A Nonoperative Approach for Neurosurgical Management of a Sylvian Fissure Dermoid Cyst.

The nonoperative management of sylvian fissure dermoid/epidermoid cysts presents a risk that is difficult to quantify. With rupture, potentially fatal complications such as chemical meningitis, hydrocephalus, fever, seizure, or meningeal irritation may occur. In this paper, we present an asymptomatic case of such a cyst with imaging evidence of prior rupture, and we review the literature for the likelihood of future complications.

Human subcortical brain asymmetries in 15,847 people worldwide reveal effects of age and sex.

The two hemispheres of the human brain differ functionally and structurally. Despite over a century of research, the extent to which brain asymmetry is influenced by sex, handedness, age, and genetic factors is still controversial. Here we present the largest ever analysis of subcortical brain asymmetries, in a harmonized multi-site study using meta-analysis methods.

Inhibitory control in obesity and binge eating disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of neurocognitive and neuroimaging studies.

The ability to exercise appropriate inhibitory control is critical in the regulation of body weight, but the exact mechanisms are not known. In this systematic review, we identified 37 studies that used specific neuropsychological tasks relevant to inhibitory control performance in obese participants with and without binge eating disorder (BED). We performed a meta-analysis of the studies that used the stop signal task (N=8).

Anti-herpesviral effects of a novel broad range anti-microbial quaternary ammonium silane, K21.

We have created a novel quaternary ammonium silane, K21 through sol-gel chemistry, using an ethoxylated version of an organosilane quaternary ammonium compound and TetraEthyl Ortho Silicate (TEOS) as precursors. Previous studies using the precursor molecule quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and a methacryloxy version of K21, primarily designed for use in dental healthcare, have shown inhibited growth properties against several types of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces naeslundii and Candida albicans etc. Here we tested the effect of K21 on HSV-1, HHV-6A and HHV-7 in in vitro cell culture infection models.

Neurocognitive functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder and their healthy siblings: A preliminary study.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been consistently reported in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). The cognitive profile of siblings of individuals with BD is, however, less clearly established possibly due to the heterogeneity of neuropsychological measures used in previous studies. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the cognitive function of siblings of individuals with BD and compare it with that of their first-degree relatives suffering with BD, and healthy controls (HC) using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) - a comprehensive and validated computerized cognitive battery.

Reduced Inhibitory Control Mediates the Relationship Between Cortical Thickness in the Right Superior Frontal Gyrus and Body Mass Index.

Unhealthy eating behaviors often develop in the setting of inadequate inhibitory control, a function broadly ascribed to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Regulation of inhibitory control by the PFC and its anatomical components and their contribution to increasing body mass index (BMI) are poorly understood. To study the role of PFC in the regulation of inhibitory control and body weight, we examined measures of cortical thickness in PFC sub-regions, inhibitory control (color-word interference task (CWIT)), and BMI in 91 healthy volunteers.

Identification and individualized prediction of clinical phenotypes in bipolar disorders using neurocognitive data, neuroimaging scans and machine learning.

Diagnosis, clinical management and research of psychiatric disorders remain subjective - largely guided by historically developed categories which may not effectively capture underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of dysfunction. Here, we report a novel approach of identifying and validating distinct and biologically meaningful clinical phenotypes of bipolar disorders using both unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques. First, neurocognitive data were analyzed using an unsupervised machine learning approach and two distinct clinical phenotypes identified namely; phenotype I and phenotype II.

Subcortical volumetric abnormalities in bipolar disorder.

Considerable uncertainty exists about the defining brain changes associated with bipolar disorder (BD). Understanding and quantifying the sources of uncertainty can help generate novel clinical hypotheses about etiology and assist in the development of biomarkers for indexing disease progression and prognosis. Here we were interested in quantifying case-control differences in intracranial volume (ICV) and each of eight subcortical brain measures: nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, hippocampus, globus pallidus, putamen, thalamus, lateral ventricles.

The relationship between cortical thickness and body mass index differs between women with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by extreme underweight. Studies conducted with structural MRI found reductions in brain volumes in several areas, but results are mixed. Cortical thickness has shown in other samples specific correlations with BMI in different BMI ranges.

Extensive white matter abnormalities and clinical symptoms in drug-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia: a voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging study.

Background: Increasing evidence shows that disruption of connectivity has been implicated as a central abnormality in schizophrenia, and the alterations in white matter may be the core basis for this disconnection. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown white matter abnormalities in first-episode schizophrenia. However, few studies have examined the correlation between clinical symptoms and white matter abnormalities in drug-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Confirmation of MRI anatomical measurements as endophenotypic markers for bipolar disorder in a new sample from the NIMH Genetics of Bipolar Disorder in Latino Populations study.

The main objective of this study is to establish potential neuromorphometric differences which might act as markers of genetic risk for bipolar disorder and therefore serve as endophenotypes for discovery of genes that contribute to bipolar disorder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess structural brain volumes of 49 subjects. Volumetric analyses were first performed to test possible differences in the volume of brain structures between subjects with bipolar disorder type I (BPI) and control subjects in a new sample, based on regions previously reported in the literature as being either increased or decreased in size in bipolar patients.

Predictive classification of pediatric bipolar disorder using atlas-based diffusion weighted imaging and support vector machines.

