Lipid peroxidation in several brain regions during development of post-stress depressions in rats with different strategies of adaptive behavior

Lipid peroxidation in the brain cortex, striatum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus of rats of the KLA and KHA lines which were distinguished by their strategies of adaptive behavior was investigated following emotional-painful stress. Significant long-term changes in lipid peroxidation were shown to occur in the brain. These had a phase character and depended on the behavioral characteristics of the animals. The investigated brain regions were characterized by different reactions of lipid peroxidation to the stress. The induced depressive-like states (on the 21st day after the stress) in rats of the KLA and KHA lines were distinguished by the largest changes in lipid peroxidation in the striatum and hypothalamus and in the striatum and hippocampus, respectively. One could conclude on the basis of these results that both identical and different mechanisms of formation and development of depression existed in the animals with different behavioral strategies.     

Real-time refinement of subthalamic nucleus targeting using Bayesian decision-making on the root mean square measure.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a major target for treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery. Microelectrode recording (MER) is used in many cases to identify the target nucleus. A real-time procedure for identifying the entry and exit points of the STN would improve the outcome of this targeting procedure. We used the normalized root mean square (NRMS) of a short (5 seconds) MER sampled signal and the estimated anatomical distance to target (EDT) as the basis for this procedure. Electrode tip location was defined intraoperatively by an expert neurophysiologist to be before, within, or after the STN. Data from 46 trajectories of 27 patients were used to calculate the Bayesian posterior probability of being in each of these locations, given RMS-EDT pair values. We tested our predictions on each trajectory using a bootstrapping technique, with the rest of the trajectories serving as a training set and found the error in predicting the STN entry to be (mean +/- SD) 0.18 +/- 0.84, and 0.50 +/- 0.59 mm for STN exit point, which yields a 0.30 +/- 0.28 mm deviation from the expert's target center. The simplicity and computational ease of RMS calculation, its spike sorting-independent nature and tolerance to electrode parameters of this Bayesian predictor, can lead directly to the development of a fully automated intraoperative physiological procedure for the refinement of imaging estimates of STN borders.     

动态增强MR灌注成像在脑胶质瘤诊断中的价值

目的　探讨动态增强T2 WMR灌注成像在脑胶质瘤术前分级预测及鉴别诊断中的价值。资料与方法　有病理或追踪结果的 4 8例脑病变患者 ,其中胶质瘤 2 5例 (高、低级别胶质瘤分别为 16例和 9例 ) ,非胶质瘤病变 2 3例。全部病例均行常规T1WI、T2 WI和EPI SE序列动态增强MR灌注成像。计算每个病灶的最大相对脑血容量 (rCBV)比值 (病灶最大rCBV/对侧正常脑白质rCBV)。分析胶质瘤的最大rCBV比值与其组织学级别的关系 ,并比较胶质瘤与非胶质瘤的灌注异常及常规MRI强化表现。结果　高级别胶质瘤 ( 16例 )的最大rCBV比值为4 .6 0± 1.98( 2 .5 5～ 9.2 2 ) ,低级别胶质瘤 ( 9例 )的最大rCBV比值为 1.86± 1.5 2 ( 0 .85～ 5 .72 ) ,经t检验 ,两组之间有显著统计学差异 (P <0 .0 1)。脑膜瘤、转移瘤、血管母细胞瘤、淋巴瘤均显示有局部高灌注 ,最大rCBV比值为5 .35± 2 .39( 3.15～ 12 .39) ,而有强化表现的脑梗死、脑炎性灶及放射性脑损伤表现为低、等灌注 ,最大rCBV比值为1.2 7± 0 .36 ( 0 .85～ 1.72 )。结论　MR灌注成像在胶质瘤的术前影像学分级预测上有重要价值 ,在脑胶质瘤的某些鉴别诊断上亦具有一定的参考价值     

