Purpose:To evaluate the ability of strain-encoded (SENC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for regional systolic and diastolic strain analysis of the myocardium in healthy volunteers. Materials and Methods:Circumferential and longitudinal peak systolic strain values of 75 healthy volunteers (35 women and 40 men, mean age 44 Ϯ 12 years) were measured using SENC at 1.5T. MR tagging was used as the reference standard for measuring regional function. Diastolic function was assessed in the 10 youngest (24 Ϯ 8 years) and 10 oldest (62 Ϯ 5 years) subjects. Results:Peak strain values assessed with SENC were comparable to those obtained by MR tagging, showing narrow limits of agreement (limits of agreement -5.6% to 8.1%). Regional heterogeneity was observed between different segments of the left ventricle (LV) by both techniques (P Ͻ 0.001). Longitudinal strain obtained by SENC was also heterogenous (P Ͻ 0.001). Interestingly, no age-or genderspecific differences in peak systolic strain were observed, whereas the peak rate of relaxation of circumferential strain rate was decreased in the older group.Conclusion SENC is a reliable tool for accurate and objective quantification of regional myocardial systolic as well as diastolic function. In agreement with tagged MRI, SENC detected slightly heterogeneous myocardial strain within LV segments.

Background-High-dose dobutamine stress MRI is safe and feasible for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in humans. However, the assessment of cine scans relies on the visual interpretation of regional wall motion, which is subjective. Recently, strain-encoded MRI (SENC) has been proposed for the direct color-coded visualization of myocardial strain. The purpose of our study was to compare the diagnostic value of SENC with that provided by conventional wall motion analysis for the detection of inducible ischemia during dobutamine stress MRI. Methods and Results-Stress-induced ischemia was assessed by wall motion analysis and by SENC in 101 patients with suspected or known CAD and in 17 healthy volunteers who underwent dobutamine stress MRI in a clinical 1.

These data underline the presence of a metamemory bias in ARMS patients which is even more pronounced in FEP patients. The bias might represent an early cognitive marker of the beginning psychotic state. Longitudinal studies are needed to unravel whether metacognitive deficits predict the transition to psychosis and to evaluate therapeutic interventions.