Previous studies have reported abnormalities of white-matter diffusivity in pediatric bipolar disorder. However, it has not been established whether these abnormalities are able to distinguish individual subjects with pediatric bipolar disorder from healthy controls with a high specificity and sensitivity. Diffusion-weighted imaging scans were acquired from 16 youths diagnosed with DSM-IV bipolar disorder and 16 demographically matched healthy controls.

Interaction between BDNF rs6265 Met allele and low family cohesion is associated with smaller left hippocampal volume in pediatric bipolar disorder.

Background: Genetic and environmental factors are implicated in the onset and evolution of pediatric bipolar disorder, and may be associated to structural brain abnormalities. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of the interaction between the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) rs6265 polymorphism and family functioning on hippocampal volumes of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, and typically-developing controls.

Methods: We evaluated the family functioning cohesion subscale using the Family Environment Scale-Revised, genotyped the BDNF rs6265 polymorphism, and performed structural brain imaging in 29 children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, and 22 healthy controls.

Identifying neuroanatomical signatures of anorexia nervosa: a multivariate machine learning approach.

Background: There are currently no neuroanatomical biomarkers of anorexia nervosa (AN) available to make clinical inferences at an individual subject level. We present results of a multivariate machine learning (ML) approach utilizing structural neuroanatomical scan data to differentiate AN patients from matched healthy controls at an individual subject level.

Method: Structural neuroimaging scans were acquired from 15 female patients with AN (age = 20, s.

Prospective evaluation of postoperative penile rehabilitation: penile length/girth maintenance 1 year following Coloplast Titan inflatable penile prosthesis.

Introduction: The most prevalent long-term complaint after successful inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) surgery is reduction of penile length. The purpose of this study was to evaluate penile measurements in patients whose implantation experience included the aggressive new length measurement technique (NLMT) coupled with postoperative IPP rehabilitation (daily inflation) of the implant for 1 year. Moreover, we aimed to document objective data concerning dimensional changes of the phallus over time.

Prediction of pediatric unipolar depression using multiple neuromorphometric measurements: a pattern classification approach.

Background: Diagnosis of pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders such as unipolar depression is largely based on clinical judgment - without objective biomarkers to guide diagnostic process and subsequent therapeutic interventions. Neuroimaging studies have previously reported average group-level neuroanatomical differences between patients with pediatric unipolar depression and healthy controls. In the present study, we investigated the utility of multiple neuromorphometric indices in distinguishing pediatric unipolar depression patients from healthy controls at an individual subject level.

Changes in the corpus callosum in women with late-stage bipolar disorder.

Objective: This study investigated the differences in corpus callosum (CC) volumes between women with early-stage and late-stage bipolar I (BP I) disorder using the criteria previously described in the literature.

Method: We compared women with early- and late-stage BP I using criteria described in the Staging Systems Task Force Report of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders. We included 20 patients with early stage and 21 patients with late-stage BP I and a group of 25 healthy controls.

The management of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: current status and perspectives.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with important cognitive deficits that persist during the periods of remission. Although these deficits seem to play an important role in the functional impairment experienced by bipolar patients, evidence regarding their clinical management is scant. We revised the databases PubMed, MEDLINE, and clinicaltrials.

Visualization and unsupervised predictive clustering of high-dimensional multimodal neuroimaging data.

Background: Neuroimaging machine learning studies have largely utilized supervised algorithms - meaning they require both neuroimaging scan data and corresponding target variables (e.g. healthy vs.

Prediction of pediatric bipolar disorder using neuroanatomical signatures of the amygdala.

Objectives: Pediatric bipolar disorder is currently diagnosed based on signs and symptoms, and without objective diagnostic biomarkers. In the present study, we investigated the utility of structural neuroanatomical signatures of the amygdala to objectively differentiate individual subjects with pediatric bipolar disorder from matched healthy controls.

Methods: Structural T1 -weighted neuroimaging scans were obtained from 16 children and adolescents with unmedicated DSM-IV bipolar disorder (11 males, five females) and 16 matched healthy controls (11 males, five females).

Discordant twins as a tool to unravel the aetiology of bipolar disorder.

This editorial focuses on discordant twins as a valuable epidemiological design for psychiatric aetiological research. First, we summarise the advantages and strengths of this design over the classical matched case-control study. Then, we draw attention to the use of this method in bipolar disorder, revising previous discordant-twin studies.

Machine learning approaches: from theory to application in schizophrenia.

In recent years, machine learning approaches have been successfully applied for analysis of neuroimaging data, to help in the context of disease diagnosis. We provide, in this paper, an overview of recent support vector machine-based methods developed and applied in psychiatric neuroimaging for the investigation of schizophrenia. In particular, we focus on the algorithms implemented by our group, which have been applied to classify subjects affected by schizophrenia and healthy controls, comparing them in terms of accuracy results with other recently published studies.

Mechanism and structure of the bacterial type IV secretion systems.

The bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) translocate DNA and protein substrates to bacterial or eukaryotic target cells generally by a mechanism dependent on direct cell-to-cell contact. The T4SSs encompass two large subfamilies, the conjugation systems and the effector translocators. The conjugation systems mediate interbacterial DNA transfer and are responsible for the rapid dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence determinants in clinical settings.