Alterations in structural integrity of superior longitudinal fasciculus III associated with cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the alterations in structural integrity of superior longitudinal fasciculus subcomponents with increasing white matter hyperintensity severity as well as the relationship to cognitive performance in cerebral small vessel disease. METHODS: 110 cerebral small vessel disease study participants with white matter hyperintensities were recruited. According to Fazekas grade scale, white matter hyperintensities of each subject were graded. All subjects were divided into two groups. The probabilistic fiber tracking method was used for analyzing microstructure characteristics of superior longitudinal fasciculus subcomponents. RESULTS: Probabilistic fiber tracking results showed that mean diffusion, radial diffusion, and axial diffusion values of the left arcuate fasciculus as well as the mean diffusion value of the right arcuate fasciculus and left superior longitudinal fasciculus III in high white matter hyperintensities rating group were significantly higher than those in low white matter hyperintensities rating group (p < 0.05). The mean diffusion value of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III was negatively related to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score of study participants (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The structural integrity injury of bilateral arcuate fasciculus and left superior longitudinal fasciculus III is more severe with the aggravation of white matter hyperintensities. The structural integrity injury of the left superior longitudinal fasciculus III correlates to cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease.

Prevalence and risk factors for cerebral microbleeds in elderly Chinese patients with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular diseases: A single-center study.

OBJECTIVES: People with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) frequently use antithrombotic agents and statins. The objective of the study was to explore the prevalence and risk factors of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in elderly (≥ 65 years old) Chinese people with ASCVD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively included 755 eligible participants with complete MRI data, and CMBs were discerned on the SWI sequence. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to analyze risk factors associated with CMBs. RESULTS: The average age was 74.9 ± 9.5 years, and the prevalence of CMBs was 37.9% (286/755). Of those with CMBs, 65.0% (186/286) had strictly lobar CMBs, 35.0% (100/286) had deep or infratentorial CMBs with or without lobar CMBs. We divided CMBs into two groups according to their locations, lobar CMBs group (strictly lobar CMBs) and deep CMBs group (with or without lobar CMBs). Age per 10 years (odds ratio (OR) 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-1.72, p < 0.001), statin use (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.05-2.26, p = 0.03), and lacunes (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.09-2.68, p = 0.02) were associated with any CMBs. Age per 10 years (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.10-1.63, p < 0.001), statin use (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.12-2.50, p = 0.01), and white matter hyperintensities (OR 1.71, 95% CI 1.17-2.51, p < 0.01) were associated with lobar CMBs. Only lacunes were associated with deep CMBs (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.85-5.87, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In elderly people with risk factors of ASCVD, antithrombotic drug use was not associated with any CMBs, lobar CMBs, or deep CMBs. Statin use was correlated with lobar CMBs but not deep CMBs.

Improving Prognostic Evaluation by 4D CTA for Endovascular Treatment in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients: A Preliminary Study.

OBJECTIVE: We aim to use 4D CTA with a comprehensive and objective scoring system to assess collateral circulation, and explore the value of prognosis prediction in endovascular treated patients. METHODS: Thirty-four patients with unilateral anterior circulation large vessels occlusion were reviewed in this study retrospectively. Single-phase CTA (sCTA) and 4D CTA acquired by CT perfusion scanning were analyzed for collateral circulation assessment. The collateral vessels were scored 0-4 according to modified collateral circulation scoring based on 4D CTA. Zero to two points indicated poor collateral circulation; 3-4 points indicated good collateral circulation. Good prognosis was defined as modified Rankin scale score of 0-2. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between collateral circulation and prognosis. RESULTS: The mean age was 71.1 ± 11.5 years old. Collateral circulation on 4D CTA was an independent factor for predicting the prognosis (odds ratio = .101; 95% confidence interval: [.101-.924]; P = .042), but sCTA could not predict prognosis (P = .214). 4D CTA collateral circulation scoring had a good predicting efficacy on clinical prognosis (Area Under Curve (AUC) = .936; 95% confidence interval: [.751-.992], P < .005). Patients with good collaterals (4D CTA scores of 3-4) could obtain benefit from endovascular treatment (P = .029) compared with patients with poor collaterals (P = 1.000). CONCLUSIONS: 4D CTA could be applied to effectively evaluate cerebral collateral status. The accurate assessment of collateral circulation based on 4D CTA would be helpful to make medical decisions, especially for those patients who would undergo endovascular interventional treatment.

