The utility of fractal analysis in clinical neuroscience

John, Ann M; Elfanagely, Omar; Ayala, Carlos; Cohen, Michael S.; Prestigiacomo, Charles J.

doi:10.1515/revneuro-2015-0011

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(47 reference statements)

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“…Fractal analysis is a sophisticated mathematical tool that allows quantitative assessment of the complexity of an object or phenomenon. The use of FD to describe biological structures and physiological processes has been proposed, and has shown promising results, in many medical fields: among others, it has various applications in neurology,[ 19 ] oncology[ 20 ] and CV sciences. [ 8 ] This study shows the applicability of fractal analysis also in the study of carotid plaques and, in particular, of their profile on long axis view images.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fractal analysis of plaque border, a novel method for the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque contour irregularity, is associated with pro-atherogenic plasma lipid profile in subjects with non-obstructive carotid stenoses

et al. 2018

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Background and aimsPlaque border irregularity is a known imaging characteristic of vulnerable plaques, but its evaluation heavily relies on subjective evaluation and operator expertise. Aim of the present work is to propose a novel fractal-analysis based method for the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque border irregularity and assess its relation with cardiovascular risk factors.Methods and resultsForty-two asymptomatic subjects with carotid stenosis underwent ultrasound evaluation and assessment of cardiovascular risk factors. Total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) plasma cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations were measured for each subject. Fractal analysis was performed in all the carotid segments affected by atherosclerosis, i.e. 147 segments. The resulting fractal dimension (FD) is a measure of irregularity of plaque profile on long axis view of the plaque. FD in the severest stenosis (main plaque FD,mFD) was 1.136±0.039. Average FD per patient (global FD,gFD) was 1.145±0.039. FD was independent of other plaque characteristics. mFD significantly correlated with plasma HDL (r = -0.367,p = 0.02) and triglycerides-to-HDL ratio (r = 0.480,p = 0.002).ConclusionsFractal analysis is a novel, readily available, reproducible and inexpensive technique for the quantitative measurement of plaque irregularity. The correlation between low HDL levels and plaque FD suggests a role for HDL in the acquisition of morphologic features of plaque instability. Further studies are needed to validate the prognostic value of fractal analysis in carotid plaques evaluation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fractal analysis of plaque border, a novel method for the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque contour irregularity, is associated with pro-atherogenic plasma lipid profile in subjects with non-obstructive carotid stenoses

et al. 2018

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“…Fractal concepts are used to describe irregular natural structures such as blood vessels (Weibel, 2005) and rivers (Nikora and Sapozhnikov, 1993). These structures appear self-similar under various degrees of scale, exhibit scaling properties, and possess non-integer (fractional) dimensions (Di Ieva et al, 2014; John et al, 2015). For instance, the human circulatory system is composed of a complex network of branching blood vessels in which vessels of smaller caliber represent a repetition of larger blood vessels on a smaller scale (Weibel, 2005).…”

Section: Relevant Aspects On Systems Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (CSVD) – Lessons From the Animal Models

et al. 2019

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Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) refers to a spectrum of clinical and imaging findings resulting from pathological processes of various etiologies affecting cerebral arterioles, perforating arteries, capillaries, and venules. Unlike large vessels, it is a challenge to visualize small vessels in vivo, hence the difficulty to directly monitor the natural progression of the disease. CSVD might progress for many years during the early stage of the disease as it remains asymptomatic. Prevalent among elderly individuals, CSVD has been alarmingly reported as an important precursor of full-blown stroke and vascular dementia. Growing evidence has also shown a significant association between CSVD’s radiological manifestation with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. Although it remains contentious as to whether CSVD is a cause or sequelae of AD, it is not far-fetched to posit that effective therapeutic measures of CSVD would mitigate the overall burden of dementia. Nevertheless, the unifying theory on the pathomechanism of the disease remains elusive, hence the lack of effective therapeutic approaches. Thus, this chapter consolidates the contemporary insights from numerous experimental animal models of CSVD, to date: from the available experimental animal models of CSVD and its translational research value; the pathomechanical aspects of the disease; relevant aspects on systems biology; opportunities for early disease biomarkers; and finally, converging approaches for future therapeutic directions of CSVD.

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“…Fractal analysis has become a popular kind of pattern analysis that has been successfully used to investigate phenomena relevant to neuroscience (John et al, 2015). This kind of analysis is well suited to assess complex patterns across a range of different temporal and spatial scales of observation, i.e., their multiscale structure.…”

Section: Fractal Analysis and Fractal/multiscale Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive Modelling of The Dynamic Patterns of Thinking in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnostic Accuracy of Spatiotemporal Fractal Measures

Labra-Spröhnle¹,

Smith

Ahammer

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by executive function (EF) dynamics disturbances.Notwithstanding, current advances in translational neuroscience, no ADHD objective, clinically useful, diagnostic marker is available to date. Objectives: Using a customized definition of EF and a new clinical paradigm, we performed a prospective diagnostic accuracy trial to assess the diagnostic value of several fractal measures from the thinking processes or inferences in a cohort of ADHD children and typically developing controls. Method: We included children from age five to twelve diagnosed with a reference standard based on case history, physical and neurological examination, Conners 3 rd Edition, and DSM-V TM . The index test consisted of a computer-based inference task with a set of eight different instances of the "Battleships" game to be solved. A consecutive series of 18 cases and 18 controls (n = 36) recruited at the primary paediatrics service from the Nelson Marlborough Health in New Zealand underwent the reference standard and the index test. Several fractal measures were obtained from the inference task to produce supervised classification models. Results: Notably, the summarized logistic regression's predicted probabilities from the eight games played by each children yielded a 100% classification accuracy, sensitivity and specificity in both a training and an independent testing/validating cohort. Conclusions: From a translational vantage point the expeditious method and the robust results make this technique a promising candidate to develop a screening, diagnostic and monitoring system for ADHD, and may serve to assess other EF disturbances.

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The utility of fractal analysis in clinical neuroscience

Cited by 11 publications

References 45 publications

Fractal analysis of plaque border, a novel method for the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque contour irregularity, is associated with pro-atherogenic plasma lipid profile in subjects with non-obstructive carotid stenoses

Fractal analysis of plaque border, a novel method for the quantification of atherosclerotic plaque contour irregularity, is associated with pro-atherogenic plasma lipid profile in subjects with non-obstructive carotid stenoses

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease (CSVD) – Lessons From the Animal Models

Predictive Modelling of The Dynamic Patterns of Thinking in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Diagnostic Accuracy of Spatiotemporal Fractal Measures

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