Automated White Matter Fiber Tract Segmentation for the Brainstem.

This study aimed to develop an automatic segmentation method for brainstem fiber bundles. We utilized the brainstem as a seed region for probabilistic tractography based on multishell, multitissue constrained spherical deconvolution in 40 subjects from the Human Connectome Project (HCP). All tractography data were registered into a common space to construct a brainstem fiber cluster atlas.

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells enhance acellular nerve allografts to promote peripheral nerve regeneration by facilitating angiogenesis.

Previous research has demonstrated the feasibility of repairing nerve defects through acellular allogeneic nerve grafting with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. However, adult tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells encounter various obstacles, including limited tissue sources, invasive acquisition methods, cellular heterogeneity, purification challenges, cellular senescence, and diminished pluripotency and proliferation over successive passages. In this study, we used induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells, known for their self-renewal capacity, multilineage differentiation potential, and immunomodulatory characteristics.

The value of dynamic changes in FT3 level for predicting 90-day prognosis of HBV-ACLF patients.

Objective: To explore the effect of dynamic changes in free triiodothyronine (FT3) level for predicting the 90 day prognosis of patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF).

Methods: The clinical data of 122 hospitalised patients with HBV-ACLF between September 2018 and January 2020 were collected and divided into a survival group (77 cases) and a death group (45 cases) according to the 90 day prognosis. We statistically analysed the characteristics of FT3 changes in the two groups of patients.

Surgical treatment of Roussouly type 1 with realigning Roussouly spinal shape and improving SRS-Schwab modifier: effect on minimal clinically important difference.

Purpose: To evaluate outcomes of choosing different Roussouly shapes and improving in Schwab modifiers for surgical Roussouly type 1 patients.

Methods: Baseline (BL) and 2-year (2Y) clinical data of adult spinal deformity (ASD) patients presenting with Roussouly type 1 sagittal spinal alignment were isolated in the single-center spine database. Patients were grouped into Roussouly type 1, 2 and 3 with anteverted pelvis (3a) postoperatively.

Sliding transformer with uncertainty estimation for vestibular schwannoma automatic segmentation.

Automated segmentation of vestibular schwannoma (VS) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can enhance clinical efficiency. Though many advanced methods exist for automated VS segmentation, the accuracy is hindered by ambivalent tumor borders and cystic regions in some patients. In addition, these methods provide results that do not indicate segmentation uncertainty, making their translation into clinical workflows difficult due to potential errors.

Role of Decompressive Craniectomy in the Treatment of Malignant Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: A Single Center Consecutive Case Series Study in China.

Objective: Patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) may die during the acute phase due to increased intracranial pressure and cerebral herniation. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of decompressive craniectomy in the treatment of patients with malignant CVST.

Methods: Patients who underwent decompressive craniectomy and were consequently admitted to the Critical Care Unit, Department of Neurosurgery, at Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital from March 2010 to January 2021 were retrospectively examined with follow-up data at 12 months.

Combining stereotactic body radiotherapy with immunotherapy in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Oligometastasis has been associated with better prognosis than widespread metastatic disease and may be curable by stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). SBRT can stimulate immunogenic anti-tumor activity, which can be further augmented when combined with immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).

Comprehensive Analysis of the Sorafenib-Associated Druggable Targets on Differential Gene Expression and ceRNA Network in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant pathological type of liver cancer. Several therapeutic treatments, including sorafenib and regorafenib, have only modestly improved survival in patients with HCC. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles and the regulation of competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) of the sorafenib-related target genes in HCC.

Mechanistic rationales for combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy.

Immunotherapy consisted mainly of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has led to significantly improved antitumor response. However, such response has been observed only in tumors possessing an overall responsive tumor immune micro-environment (TIME), in which the presence of functional tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is critical. Various mechanisms of immune escape from immunosurveillance exist, leading to different TIME phenotypes in correlation with primary or acquired resistance to ICIs.

Early Mobilization for Critically Ill Patients.

Advances in the field of critical care medicine have helped improve the survival rate of these ill patients. Several studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of early mobilization as an important component of critical care rehabilitation. However, there have been some inconsistent results.

Study on automatic ultrasound scanning of lumbar spine and visualization system for path planning in lumbar puncture surgery.

In lumbar puncture surgery, compared with the conventional methodologies like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging offers the advantages of being low cost, no radiation and real-time image generation. However, the use of ultrasound equipment in lumbar puncture involves a cumbersome and time-consuming process for the subjective imaging of the overall structure of the lumbar spine in order to determine the exact puncture point and path. Meanwhile, the robotic arm puncture system has the advantages of high precision, good stability and simple and efficient operation.

