Semi-automated method for estimating lesion volumes

Abstract

Accurately measuring the volume of tissue damage in experimental lesion models is crucial to adequately control for the extent and location of the lesion, variables that can dramatically bias the outcome of preclinical studies. Many of the current commonly used techniques for this assessment, such as measuring the lesion volume with primitive software macros and plotting the lesion location manually using atlases, are time-consuming and offer limited precision. Here we present an easy to use semi-automated computational method for determining lesion volume and location, designed to increase precision and reduce the manual labor required. We compared this novel method to currently used methods and demonstrate that this tool is comparable or superior to current techniques in terms of precision and has distinct advantages with respect to user interface, labor intensiveness and quality of data presentation.

Chronic Deep Cerebellar Stimulation Promotes Long-Term Potentiation, Microstructural Plasticity, and Reorganization of Perilesional Cortical Representation in a Rodent Model

“…Chronic stimulation promoted functional reorganization and microstructural changes in postinfarct, perilesional cortex and reproduced the motor rehabilitative effects of our prior work. Motor representation in the perilesional cortex is strongly correlated with recovery of function after stroke (Nudo et al, 1996). In particular, larger areas of cortical representation for the affected limb are associated with improved motor outcomes and mapping of motor representation is one of the most common metrics for measuring the success of poststroke plasticity (Gharbawie et al, 2008).…”

“…DBS is a standard technology, routinely implemented in the care of common neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease (Machado et al, 2012b). Because the techniques are well established (Machado et al, 2012a), physicians often use this technology in less common disorders (Ghosh et al, 2012;Lim et al, 2013) and in a number of clinical trials (Mayberg et al, 2005;Laxton and Lozano, 2013;Plow et al, 2013). Hence, translation of novel DBS therapies can be accomplished with existing tools, either in their current or modified versions.…”

“…While the reasons for the failure of animal to human translation are not well known, it is possible that the variability of stroke volume and location in humans complicated the targeting of epidural leads, thereby limiting their ability to induce the theorized reorganization of perilesional cortex. Furthermore, it is possible that the different orientation of neurons in relation to the dura, due to complex gyral anatomy, may have washed out the effects of cathodic or anodic epidural stimulation (Manola et al, 2005;Holsheimer et al, 2007). We anticipate that stimulation of the dentatothalamocortical pathway will obviate these limitations because it relies on a robust natural pathway with extensive projections to the frontal, prefrontal, and parietal cortices (Dum and Strick, 2003).…”

“…The latter was designed to mimic a Hebbian facilitation paradigm (Hebb, 1949;Bailey et al, 2000) and consisted of a baseline of 30 Hz stimulation with an interpulse interval (IPI) randomized to a gamma distribution. Gamma distribution was used because the neuronal interspike interval (ISI) can be properly modeled (Miura et al, 2007;Tsubo et al, 2012). The exact parameters of ISI probability distribution model of the lateral cerebellar nucleus (LCN) neurons are not known.…”

Structural design of contact lens-based drug delivery systems; in vitro and in vivo studies of ocular triggering mechanisms

“…The images were loaded into the software in jpeg format and the RGB values for an area of 142 x 204 square pixels, from either temporal area of the cornea, were measured. Perceived luminance was subsequently calculated using the formula 0.299×Red + 0.587×Green + 0.114×Blue [33]. The study received prior ethics approval by the Institutional Ethics Committee and was designed to follow the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.…”