Structural white matter abnormalities in patients with idiopathic dystonia

We investigated whether structural white matter abnormalities, in the form of disruption of axonal coherence and integrity as measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), constitute an underlying pathological mechanism of idiopathic dystonia (ID), independent of genotype status. We studied seven subjects with ID: all had cervical dystonia as their main symptom (one patient also had spasmodic dysphonia and two patients had concurrent generalized dystonia, both DYT1‐negative). We compared DTI MR images of patients with 10 controls, evaluating differences in mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA). ID was associated with increased FA values in the thalamus and adjacent white matter, and in the white matter underlying the middle frontal gyrus. ID was also associated with increase in MD in adjacent white matter to the pallidum and putamen bilaterally, left caudate, and in subcortical hemispheric regions, including the postcentral gyrus. Abnormal FA and MD in patients with ID indicate that abnormal axonal coherence and integrity contribute to the pathophysiology of dystonia. These findings suggest that ID is not only a functional disorder, but also associated with structural brain changes. Impaired connectivity and disrupted flow of information may contribute to the impairment of motor planning and regulation in dystonia. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society     

Mapping brain size and cortical gray matter changes in elderly depression.

BACKGROUND: In elderly depression, volumetric brain imaging findings suggest abnormalities of the frontal lobe, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, and the hippocampus. No studies to date have mapped cortical abnormalities over the entire brain surface in major depression. Here, we conducted detailed spatial analyses of brain size and gray matter within the cortical mantle in elderly patients with major depression. METHODS: High-resolution, three-dimensional, structural magnetic resonance imaging data and cortical pattern matching methods were used in 24 depressed elderly patients and 19 group-matched controls to measure local brain size and proportions of gray matter at thousands of homologous cortical surface locations. RESULTS: Prominent brain size reductions were observed in the depressed subjects in the orbitofrontal cortex bilaterally. Cortical gray matter measurements revealed significant gray matter increases in the orbitofrontal cortex, adjacent to focal trend level significant decreases of gray matter in the same region. Depressed patients also exhibited significant gray matter increases in parietal cortices, as well as the left temporal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Complex cortical changes may contribute to the brain size reduction of the orbitofrontal cortex and to the gray matter abnormalities detected in orbitofrontal cortex and temporoparietal cortices, thereby providing a potentially new window into the pathophysiology of elderly depression.     

Implicit memory is independent from IQ and age but not from etiology: evidence from Down and Williams syndromes

Background In the last few years, experimental data have been reported on differences in implicit memory processes of genetically distinct groups of individuals with Intellectual Disability (ID). These evidences are relevant for the more general debate on supposed asynchrony of cognitive maturation in children with abnormal brain development. This study, comparing implicit memory processes in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS), was planned to verify the ‘etiological specificity’ hypotheses pertaining to the skill learning abilities of individuals with ID. Method A modified version of Nissen and Bullemer's (1987) Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task was used. The performances of three group were evaluated. The first group consisted of thirty‐two people with WS (18 males and 14 females). The second group was comprised of twenty‐six individuals with DS (14 males and 12 females). The two groups of individuals with ID were selected so that the groups were comparable as for mental age and chronological age. The third group consisted of forty‐nine typically developed children with a mental age similar to that of the groups with WS and DS. Results The two groups of individuals with ID demonstrated different patterns of procedural learning. WS individuals revealed poor implicit learning of the temporal sequence of events characterizing the ordered blocks in the SRT task. Indeed, differently from normal controls, WS participants showed no reaction time (RT) speeding through ordered blocks. Most importantly, the rebound effect, which so dramatically affected normal children's RTs passing from the last ordered to the last block, had only a marginal influence on WS children's RTs. Differently from the WS group, the rate of procedural learning of the participants with DS was comparable to that of their controls. Indeed, DS and typically developed individuals showed parallel RT variations in the series of ordered blocks and, more importantly, passing from the last ordered to the last block. Therefore, a substantial preservation of skill learning abilities in this genetic syndrome is confirmed. Conclusions The results of the present study document that procedural learning in individuals with ID depends on the aetiology of the syndrome, thus supporting the etiological specificity account of their cognitive development. These results are relevant for our knowledge about the qualitative aspects and the underlying neurobiological substrate of the anomalous cognitive development in mentally retarded people.     

Neuropathological study 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplantation in a Parkinson's disease patient.

