Hair Follicle Nevus Located on the Neck: Comparison with Accessory Tragus,Cervical Chondrocutaneous Branchial Remnants and Trichofolliculoma

Hair follicle nevus (HFN) is a rare, benign, follicular hamartoma that most frequently presents as a congenital nodule on the face. We experienced a rare case of HFN on the neck of a 14-year-old boy and performed a pilot immunohistochemical study with cytokeratin 19 (CK19) to compare the staining pattern of hair follicles in HFN and its differential diagnoses, accessory tragus, cervical chondrocutaneous branchial remnants (CCBR) and trichofolliculoma. With hematoxylin and eosin stain, HFN showed numerous tiny hair follicles in the dermis with several sebaceous and eccrine glands, and perifollicular fibrous thickening. With CK19 stain, some hair follicles in HFN and CCBR showed positive expression, a few hair follicles in accessory tragus showed weak expression, and no hair follicles in trichofolliculoma showed expression. The present report supports the view that HFN, accessory tragus and CCBR are within the same spectrum of hamartomas.     

A retrospective analysis of re‐exploration after living donor right lobe liver transplantation: incidence,causes, outcomes,and risk factors

Despite technical difficulties, right lobe liver grafting is preferred in living donor liver transplantation because of the graft size. Re‐exploration after living donor right lobe liver transplantation (LRLT) has never been separately analyzed. We aimed to analyze the incidence, causes, outcomes, and risk factors of re‐exploration after LRLT. We reviewed medical records of 1016 LRLT recipients from October 2003 to July 2017 and identified recipients who underwent re‐exploration within hospital stay. Separate analyses were also performed according to cause of re‐exploration. The overall incidence of re‐exploration was 17.0% (173/1016). The most common cause of re‐exploration was bleeding (50%). Overall re‐exploration was associated with clinical outcome, but different results were shown on analyses according to cause of re‐exploration. Risk factors of re‐exploration were underlying hepatocellular carcinoma and operative duration [Odds ratio (OR), 1.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05–2.12; P = 0.03, and OR, 1.002; 95% CI, 1.001–1.004; P = 0.0023, respectively]. Re‐exploration after LRLT is relatively common, and is strongly associated with mortality and graft failure.     

MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy for treatment of medically refractory non-lesional mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: Outcomes,complications, and current limitations: A review

There is a new focus on minimally invasive treatments for medically refractory mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) is one such minimally invasive procedure, which utilizes MRI guidance and real-time feedback to ablate an epileptogenic focus. A total of 38 patients presenting exclusively with MTLE and no other lesions (including neoplasia), who underwent MRgLITT were reviewed. We evaluated a number of outcome measures, including seizure freedom, neuropsychological performance, complications, and other considerations. Eighteen (53%) had an Engel class I outcome, 10 patients had repeat procedures/operations, and 12 post-procedural complications occurred. Follow-up time ranged from 6 to 38.5 months. There was a decreased length of procedure time, hospitalization time, and analgesic requirement when compared to open surgery. In cases of well-localized MTLE this procedure may offer similar (albeit slightly lower) rates of seizure freedom versus traditional surgery. MRgLITT may be an alternative treatment option for high risk surgical patients and, more importantly, could increase referrals for surgery in patients with medically refractory MTLE. However, data is limited and long-term outcomes have not been evaluated. Further investigation is required to understand the potential of this minimally invasive technique for MTLE.     

特发性快速眼球运动睡眠行为障碍患者认知脑区灰质体积的改变

目的 通过对特发性快速眼球运动睡眠行为障碍(iRBD)患者认知脑区改变的探索,寻找其与帕金森病(PD)患者大脑形态改变的异同,为两者的联系提供依据.方法 对14例iRBD患者、12例PD患者及8名健康人(CON组)进行认知心理测评(复杂图形测试、临摹及回忆、符号-数字转换测试、连线测试、画钟测试、数字广度测验)及磁共振检查,采用基于体素形态学的研究技术进行分析.结果 iRBD组及PD组患者的数字符号转换测试、连线测验测试2与CON组之间的差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05),iRBD组与PD组间的差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);与CON组比较,iRBD组与PD组患者的右顶叶及左枕叶体积均缩小(P<0.05),但iRBD组与PD组间的差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);PD组右枕叶较CON组体积减小(P<0.05).结论 iRBD患者及PD患者均出现注意力及执行功能等认知能力下降,并且都出现右顶叶和枕叶萎缩,提示两者的认知损害存在相似的病理基础.     

