Cingulum bundle white matter lesions influence antidepressant response in late-life depression: a pilot study.

Background: Late-life depression is associated with white matter hyperintense lesions (WMLs) occurring in specific fiber tracts. In this study, we sought to determine if greater WML severity in the cingulum bundle or uncinate fasciculus was associated with poor short-term antidepressant response.

Methods: Eleven depressed elders completed a baseline cranial 3T MRI and received antidepressant treatment following a medication algorithm.

Fiber tract-specific white matter lesion severity Findings in late-life depression and by AGTR1 A1166C genotype.

Past work demonstrated that late-life depression is associated with greater severity of ischemic cerebral hyperintense white matter lesions, particularly frontal lesions. However, these lesions are also associated with other neuropsychiatric deficits, so these clinical relationships may depend on which fiber tracts are damaged. We examined the ratio of lesion to nonlesioned white matter tissue within multiple fiber tracts between depressed and nondepressed elders.

Computer-assisted measurement of retinal vascular width and tortuosity in retinopathy of prematurity.

Objectives: To validate the accuracy of ROPtool software in measuring retinal vascular width and tortuosity in a large image set compared with expert diagnoses.

Methods: Tortuosity and dilation indexes generated by ROPtool were compared with 3 expert consensus grades of normal, pre-plus, or plus disease for 368 quadrants in 92 RetCam (Clarity Medical Systems, Pleasanton, California) fundus images. Sensitivity and specificity of ROPtool software in diagnosing tortuosity and dilation sufficient for plus and pre-plus disease were calculated.

Evolution of plus disease in retinopathy of prematurity: quantification by ROPtool.

Purpose: The primary indication for laser treatment in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is plus disease, or abnormal dilation and tortuosity of arterioles and venules. ROPtool is a computer program that traces retinal blood vessels and measures their width and tortuosity. Our purpose was to gain insight into the evolution of plus disease by applying ROPtool to RetCam images from eyes of infants who had serial photographs taken during their ROP screening period.

A pilot study using ROPtool to measure retinal vascular dilation.

Background: Plus disease is abnormal retinal vascular dilation and tortuosity, and it is now the primary indication for laser treatment in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROPtool is a computer program that measures retinal arteriolar tortuosity. Our aim was to assess the accuracy of ROPtool's newly developed measurement of retinal vascular width (dilation).

Tortuosity of arterioles and venules in quantifying plus disease.

Background: Plus disease is the major criterion for laser treatment of retinopathy of prematurity. ROPtool is a computer program that traces retinal blood vessels and measures their tortuosity. Our objectives were to determine (1) whether examiners could accurately discriminate between arterioles and venules and (2) whether tortuosity sufficient for plus disease and pre-plus disease was assessed most accurately by considering arterioles, venules, or both.

APOE related hippocampal shape alteration in geriatric depression.

Late-onset depression often precedes the onset of dementia associated with the hippocampal degeneration. Using large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM), we evaluated apolipoprotein E epsilon-4 allele (apoE E4) effects on hippocampal volume and shape in 38 depressed patients without the apoE E4, 14 depressed patients with one apoE E4, and 31 healthy comparison subjects without the apoE E4. The hippocampal volumes were manually assessed.

Computer-assisted assessment of plus disease in retinopathy of prematurity using video indirect ophthalmoscopy images.

Purpose: "ROPtool" is a computer program that measures retinal blood vessel tortuosity. Our aim was to determine the feasibility and accuracy of analyzing images with ROPtool, which were obtained using video indirect ophthalmoscopy.

Methods: Forty-five posterior pole still images captured from indirect ophthalmoscopy video clips were selected; 20 were selected for high quality and 25 were randomly selected.

Hippocampus shape analysis and late-life depression.

Major depression in the elderly is associated with brain structural changes and vascular lesions. Changes in the subcortical regions of the limbic system have also been noted. Studies examining hippocampus volumetric differences in depression have shown variable results, possibly due to any volume differences being secondary to local shape changes rather than differences in the overall volume.

Accuracy of ROPtool vs individual examiners in assessing retinal vascular tortuosity.

Objective: To prospectively determine if tortuosity assessment by a computer program (ROPtool) that traces retinal blood vessels and measures their tortuosity was more accurate than that of individual pediatric ophthalmologists.

Methods: One hundred eighty-five high-quality RetCam images from premature infants were circulated to 3 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) experts and 3 other pediatric ophthalmologists ("examiners") who graded the tortuosity in each quadrant as normal, pre-plus, or plus. These same images were analyzed using ROPtool.

A pilot study using "ROPtool" to quantify plus disease in retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: The accurate diagnosis of plus disease is critical to optimize the timing of laser treatment. Unfortunately, it is highly subjective and error-prone. "ROPtool" is a computer program that automatically traces retinal blood vessels and measures their tortuosity and dilation.

A novel 3D partitioned active shape model for segmentation of brain MR images.

A 3D Partitioned Active Shape Model (PASM) is proposed in this paper to address the problems of the 3D Active Shape Models (ASM). When training sets are small. It is usually the case in 3D segmentation, 3D ASMs tend to be restrictive.