To date, there is no clinicopathological correlation of adrenal medullary transplant cases in patients with survival beyond a few years. Postmortem examination of a brain from a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD), 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplant, was performed using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and chromogranin A. The patient experienced a four-year initial improvement in motor function followed by resumption of the progressive nature of her disease that continued until her death. She expired 16 years following grafting. At autopsy, TH stain of the brain revealed severe loss of TH-immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra and Lewy bodies, confirming the diagnosis of PD. The transplant site was identified by the presence of scarring and there was complete absence of any TH staining cells at the site of the transplant. There were few surviving cells staining with chromogranin A. The absence of TH-staining cells in the transplant 16 years after surgery provides further evidence that adrenal medullary transplants do not survive in the long term.     

MR灌注成像在评估脑胶质瘤放疗效果中的应用

目的探讨MR灌注成像在评估脑胶质瘤放疗疗效中的应用价值。方法对25例脑胶质瘤术后患者于放疗前及放疗后3、6个月行MR灌注成像及常规MRI检查。由灌注数据获取脑血容量（CBV）图和脑血流量（CBF）图。计算出病灶的最大相对局部脑血容量（rCBV）值和最大相对局部脑血流量（rCBF）值。结果25例脑胶质瘤术后放疗前肿瘤区的rCBV值和rCBF值分别为6．32±2．14和5．49±1．98，与正常脑组织的2．58±1．21和2．17±1．19相比，显著升高（P〈0．01）。其中11例放疗后rCBV值和rCBF值与放疗前相比，显著下降（P〈0．01），其中5例证实为放射性脑坏死；另14例放疗后rCBV值和rCBF值与放疗前相比，有不同程度升高，但无统计学意义（P〉9．05）。其中7例证实为肿瘤伴部分放射性坏死组织，2例死亡，5例再次行放射治疗取得较好疗效。结论MR灌注成像可作为评估脑胶质瘤放疗疗效的一项重要指标。并有助于下一步治疗方案的制定。     

Smaller hippocampal volume in patients with recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: Previous structural magnetic resonance (MR) research in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has found smaller hippocampal volumes in patients compared with control subjects. These studies have mostly involved subjects who have had PTSD for a number of years, such as war veterans or adult survivors of childhood abuse. Patients with recent-onset PTSD have rarely been investigated. To our knowledge only one other study has investigated such a group. The aim of this study was to compare hippocampal volumes of patients with recent onset PTSD and nontrauma-exposed control subjects. METHODS: Fifteen patients with PTSD, recruited from an accident and emergency department, were compared with 11, non-trauma-exposed, healthy control subjects. Patients underwent a structural MR scan soon after trauma (mean time = 158 +/- 41 days). Entire brain volumes, voxel size 1 x 1 x 1 mm, were acquired for each subject. Point counting and stereology were used to measure the hippocampal and amygdala volume of each subject. RESULTS: Right-sided hippocampal volume was significantly smaller in PTSD patients than control subjects after controlling for effects of whole brain volume and age. Neither left nor total hippocampal volume were significantly smaller in the PTSD group after correction. Whole brain volume was also found to be significantly smaller in patients. There were no differences in amygdala or white matter volumes between patients and control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: This result replicates previous findings of smaller hippocampal volumes in PTSD patients, but in an underinvestigated population, suggesting that either smaller hippocampal volume is a predisposing factor in the development of PTSD or that damage occurs within months of trauma, rather than a number of years. Either of these two hypotheses have significant implications for the treatment of PTSD. For instance, if it could be shown that screening for hippocampal volume may, in some cases, predict those likely to develop clinical PTSD.     

椎动脉狭窄76例TCD频谱分析

经颅多谱勒超声诊断仪 (TCD)是一种较为普及的脑血流检测仪 ,具有灵敏度高 ,穿透力强 ,不受声束方向限制的检测工具。为了明确它对椎动脉狭窄诊断的特殊价值 ,我们对核磁共振 (MRI)提示的 76例 (96支 )椎动脉不同程度狭窄的病例 ,又经 TCD检测 ,并对其频谱形态、血流参数进行分析比较 ,现报告如下。1　临床资料1.1　一般资料 :通过 MRI提示椎动脉狭窄血管 76例(96支 )。其中 ,男 4 8例 ,女 2 8例。年龄 <4 0岁 16例 ,4 0～ 5 0岁 2 5例 ,5 0岁 35例。将 MRI所测血管内径分成 3组 ,内径 <4 .0 mm为轻度狭窄 ,内径在 3.0～ 3.5 mm为中度…