Distinct white matter injury associated with medial temporal lobe atrophy in Alzheimer's versus semantic dementia

This study aims at further understanding the distinct vulnerability of brain networks in Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus semantic dementia (SD) investigating the white matter injury associated with medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy in both conditions. Twenty‐six AD patients, twenty‐one SD patients, and thirty‐nine controls underwent a high‐resolution T1‐MRI scan allowing to obtain maps of grey matter volume and white matter density. A statistical conjunction approach was used to identify MTL regions showing grey matter atrophy in both patient groups. The relationship between this common grey matter atrophy and white matter density maps was then assessed within each patient group. Patterns of grey matter atrophy were distinct in AD and SD but included a common region in the MTL, encompassing the hippocampus and amygdala. This common atrophy was associated with alterations in different white matter areas in AD versus SD, mainly including the cingulum and corpus callosum in AD, while restricted to the temporal lobe — essentially the uncinate and inferior longitudinal fasciculi — in SD. Complementary analyses revealed that these relationships remained significant when controlling for global atrophy or disease severity. Overall, this study provides the first evidence that atrophy of the same MTL region is related to damage in distinct white matter fibers in AD and SD. These different patterns emphasize the vulnerability of distinct brain networks related to the MTL in these two disorders, which might underlie the discrepancy in their symptoms. These results further suggest differences between AD and SD in the neuropathological processes occurring in the MTL. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1791–1800, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Neural correlates of formal thought disorder: An activation likelihood estimation meta‐analysis

Formal thought disorder (FTD) refers to a psychopathological dimension characterized by disorganized and incoherent speech. Whether symptoms of FTD arise from aberrant processing in language‐related regions or more general cognitive networks, however, remains debated. Here, we addressed this question by a quantitative meta‐analysis of published functional neuroimaging studies on FTD. The revised Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm was used to test for convergent aberrant activation changes in 18 studies (30 experiments) investigating FTD, of which 17 studies comprised schizophrenia patients and one study healthy subjects administered to S‐ketamine. Additionally, we analyzed task‐dependent and task‐independent (resting‐state) functional connectivity (FC) of brain regions showing convergence in activation changes. Subsequent functional characterization was performed for the initial clusters and the delineated connectivity networks by reference to the BrainMap database. Consistent activation changes were found in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and two regions within the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (p‐MTG), ventrally (vp‐MTG) and dorsally (dp‐MTG). Functional characterization revealed a prominent functional association of ensuing clusters from our ALE meta‐analysis with language and speech processing, as well as auditory perception in STG and with social cognition in dp‐MTG. FC analysis identified task‐dependent and task‐independent networks for all three seed regions, which were mainly related to language and speech processing, but showed additional involvement in higher order cognitive functions. Our findings suggest that FTD is mainly characterized by abnormal activation in brain regions of the left hemisphere that are associated with language and speech processing, but also extend to higher order cognitive functions. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4946–4965, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Obstructive sleep apnea and its controversial effects on cognition

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a sleep disorder that may affect many brain functions. We are interested in the cognitive consequences of the condition with regard to the quality of life of individuals with this disorder. A debate is still underway as to whether cognitive difficulties caused by obstructive sleep apnea actually induce a “pseudodementia” pattern. This work provides a brief overview of the main controversies currently surrounding this issue. We report findings and opinions on structural and cognitive brain changes in individuals affected by obstructive sleep apnea by highlighting the involvement of executive functions and the possible reversibility of signs following-treatment with continuous positive airway pressure. Much research has been done on this issue but, to the best of our knowledge, a review of the present state of the literature evaluating different points of view has not yet been carried out.