BackgroundTo identify changes in brain activation patterns in bipolar disorder (BD) and unipolar depression (UD) patients.Methodology/Principal FindingsResting-state fMRI scans of 16 healthy controls, 17 BD and 16 UD patients were obtained. T-test of normalized regional homogeneity (ReHo) was performed in a voxel-by-voxel manner. A combined threshold of á = 0.05, minimum cluster volume of V = 10503 mm3 (389 voxels) were used to determine ReHo differences between groups. In UD group, fMRI revealed ReHo increases in the left middle occipital lobe, right inferior parietal lobule, right precuneus and left convolution; and ReHo decreases in the left parahippocampalgyrus, right precentralgyrus, left postcentralgyrus, left precentralgyrus and left cingulated. In BD group, ReHo increases in the right insular cortex, left middle frontal gyrus, left precuneus, left occipital lobe, left parietal, left superior frontal gyrus and left thalamus; and ReHo decreases in the right anterior lobe of cerebellum, pons, right precentralgyrus, left postcentralgyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and right cingulate. There were some overlaps in ReHo profiles between UD and BD groups, but a marked difference was seen in the thalamus of BD.Conclusions/SignificanceThe resting-state fMRI and ReHo mapping are a promising tool to assist the detection of functional deficits and distinguish clinical and pathophysiological signs of BD and UD.

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Background: Prediabetes is an intermediate state in which blood glucose is higher than normal but does not meet the diagnostic criteria for diabetes. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an MRI method that can sensitively detect microscopic lesions in the white matter of the brain, but most previous DTI studies only focused on patients with diabetes, and little is known about prediabetes. Purpose: To investigate the changes in the microstructure of brain white matter in prediabetes patients using DTI and trace-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Study Type: Prospective. Population: Sixty subjects (30 patients with prediabetes and 30 healthy volunteers) were enrolled. Field Strength/Sequence: 3.0T/DTI-MRI sequence with single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence (SE-EPI). Assessment: DTI data were collected and analyzed using the TBSS method in the FMRIB software library. Statistical Tests: DTI using a two-sample t-test. Pearson correlation analysis was performed on DTI values and neuropsychology scale results (mini-mental state examination [MMSE], Montreal cognitive assessment [MoCA], self-rating anxiety scale [SAS], and self-rating depression scale [SDS]) Results: Compared with the control group, the fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the right part of the corpus callosum body (bCC) (P = 0.035), the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF.R) (P = 0.047), and the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF.L) in the prediabetic group were reduced (P = 0.040). Data Conclusion: DTI as a noninvasive technique can assess early changes in the white matter microarchitecture of patients with prediabetes. Level of Evidence: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2

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Purpose: To investigate how to label macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles and trace SPIO with MR imaging. Materials and Methods:Atherosclerotic lesions of a rabbit model were induced by a combination of high-fat and high-cholesterol diet and subsequent endothelial abrasion of the abdominal aorta. SPIO particles were pretreated with poly-L-lysine. SPIO nanoparticles and SPIO-labeled human endothelial cells (ECV-304) were IV injected into model animals, respectively. The MRI scans and histopathological examination were performed 12 h and 24 h after the injection. The imaging and histopathological data were analyzed.Results: Prussian blue staining of the vessel specimens indicated that SPIO particles were not found in the atheroma but in the Kupffer's cells of the liver after SPIO injection. However, the accumulation of SPIO particles in the atheroma was confirmed in animals received SPIO-labeled endothelial cell transplantation. The best quality MR scan sequences of rabbit abdominal aorta were T 2 WI fat suppression, T 1 WI, and DIR series, on which of MR image had a higher quality. Signal loss of the original incrassate plaque in the vessel wall on T 2 WI was found in 6 of 10 animals received SPIO-labeled endothelial cell transplantation.Conclusion: SPIO-labeled endothelial cells were superior to SPIO for MR imaging of atherosclerotic plaques.