BackgroundState-related brain structural alterations in patients with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) are unclear. We aimed to conduct a longitudinal study to explore dynamic gray matter (GM) changes between the pain and pain-free phases in ETTH.MethodsWe recruited 40 treatment-naïve ETTH patients and 40 healthy controls. All participants underwent brain structural scans on a 3.0-T MRI system. ETTH patients were scanned in and out of pain phases. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to determine the differences in regional gray matter density (GMD) between groups. Additional regression analysis was used to identify any associations between regional GMD and clinical symptoms.ResultsETTH patients exhibited reduced GMD in the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, and increased GMD in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula for the in pain phase compared with the out of pain phase. The out of pain phase of ETTH patients exhibited no regions with higher or lower GMD compared with healthy controls. GMD in the left ACC and left anterior insula was negatively correlated with headache days. GMD in the left ACC was negatively correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms in ETTH patients.ConclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate dynamic and reversible GMD changes between the pain and pain-free phases in ETTH patients. However, this balance might be disrupted by increased headache days and progressive anxiety and depressive symptoms.

These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: We aimed to assess the classification performance of a computed tomography (CT)-based radiomic signature for discriminating invasive and non-invasive lung adenocarcinoma. Patients and Methods: A total of 192 patients (training cohort, n=116; validation cohort, n=76) with pathologically confirmed lung adenocarcinoma were retrospectively enrolled in the present study. Radiomic features were extracted from preoperative unenhanced chest CT images to build a radiomic signature. Predictive performance of the radiomic signature were evaluated using an intra-cross validation cohort. Diagnostic performance of the radiomic signature was assessed via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: The radiomic signature consisted of 14 selected features and demonstrated good discrimination performance between invasive and non-invasive adenocarcinoma. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the training cohort was 0.83 (sensitivity, 0.84 ; specificity, 0.78; accuracy, 0.82), while that for the validation cohort was 0.77 (sensitivity, 0.94; specificity, 0.52 ; accuracy, 0.82). Conclusion: The CT-based radiomic signature exhibited good classification performance for discriminating invasive and non-invasive lung adenocarcinoma, and may represent a valuable biomarker for determining therapeutic strategies in this patient population.

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The objective of the present study was to quantitatively analyze the permeability of tumor entity and peritumor edema in glioma grading, using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). In the present retrospective study, 80 patients underwent T1-weighted DCE-MRI examination at 3.0 T and the pathological results (including astrocytoma and oligodendroglioma) were obtained between January 2012 and June 2015. All cases were surgically validated as grade I–IV gliomas. The original DCE-MRI data were analyzed using dual compartment modified Tofts model. The forward volume transfer constant (Ktrans), backflux rate (kep) and fractional volume (ve) were calculated with the region of interest selected on the highest permeability area of the tumor entity and peritumor edema. Analysis of variance with the Bonferroni correction was used to compare the values of Ktrans, kep, and ve of the tumor entity and peritumor edema in different glioma grades. The results of the present study revealed that the Ktrans, kep, and ve values in each stage were associated with the pathological grading (r=0.951, 0.804 and 0.766, respectively). There were significant differences identified between different tumor grades in Ktrans, kep, with the exception being between grades II and III in kep. In addition, there was a significant difference revealed between grade I/II and grade III/IV in ve. Receiver operator characteristics curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnosis accuracies of permeability parameters. Ktrans was demonstrated to exhibit the highest sensitivity and specificity for evaluating the tumor grade. With the threshold values of 0.160, 0.420 and 0.935 in Ktrans on tumor, glioma grades I vs. II, II vs III and III vs. IV may be differentiated with sensitivities of 0.900, 0.950 and 0.950, and specificities of 0.950, 0.950 and 0.850, respectively. Furthermore, associations were observed between the Ktrans, kep and ve values of peritumor edema and the pathological grading in glioma (Ktrans r=0.438, P<0.001; Kep r=0.385, P<0.001; Ve r=0.397, P<0.001, respectively). Ktrans values in peritumoral edema revealed significant differences between low-grade and high-grade glioma. The sensitivity and specificity for Ktrans of peritumor edema were 0.975 and 0.950, with a threshold value of 0.007. Therefore, the DCE-MRI parameters of Ktrans of tumor entity and peritumor edema in gliomas may be used to accurately differentiate glioma grades.

