Some studies have reported that scaffold or cell-based transplantation may improve functional recovery following SCI, but no imaging information regarding regeneration has been provided to date. This study used tractography to show the regenerating process induced by a new biomaterial-aligned fibrin hydrogel (AFG). A total of eight canines subjected to SCI procedures were assigned to the control or the AFG group. AFG was implanted into the SCI lesion immediately after injury in 5 canines. A follow-up was performed at 12 weeks to evaluate the therapeutic effect including the hindlimb functional recovery, anisotropy and continuity of fibers on tractography. Using tractography, we found new fibers running across the SCI in three canines of the AFG group. Further histological examination confirmed limited glial scarring and regenerated nerve fibers in the lesions. Moreover, Repeated Measures Analysis revealed a significantly different change in fractional anisotropy (FA) between the two groups during the follow-up interval. An increase in FA during the post injury time interval was detected in the AFG group, indicating a beneficial effect of AFG in the rehabilitation of injured axons. Using tractography, AFG was suggested to be helpful in the restoration of fibers in SCI lesions, thus leading to promoted functional recovery.

BackgroundIt is usually difficult to identify stroke pathogenesis for single lenticulostriate infarction with nonstenotic middle cerebral artery (MCA). Our aim is to differentiate the two pathogeneses, non-branch atheromatous small vessel disease and branch atheromatous disease (BAD) by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI).MethodsThirty-two single lenticulostriate infarction patients with nonstenotic MCA admitted to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital from December 2014 to August 2017 were enrolled for retrospective analysis. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), atherosclerotic risk factors, imaging features, and the characteristic of MCA vessel wall in HR-MRI were evaluated.ResultsMCA plaques were detected in 15(46.9%) patients which implied BAD and 8 of 15 (53.3%) patients had plaques location in upper dorsal side of the vessel wall. Patients with HR-MRI identified plaques had a significantly larger infarction lesion length (1.95 ± 0.86 cm versus 1.38 ± 0.55 cm; P = 0.031) and larger lesion volume (2.95 ± 3.94 cm3 versus 0.90 ± 0.94 cm3; P = 0.027) than patients without plaques. Patients with HR-MRI identified plaques had a significant higher percentage of proximal lesions than patients without plaques (P = 0.055). However, according to the location of MCA plaques, there were no significant differences in terms of imaging features, NIHSS and mRS.ConclusionWe demonstrated high frequency of MCA atheromatous plaques visualized in single lenticulostriate infarction patients with nonstenotic MCA by using HR-MRI. Patients with HR-MRI identified plaque presented larger infarction lesions and more proximal lesions than patients without plaque, which were consistent with imaging features of BAD. HR-MRI is an important and effective tool for identifying stroke etiology in patients with nonstenotic MCA.

Background Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsy, which is frequently characterized by hippocampal sclerosis (HS). Accumulating studies have suggested widespread cortico-cortical connections related to MTLE. The role of subcortical structures involved in general epilepsy has been extensively investigated, but it is still limited in MTLE. Our purpose was to determine the specific morphological correlation between sclerotic hippocampal and thalamic sub-regions, using quantitative analysis, in MTLE. Methods In this study, 23 MTLE patients with unilateral hippocampal sclerosis and 24 healthy controls were examined with three-dimensional T1 MRI. Volume quantitative analysis in the hippocampus and thalamus was conducted and group-related volumetric difference was assessed. Moreover, vertex analysis was further performed using automated software to delineate detailed morphological patterns of the hippocampus and thalamus. The correlation was used to examine whether there is a relationship between volume changes of two subcortical structures and clinical characteristics. Results The patients had a significant volume decrease in the sclerotic hippocampus (p < 0.001). Compared to controls, obvious atrophic patterns were observed in the bilateral hippocampus in MTLE (p < 0.05). Only small patches of shrinkage were noted in the bilateral thalamus (p < 0.05). Moreover, the volume change of the hippocampus had a significant positive correlation with that of the thalamus (P < 0.001). Intriguingly, volume changes of the hippocampus and thalamus were correlated with the duration of epilepsy (hippocampus: P = 0.024; thalamus: P = 0.022). However, only volume changes of thalamus possibly differentiated between two prognostic groups in patients (P = 0.026). Conclusions We demonstrated the morphological characteristics of the hippocampus and thalamus in MTLE, providing new insights into the interrelated mechanisms between the hippocampus and thalamus, which have potential clinical significance for refining neuromodulated targets.

Subcortical white matter builds neural connections between cortical and subcortical regions and constitutes the basis of neural networks. It plays a very important role in normal brain function. Various studies have shown that white matter deteriorates with aging. However, due to the limited spatial resolution provided by traditional diffusion imaging techniques, microstructural information from subcortical white matter with normal aging has not been comprehensively assessed. This study aims to investigate the deterioration effect with aging in the subcortical white matter and provide a baseline standard for pathological disorder diagnosis. We apply our newly developed multi-shot high resolution diffusion tensor imaging, using self-feeding multiplexed sensitivity-encoding, to measure subcortical white matter changes in regions of interest of healthy persons with a wide age range. Results show significant fractional anisotropy decline and radial diffusivity increasing with age, especially in the anterior part of the brain. We also find that subcortical white matter has more prominent changes than white matter close to the central brain. The observed changes in the subcortical white matter may be indicative of a mild demyelination and a loss of myelinated axons, which may contribute to normal age-related functional decline.

