitopathy.

Purpose: To elucidate the clinical implications of corneal striae (CS) in thyroid associated orbitopathy (TAO) patients.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the presence of CS was confirmed after topical fluorescein staining on a slit lamp for consecutive treatment-naive TAO patients. Orbital parameters, including margin reflex distances, lagophthalmos, exophthalmos, intraocular pressure and radiological measurements, were compared between eyes with and without CS.

Poor health literacy associated with stronger perceived barriers to breast cancer screening and overestimated breast cancer risk.

Background: Low health literacy (HL) is negatively associated with mammography screening uptake. However, evidence of the links between poor HL and low mammography screening participation is scarce.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey among participants of a cancer screening program.

Efficacy and safety of cilostazol in decreasing progression of cerebral white matter hyperintensities-A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is an important cause of dementia that lacks effective treatment. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of cilostazol, an antiplatelet agent with potential neurovascular protective effects, in slowing the progression of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) in stroke- and dementia-free subjects harboring confluent WMH on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: In this single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomized stroke- and dementia-free subjects with confluent WMHs to receive cilostazol or placebo for 2 years in a 1:1 ratio.

Diffusion Changes in Hippocampal Cingulum in Early Biologically Defined Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was recently shifted from clinical to biological construct to reflect underlying neuropathological status, where amyloid deposition designated patients to the Alzheimer's continuum, and additional tau positivity represented AD.

Objective: To investigate white matter (WM) alteration in the brain of patients in the Alzheimer's continuum.

Methods: A total of 236 subjects across the clinical and biological spectra of AD were included and stratified by normal/abnormal (-/+) amyloid (A) and tau (T) status based on positron emission tomography results, yielding five groups: A-T-cognitively normal (CN), A+T-CN, A+T+ CN, A+T+ mild cognitive impairment, and A+T+ AD.

Craniofacial phenotyping by photogrammetry in Chinese prepubertal children with obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: This study aimed to examine the craniofacial phenotype of Chinese prepubertal children with and without obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using a quantitative photographic analysis technique and to develop a prediction model for OSA diagnosis based on the photogrammetric data. Potential ethnic differences in the association between OSA and photogrammetric data between Chinese and Caucasian children were also examined.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study.

Validation of the Sonographic Measurement of Lateral Parapharyngeal Wall Thickness in Childhood Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Background: Lateral parapharyngeal wall (LPW) thickness is a potentially useful anatomical marker of childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Measuring LPW thickness by ultrasonography (USG) is technically feasible but its use in children has not been validated. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the intra- and inter-operator reliability of the sonographic measurements of LPW thickness in children and to assess its validity against magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements.