The causal effects of gut microbiota on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and T2* imaging-derived phenotypes: insights from a Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Gut microbiota are associated with brain imaging-derived phenotypes (IDPs); however, the specific causal relationship between the gut microbiota and brain iron-related IDPs remains unclear. Thus, we sought to analyze the potential causal effects of gut microbiota on brain iron-related IDPs using Mendelian randomization (MR).

Methods: We obtained the data of 196 gut microbiota from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) from the MiBioGen database, as well as the data of 18 quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) IDPs and 10 T2* IDPs from the United Kingdom Biobank (UKB).

Assessing microvascular dysfunction and predicting long-term prognosis in patients with cardiac amyloidosis by cardiovascular magnetic resonance quantitative stress perfusion.

Background: Cardiac involvement in light chain amyloidosis (AL) is the main determinant of prognosis. Amyloid can be deposited in the extracellular space and cause an increase in extracellular volume fraction (ECV). At the same time, amyloid can also be deposited in the wall of small vessels and cause microvascular dysfunction.

The application of artificial intelligence in diabetic retinopathy: progress and prospects.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI), especially deep learning models, has increasingly been integrated into diagnosing and treating diabetic retinopathy (DR). From delving into the singular realm of ocular fundus photography to the gradual development of proteomics and other molecular approaches, from machine learning (ML) to deep learning (DL), the journey has seen a transition from a binary diagnosis of "presence or absence" to the capability of discerning the progression and severity of DR based on images from various stages of the disease course. Since the FDA approval of IDx-DR in 2018, a plethora of AI models has mushroomed, gradually gaining recognition through a myriad of clinical trials and validations.

Endothelial cells derived extracellular vesicles promote diabetic arterial calcification via circ_0008362/miR-1251-5p/Runx2 axial.

Introduction: Arterial calcification, an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, increases morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), but its mechanisms remain unclear. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in intercellular communication. The study investigates the role and potential mechanisms of EVs derived from endothelial cells (ECs) in regulating vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calcification under high glucose (HG) condition, with a goal of developing effective prevention and treatment strategies for diabetic arterial calcification.

Investigating the shared genetic links between hypothyroidism and psychiatric disorders: a large-scale genomewide cross-trait analysis.

Background: Associations between thyroid diseases and psychiatric disorders have been mainly described before. However, the genetic mechanism behind hypothyroidism and psychiatric disorders remains unexplained.

Methods: We examined the genetic architecture of hypothyroidism and 8 psychiatric disorders.

Multimodal neuroimaging exploration of the mechanisms of sleep quality deterioration after SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection.

Background: To evaluate the neurological alterations induced by Omicron infection, to compare brain changes in chronic insomnia with those in exacerbated chronic insomnia in Omicron patients, and to examine individuals without insomnia alongside those with new-onset insomnia.

Methods: In this study, a total of 135 participants were recruited between January 11 and May 4, 2023, including 26 patients with chronic insomnia without exacerbation, 24 patients with chronic insomnia with exacerbation, 40 patients with no sleep disorder, and 30 patients with new-onset insomnia after infection with Omicron (a total of 120 participants with different sleep statuses after infection), as well as 15 healthy controls who were never infected with Omicron. Neuropsychiatric data, clinical symptoms, and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging data were collected.

Acute limbic system connectivity predicts chronic cognitive function in mild traumatic brain injury: An individualized differential structural covariance network study.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a known risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, yet the precise pathophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understand, often obscured by group-level analysis in non-invasive neuroimaging studies. Individual-based method is critical to exploring heterogeneity in mTBI. We recruited 80 mTBI patients and 40 matched healthy controls, obtaining high-resolution structural MRI for constructing Individual Differential Structural Covariance Networks (IDSCN).

Mask-aware transformer with structure invariant loss for CT translation.

Multi-phase enhanced computed tomography (MPECT) translation from plain CT can help doctors to detect the liver lesion and prevent patients from the allergy during MPECT examination. Existing CT translation methods directly learn an end-to-end mapping from plain CT to MPECT, ignoring the crucial clinical domain knowledge. As clinicians subtract the plain CT from MPECT images as subtraction image to highlight the contrast-enhanced regions and further to facilitate liver disease diagnosis in the clinical diagnosis, we aim to exploit this domain knowledge for automatic CT translation.

Corrigendum: Genetic overlap and causality between COVID-19 and multi-site chronic pain: the importance of immunity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.

Hereditary and cortical morphological biomarker of sensitivity to reward in short-term withdrawal methamphetamine abusers.