Roussouly type 2 could evolve into type 1 shape as sagittal spinal alignment deterioration progresses with age.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Objective: To identify whether Roussouly type 2 could evolve into type 1 as the deterioration progresses.

Methods: The study group comprised subjects with a low pelvic incidence (PI).

Identification of prognostic biomarkers in the CMTM family genes of human ovarian cancer through bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification.

Ovarian cancer (OV) is one of the most common gynecological malignancies worldwide, and its immunotherapy has considerable prospects. Multiple members of the CMTM family were aberrantly expressed in human cancers and controlled key malignant biological processes and immune regulation in cancer development. However, little is known about the function of this gene family in ovarian cancer, especially in terms of immunity.

The Median Effective Dose and Bispectral Index of Remimazolam Tosilate for Anesthesia Induction in Elderly Patients: An Up-and-Down Sequential Allocation Trial.

Purpose: Remimazolam is a new type of ultrashort benzodiazepine drug with an unclear optimal dose for general anesthesia induction in elderly patients aged >60 years. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effective dose of remimazolam tosilate induction and explore its correlation with the bispectral index (BIS).

Patients And Methods: A total of 42 elderly patients were divided into two age groups: 60-69 (group A) and 70-85 (group B) years.

Tractography of the stria terminalis in the human brain.

The aim of this study was to investigate the trajectory of the stria terminalis and develop a protocol for mapping the stria terminalis using multi-shell diffusion images based tractography. The stria terminalis was reconstructed by combining one region of interest at the amygdala with another region of interest at the bed nucleus of stria terminalis. In addition, one region of avoidance was placed on the fornix at the interventricular foramen and another was set at the anterior perforated substance.

Automatic oculomotor nerve identification based on data-driven fiber clustering.

The oculomotor nerve (OCN) is the main motor nerve innervating eye muscles and can be involved in multiple flammatory, compressive, or pathologies. The diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) tractography is now widely used to describe the trajectory of the OCN. However, the complex cranial structure leads to difficulties in fiber orientation distribution (FOD) modeling, fiber tracking, and region of interest (ROI) selection.

The trajectory of the medial longitudinal fasciculus in the human brain: A diffusion imaging-based tractography study.

The aim of this study is to investigate the trajectory of medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) and explore its anatomical relationship with the oculomotor nerve using tractography technique. The MLF and oculomotor nerve were reconstructed at the same time with preset three region of interests (ROIs): one set at the area of rostral midbrain, one placed on the MLF area at the upper pons, and one placed at the cisternal part of the oculomotor nerve. This mapping protocol was tested in an HCP-1065 template, 35 health subjects from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), 20 healthy adults and 6 brainstem cavernous malformation (BCM) patients with generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI)-based tractography.

Tractography of the ansa lenticularis in the human brain.

The aim of this study was to make a thorough investigation of the trajectory of the ansa lenticularis (AL) and its subcomponents using high-resolution fiber-tracking tractography. The subcomponents of the AL were reconstructed from one region of interest (ROI) in the area of the globus pallidus combined with another ROI in the red nucleus, substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, or thalamus. This fiber-tracking protocol was tested in an HCP-1065 template, 35 healthy subjects from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and 20 healthy subjects from the human connectome project (HCP) using generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI)-based tractography.

Selecting proper distal fusion level in severe thoracolumbar kyphosis secondary to late osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture to limit distal complications.

Background: Surgical treatment of severe thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK) secondary to late osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) presents several challenges to spine surgeons. Proper selection of distal fusion level is an important issue in surgical planning to decrease the likelihood of distal mechanical complications. This study was designed to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes in elderly patients suffering from severe TLK related with late OVCF between different distal fusion strategies and to recommend a superior distal fusion level for these patients.

Automated facial-vestibulocochlear nerve complex identification based on data-driven tractography clustering.

Small size and intricate anatomical environment are the main difficulties facing tractography of the facial-vestibulocochlear nerve complex (FVN), and lead to challenges in fiber orientation distribution (FOD) modeling, fiber tracking, region-of-interest selection, and fiber filtering. Experts need rich experience in anatomy and tractography, as well as substantial labor costs, to identify the FVN. Thus, we present a pipeline to identify the FVN automatically, in what we believe is the first study of the automated identification of the FVN.

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Behavior of Pelvic Incidence After Different Posterior Spinal Procedures in Elderly Patients With Spinal Deformity.

Study Design: A retrospective case-control study.

Objective: To evaluate the behavior of pelvic incidence (PI) after different posterior spinal procedures in elderly patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD), to determine the potential associated factors with the variability in PI after spinal surgery and to comprehensively analyze its mechanisms.

Methods: Elderly patients underwent long fusion to sacrum with and without pelvic fixation were assigned to Group L+P and Group L-P, respectively.