Perfusion of the penumbra tissue below the flow threshold for functional disturbance but above that for the maintenance of morphological integrity is the target for therapy in acute ischaemic stroke. The measurement of the oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) may provide a direct assessment of tissue viability, so that irreversible tissue damage and penumbra can be reliably identified. By using an asymmetric spin echo single-shot echo planar imaging (ASE-SSEPI) sequence, the quantitative OEF was obtained in the ischaemic brain tissues of canine models with internal carotid artery occlusion. TTC staining, which delineated the regions of infarct and penumbra, was used for defining the corresponding regions on OEF maps. The threshold of the OEF to discriminate the infarct cores and penumbral tissues was then determined according to the OEF values at different times. With repeated-measures ANOVA, the OEF of the infarcted regions was found to be time dependent. An OEF greater than 0.48 best predicted cortical infarction at 1.5 hr, with an area under the receiving operating characteristic curve of 0.968, a sensitivity of 97.5%, and a specificity of 92.5%. Our results may be helpful in the evaluation of tissue viability during stroke events.

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Background Predicting the progression of acute pulmonary embolism to chronic pulmonary thromboembolism (CPTE) disease is essential to monitoring and improving the long-term prognosis of pulmonary embolism. We explored the risk factors for chronic persistence of thromboembolism after acute pulmonary embolism. Methods Cases with newly onset acute pulmonary embolism in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital from November 2016 to November 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical characteristics, serological examination results, and treatment strategies of acute pulmonary embolism patients were obtained through the electronic medical record system (Goodwill E-Health Info Co., Ltd.). Imaging parameters on computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) images at the onset of the acute pulmonary embolism were measured and counted. Notably, we propose a new parameter based on CTPA images: the ratio of S d (sum of residual segmental pulmonary artery diameter) to MPA d (the main pulmonary artery diameter) (S d /MPA d ). After 3 months of regular treatment for acute pulmonary embolism, patients were classified into a CPTE group or a non-CPTE group based on the presence of residual embolus. All data were compared between the CPTE group and non-CPTE group. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis was used to investigate risk factors for the progression of acute pulmonary embolism to CPTE. Results A total of 77 cases (male:female = 1:1.26) were included in the study. There were 43 cases (55.84%) in the CPTE group and 34 cases in the non-CPTE group (44.16%). The results of univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in risk stratification (χ 2 =8.043; P=0.005), protein S activity (χ 2 =5.551; P=0.018), the ratio of sum of residual segmental pulmonary artery diameter to the main pulmonary artery diameter (S d /MPA d ; t=–2.103; P=0.039), Mastora score (U=362.500; P<0.001), and embolus location (χ 2 =16.969; P<0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in treatment options (P=0.381). According to multivariate logistic-regression analysis, protein S activity <55% (P=0.025), S d /MPA d ≥1.97 (P=0.011), and an embolus being located in the central pulmonary artery (P<0.001) were independent risk factors for chronic persistence of thromboembolism following acute pulmonary embolism. Conclusions The protein S activity, location of the embolus, and S d /MPA d on CTPA at the onset of acute pulmonary embolism may suggest the progression of acute pulmonary embolism to CPTE.

Objectives: Dementia is a clinical syndrome caused by multiple etiologies, usually manifests with progressive and diffuse brain dysfunction. The activity of the human glymphatic system was evaluated in cases of dementia by the diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS). Methods: We recruited 28 healthy subjects and 77 patients, including 38 with Alzheimer’s disease (AD),18 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 28 with normal controls (NC) and 21 with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). All participants underwent DTI scanning. Diffusivities in the X, Y and Z axes were obtained in the lateral ventricle body plane of all subjects. We assessed the diffusivity along the perivascular spaces, as well as projection fibers and association fibers, respectively, in order to acquire an DTI-ALPS-index and correlated them with mini mental state examination (MMSE) and montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA) scores using partial correlation which the influence of age was controlled. Results: The AD, MCI, and VCI patients showed significantly lower DTI-ALPS-index (p < 0.001) compared to the NC. Besides, the VCI group had significantly higher DTI-ALPS-index than the AD group (p = 0.007). There was a significant positive correlation between DTI-ALPS-index and MMSE and MOCA scores (the effect of age was controlled), showing that lower water diffusivity along the perivascular spaces associated with dementia.The higher Dzassoc led to the reduced DTI-ALPS-index in VCI, while lower Dxassoc contributed to the decrease of DTI-ALPS-index in AD. Conclusion: The evaluation of DTI-ALPS demonstrates impairment of the glymphatic system in dementia patients by decreased DTI-ALPS-index. Different from AD, the VCI patients show glymphatic drainage disorder rather than glymphatic system impairment. Advances in knowledge: This article comprehensively covers several types of dementia and performs the comparison of VCI, AD and MCI in glymphatic system dysfunction.