vitamin B12 supplementation on cognitive performance and inflammation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Design: This was a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Participants: Patients (n=120) diagnosed clinically as probable AD and in stable condition from Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cerebrovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Measurements: Individuals were randomly divided into the intervention group (n=60, folic acid 1.2 mg/d + vitamin B12 50 μg/d) and the placebo group (n=60). Cognitive performance, blood folate, vitamin B12, one carbon cycle metabolite, and inflammatory cytokine levels were measured at baseline and after 6 months. The data were analyzed using linear mixed models for repeated measures. Results: A total of 101 participants (51 in the intervention group and 50 in the placebo group) completed the trial. Folic acid plus vitamin B12 supplementation had a beneficial effect on the MoCA total scores (P=0.029), naming scores (P=0.013), orientation scores (P=0.004), and ADAS-Cog domain score of attention (P=0.008), as compared to those of the control subjects. Moreover, supplementation significantly increased plasma SAM (P<0.001) and SAM/SAH (P<0.001), and significantly decreased the levels of serum Hcy (P<0.001), plasma SAH (P<0.001), and serum TNFα (P<0.001) compared to in the control subjects. Conclusions: Folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation showed a positive therapeutic effect in AD patients who were not on a folic acid-fortified diet. The findings of this study help to delineate nutrient intervention as far as public health management for the prevention of dementia is concerned.

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Not all tandem occlusions diagnosed on traditional vascular imaging modalities, such as MRA, represent actual complete ICA occlusion. This study aimed to explore the utility of high-resolution vessel wall imaging in identifying true ICA tandem occlusions and screening patients for their suitability for endovascular recanalization. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Patients with no signal in the ICA on MRA were retrospectively reviewed. Two neuroradiologists independently reviewed their high-resolution vessel wall images to assess whether there were true tandem occlusions and categorized all cases into intracranial ICA occlusion, extracranial ICA occlusion, tandem occlusion, or near-occlusion. DSA classified patient images into the same 4 categories, which were used as the comparison with high-resolution vessel wall imaging. The suitability for recanalization of occluded vessels was evaluated on high-resolution vessel wall imaging compared with DSA.RESULTS: Forty-five patients with no ICA signal on MRA who had available high-resolution vessel wall imaging and DSA images were included. Among the 34 patients (34/45, 75.6%) with tandem occlusions on DSA, 18 cases also showed tandem occlusions on high-resolution vessel wall imaging. The remaining 16 patients, intracranial ICA, extracranial ICA occlusions and near-occlusions were found in 2, 6, and 8 patients, respectively, on the basis of high-resolution vessel wall imaging. A total of 20 cases (20/45, 44.4%) were considered suitable for recanalization on the basis of both DSA and high-resolution vessel wall imaging. Among the 25 patients deemed unsuitable for recanalization by DSA, 11 were deemed suitable for recanalization by high-resolution vessel wall imaging.CONCLUSIONS: High-resolution vessel wall imaging could allow identification of true ICA tandem occlusion in patients with an absence of signal on MRA. Findings on high-resolution vessel wall imaging can be used to screen more suitable candidates for recanalization therapy.

Background: Atherosclerotic plaque in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) is linked to ischemic stroke events, but the relationship between plaque characteristics and cerebral perfusion is unclear. Purpose: To investigate MCA plaque characteristics between intracranial atherosclerotic patients with and without hypoperfusion area, and to identify the variables affecting hypoperfusion volume. Study Type: Retrospective. Population: Seventy-one patients with MCA stenosis (>50%), and all with ischemic onset in recent 2 weeks. Field Strength/Sequence: 3.0T MRI / diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF-MRA), inversion-recovery prepared sampling perfection with application-optimized contrast using different flip angle evolutions (IR-SPACE), dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted imaging (DSC-PWI). Assessment: Plaque characteristics including eccentric index (EI), eccentricity, plaque length, and enhancement on MCA were measured on IR-SPACE. Pial collaterals (PCs) were evaluated on axial TOF-MRA source images. Time-to-maximum (Tmax) maps with a threshold more than 6 seconds were assessed by rapid processing of perfusion and diffusion (RAPID) software. Statistical Tests: Two independent-samples t-tests, Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square test, Z test, univariate and multivariate logistic analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used. Results: Patients with hypoperfusion had fewer eccentric plaque, lower EI, longer plaque length, and poor PCs compared with those without (P = 0.002, 0.016, 0.003, and 0.001). Eccentricity, plaque length, PCs, and hypertension were the factors independently associated with the occurrence of hypoperfusion after adjustment for risk factors of cerebrovascular disease (P = 0.014, 0.017, 0.035, and 0.018). The area under the curve (AUC) (95% confidence interval) was 0.865 (0.763-0.934) for a combination of the above four variables, which was significantly higher than any variable alone (P < 0.001, 0.016, < 0.001, and < 0.001). Patients with lower EI, concentric morphology, and grade 2 enhancement trended to have larger hypoperfusion volume (P = 0.028, 0.037, and 0.009). Data Conclusion: Plaque eccentricity, plaque length, PCs, and hypertension showed an association with the occurrence of hypoperfusion.