Higher sensitivity to reward (SR) and weaker sensitivity to punishment (SP) construct the fundamental craving characteristics of methamphetamine abuse. However, few studies have appraised relationships between SR/SP (SR or SP) and cortical morphological alterations in methamphetamine abusers and whether hereditary factors take effects on SR/SP is unclear. Based on surface-based morphometric analysis, cortical discrepancy was investigated between 38 methamphetamine abusers and 37 healthy controls.

Investigating the shared genetic architecture between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and risk taking behavior: A large-scale genomewide cross-trait analysis.

Background: This study aims to explore the genetic architecture shared between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and risk behavior.

Methods: Based on the latest large-scale Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we firstly employed Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and Local Analysis of Variant Association (LAVA) to investigate the genetic correlation between risk behavior and ADHD. Then, we conducted cross-trait analysis to identified the Pleiotropic loci.

Alterations in cortical volume and complexity in Parkinson's disease with depression.

Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate differences in gray matter volume and cortical complexity between Parkinson's disease with depression (PDD) patients and Parkinson's disease without depression (PDND) patients.

Methods: A total of 41 PDND patients, 36 PDD patients, and 38 healthy controls (HC) were recruited and analyzed by Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM). Differences in gray matter volume and cortical complexity were compared using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlated with the Hamilton Depression Scale-17 (HAMD-17) scores.

Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction and Diffuse Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Using Quantitative Perfusion MRI.

Background: Imaging techniques that quantitatively and automatically measure changes in the myocardial microcirculation in patients with diabetes are lacking.

Purpose: To detect diabetic myocardial microvascular complications using a novel automatic quantitative perfusion MRI technique, and to explore the relationship between myocardial microcirculation dysfunction and fibrosis.

Study Type: Prospective.

Investigating the shared genetic architecture between COVID-19 and obesity: a large-scale genome wide cross-trait analysis.

Observational studies have reported high comorbidity between obesity and severe COVID-19. The aim of this study is to explore whether genetic factors are involved in the co-occurrence of the two traits. Based on the available genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics, we explored the genetic correlation and performed cross-trait meta-analysis (CPASSOC) and colocalization analysis (COLOC) to detect pleiotropic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Altered orientation dispersion index of white matter in individuals with insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study combining neuroimaging technique and Mendelian randomization.

Study Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to insomnia. However, associations between COVID-19-caused insomnia and white matter (WM) changes are unclear.

Methods: All subjects had ever been infected with COVID-19.

Connectome-based predictive modelling can predict follow-up craving after abstinence in individuals with opioid use disorders.

Background: Individual differences have been detected in individuals with opioid use disorders (OUD) in rehabilitation following protracted abstinence. Recent studies suggested that prediction models were effective for individual-level prognosis based on neuroimage data in substance use disorders (SUD).

Aims: This prospective cohort study aimed to assess neuroimaging biomarkers for individual response to protracted abstinence in opioid users using connectome-based predictive modelling (CPM).

Identifying Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy: A New Perspective from Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Type C hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a condition characterized by brain dysfunction caused by liver insufficiency and/or portal-systemic blood shunting, which manifests as a broad spectrum of neurological or psychiatric abnormalities, ranging from minimal HE (MHE), detectable only by neuropsychological or neurophysiological assessment, to coma. Though MHE is the subclinical phase of HE, it is highly prevalent in cirrhotic patients and strongly associated with poor quality of life, high risk of overt HE, and mortality. It is, therefore, critical to identify MHE at the earliest and timely intervene, thereby minimizing the subsequent complications and costs.

Higher-order sensorimotor circuit of the whole-brain functional network involved in pruritus regulation in atopic dermatitis.

Background: Little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying pruritus regulation in Atopic dermatitis (AD).

Objective: To investigate the functional changes of the resting-state whole brain network of AD participants and the mechanisms by which they were involved in pruritus regulation.

Method: Based on the functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 19 AD participants and 37 healthy controls (HC), a graph-theoretical measure of degree centrality (DC) conjoined with a voxel-level seed-based functional connectivity (FC) method was used to identify abnormal higher-order nodes and the functionally relevant circuit in AD participants compared to healthy controls (HC).

Gray Matter Thickness and Subcortical Nuclear Volume in Men After SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection.

Importance: The clinical manifestations and effects on the brain of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in the acute postinfection phase remain unclear.

Objective: To investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying clinical symptoms and changes to gray matter and subcortical nuclei among male patients after Omicron infection and to provide an imaging basis for early detection and intervention.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cohort study, a total of 207 men underwent health screening magnetic resonance imaging scans between August 28 and September 18, 2022; among them, 98 provided complete imaging and neuropsychiatric data.