Proton MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) provides indices of neuronal damage in the central nervous system (CNS); however, it has not been extensively applied in the spinal cord. This work describes an optimized proton spectroscopy protocol for examination of the human cervical spinal cord. B(0) field mapping of the cord revealed periodic inhomogeneities due to susceptibility differences with surrounding tissue. By combining field maps and experimental data, we found that the optimum voxel size was 9 x 7 x 35 mm(3) placed with the inferior end of the voxel above vertebral body C2. Metabolite concentrations were determined in the cervical cord in six healthy controls by short-echo point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) volume localization. The results were compared with metabolite concentrations in the brainstem, cerebellum, and cortex in the same individuals. The concentrations in the cervical cord were as follows: N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) 17.3 +/- 0.5, creatine (Cr) 9.5 +/- 0.9, and choline 2.7 +/- 0.5 mmol/l. The NAA concentration was significantly lower in the cord than in the brainstem (Mann-Whitney, P < 0.025), and higher than in the cortex (P < 0.005) and cerebellum (P < 0.005). Cr was significantly lower in the cord than in the cerebellum (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between Cr concentrations in the spinal cord compared to the cortex and brainstem.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrm.20084 | DOI Listing |
Dermatol Ther (Heidelb)
January 2025
Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Dermatology, University of Messina, 98125, Messina, Italy.
Introduction: Patients with psoriasis (PsO) and permanent spinal cord injuries (SCI) resulting in paraplegia and tetraplegia may experience a higher rate of infections compared to patients with PsO without SCI. It can result in further challenges for therapeutic management with immunosuppressants (biological and non-biological treatments). Thus, we aimed to evaluate the rate of infections in patients with PsO and SCI treated with systemic immunosuppressants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Institute for Antiviral Research, Department of Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84321-5600, USA.
Zika virus (ZIKV) causes a variety of peripheral and central nervous system complications leading to neurological symptoms such as limb weakness. We used a mouse model to identify candidate genes potentially involved in causation or recovery from ZIKV-induced acute flaccid paralysis. Using Zikv and Chat chromogenic and fluorescence in situ RNA hybridization, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and ZIKV RT-qPCR, we determined that some paralyzed mice had infected motor neurons, but motor neurons are not reduced in number and the infection was not present in all paralyzed mice; hence infection of motor neurons were not strongly correlated with paralysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Psychiatry Neurosci
January 2025
From the Department of Neurology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China (Qiao, Zhao, Cong, Y. Li, Tian, Yang, Cao, Su); the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou, China (Zhu); the Department of Medical Imaging, Henan Provincial People's Hospital & Zhengzhou University People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China (P. Li).
Background: White matter damage is closely associated with cognitive and psychiatric symptoms and is prevalent in cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD); although the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in CSVD remain elusive, inflammation plays a crucial role. We sought to investigate the relationship between systemic inflammation markers and imaging markers of CVSD, namely white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and microstructural injury.
Methods: We conducted a study involving both cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the UK Biobank Cohort.
Dev Biol
January 2025
Institute of Life Sciences and Health (ILSH), School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, UK. Electronic address:
Conjoined twinning is a special case of monozygotic, monoamniotic twinning. Human conjoined twinning, and vertebrate conjoined twinning in general, is a very rare phenomenon. It has been suggested that the risk of conjoined twinning increases with some medication and upon assisted reproduction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorld Neurosurg
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Medicine Faculty of Van Yuzuncu Yıl University, Van, Türkiye. Electronic address:
Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction in adults, often progressing silently. Static MRI is the standard imaging tool but may miss compression caused by neck movement. Dynamic MRI, by capturing flexion and extension views, provides a clearer picture of spinal cord compression, aiding surgical planning and improving outcomes.
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