We aimed to analyze the association between resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (re-fMRI) and cognitive function (including language, executive, and memory functions) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients, which will help to explore the mechanism of brain function in patients. 15 TLE patients and 15 non-TLE patients were recruited. All subjects underwent neuropsychological testing and memory functional evaluation. Changes in verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ), performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), full intelligence quotient (FIQ), and memory quotient (MQ) were compared between two groups. Re-fMRI data were also collected from two groups to evaluate these changes. Each individual score of neuropsychological testing and memory functional evaluation were higher in control group, which was statistically different (all P < 0.01) while the VIQ, PIQ, FIQ, and MQ showed the same trend (all P < 0.01). The data showed the positive activation differences in brain regions between experimental and control group, namely right frontal lobe, the left middle temporal gyrus back, right superior temporal gyrus, left cerebellum, left angular gyrus, left wedge anterior lobe, and left central back; while the negatively activated brain regions were left prefrontal, right cerebellum, right corner back, and right anterior cingulate gyrus. During the language task, the activated brain regions of the TLE patients were right prefrontal lobe, the lateral temporal gyri, the left cerebellum, left cornu laterale gyrus, left precuneus, and the left postcentral gyrus, whereas the negatively activated brain areas were the left prefrontal cortex, the right cerebellum, right cornu laterale gyrus, and the right anterior cingulate gyrus. During the executive task, epilepsy patients showed activation difference in right prefrontal and right frontal lobe and right brain, left superior temporal gyrus, and right cerebellum anterior lobe compared with the control group; no negatively activated differences in brain areas. During the memory task, the difference lay in bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus and bilateral wedge anterior lobe while the negatively activated brain areas were the left inferior frontal gyrus and postcentral gyrus. The cognitive functioning is related to the functional connectivity within the cortex. There is a significant difference in the activation of brain areas during different tasks between the TLE patients and the non-TLE patients.

Background Atypical choroid plexus papilloma (APP) is a rare, newly introduced entity with intermediate characteristics. To date, few reports have revealed the magnetic resonance (MR) findings. Purpose To analyze the clinicopathological and MR features of APP. Material and Methods The clinicopathological data and preoperative MR images of six patients with pathologically proven APP were retrospectively reviewed. The MR features including tumor location, contour, signal intensity, degree of enhancement, intratumoral cysts, and necrosis; and flow voids, borders, peritumoral edema, and associated hydrocephalus were analyzed. Results The APP were located in the ventricle (n = 4) and cerebellopontine angle (CPA, n = 2). Tumor dissemination along the spinal subarachnoid space was found in one patient. The tumors appeared as milt-lobulated (n = 5) or round mass (n = 1), with slightly heterogeneous signals (n = 5) or mixed signals (n = 1) on T1-weighted and T2-weighted images. Heterogeneous and strong enhancement were found in five cases on contrast-enhanced images. Three of four intraventricular tumors had a partly blurred border with ventricle wall. Four tumors had mild to moderate extent of surrounding edema signals. A slight hydrocephalus was seen in four patients. Incomplete capsule was seen in four tumors at surgery. Histopathologically, mild nuclear atypia was seen in all tumors with a mitotic rate of 2-5 per 10 high-power fields. Conclusion APP should be included in the differential diagnosis when an intraventricular or CPA tumor appearing as a multi-lobulated solid mass with slight heterogeneity, heterogeneous strong enhancement, partly blurred borders, mild to moderate peritumoral edema, or slight hydrocephalus are present.

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Objective: To determine whether change in apparent diffusion coefficient value could predict early response to chemotherapy in breast cancer liver metastases. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively studied 42 patients (86 lesions) with breast cancer liver metastases who had undergone conventional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (b = 0.700 s/mm 2 ) before and after chemotherapy. Maximum diameter and mean apparent diffusion coefficient value (×10 −3 mm 2 /s) of liver metastases from breast cancer were evaluated. The grouping reference was based on magnetic resonance imaging according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). Analysis of variance and receiver–operating characteristic analyses were performed. Results: Eighty-six metastases were classified as 40 responders and 46 nonresponders. A statistically significant correlation was found between prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy apparent diffusion coefficient values in responders, which were 0.9 ± 0.16 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s, 1.05 ± 0.12 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s, 1.26 ± 0.12 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s, and 1.33 ± 0.87 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy apparent diffusion coefficient values in nonresponders. Differences were statistically significant between responders and nonresponders at prechemotherapy, 2 weeks after chemotherapy, and 4 weeks after chemotherapy ( P = 0.014, P = .001, and P = .000, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that apparent diffusion coefficient values could predict treatment response early at 2 weeks after chemotherapy with 64.5% sensitivity and 91.8% specificity. Conclusion: The change in apparent diffusion coefficient value may be a sensitive indicator to predict early response to chemotherapy in breast cancer liver metastases.