Parenchymal Infiltration in Primary Diffuse Leptomeningeal Gliomatosis: Dynamic Changes in Brain MRI.

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis (PDLG) is a rare and fatal disease with no special clinical manifestations. Here, we report the dynamic brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes in a 30-year-old female PDLG patient over a 10-month period. MRI showed aggressive dilation of the subarachnoid space and the ventricular system, numerous encapsulated cysts in the subarachnoid space and the dilated cerebral sulci, diffuse reticulated or focal nodular enhancement in the subarachnoid space, as well as overall enhancement in the cystic walls. In addition to the aforementioned PDLG pathological findings, MRI also revealed non-contrasted solid lesions and a contrasted cyst-like lesion in the paraventricular areas. The dynamic and multiform neuroradiological changes help us to understand the pathological process of PDLG. Of particular interest is the discovery that parenchymal infiltration can occur in PDLG.

Spatiotemporal and frequency signatures of word recognition in the developing brain: a magnetoencephalographic study.

High-frequency oscillations in the brain open a new window for studies of language development in humans. The objective of this study is to determine the spatiotemporal and frequency signatures of word processing in healthy children. Sixty healthy children aged 6-17 years were studied with a whole-cortex magnetoencephalography (MEG) system using a word recognition paradigm optimized for children. The temporal signature of neuromagnetic activation was measured using averaged waveforms. The spatial and frequency signatures of neuromagnetic activation were assessed with wavelet-based beamformer analyses. The results of waveform analyses showed that the latencies of the first and third neuromagnetic responses changed with age (p<0.01). The source imaging data revealed a clear lateralization of source activation in the 70-120 Hz range in children within the age range of 6 to 13 years of age (p<0.01). Males and females demonstrated different developmental trajectories over the age range of 9 to 13 years of age (p<0.01). These findings suggest that left-hemisphere language processing emerges from early bilateral brain areas with gender optimal neural networks. The neuromagnetic signatures of language development in healthy children may be used as references for future identification of aberrant language function in children with various disorders.

Neuromagnetic measures of word processing in bilinguals and monolinguals.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to use magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine the question of whether Mandarin-English bilingual speakers recruit the same cortical areas or develop distinct language-specific networks without overlaps for word processing. METHODS: Eight healthy Mandarin-English bilingual adults and eight healthy English monolingual adults were scanned while single-word paradigms were audio-visually presented. RESULTS: Our results showed significantly stronger beta-band power suppression in the right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) covering the supramarginal gyrus (BA 40) and angular gyrus (BA 39) for bilinguals when processing Mandarin versus English. Moreover, there were no significant differences between bilinguals and monolinguals in the left inferior frontal cortex (LIFC, BA 44/45) when both were processing their first language. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the view that Mandarin-English bilinguals have a shared neural system for word processing in both the first and second language, which is highly similar to monolinguals', but with stronger right hemisphere involvement. SIGNIFICANCE: To our knowledge, this is the first MEG study to investigate the spatio-temporal and frequency characteristics between bilinguals and monolinguals, which provides us a new angle to better understand the language system in bilinguals' and monolingual's brain.

Role of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex III in high glucose peritoneal dialysate-induced hyperpermeability of HPMCs.

BACKGROUND: High-glucose-based peritoneal dialysis solution (PDS) is considered to be one of the primary causes for the increase of ionic permeability in peritoneum as detected by transmesothelial electrical resistance (TER) measurements and claudin-1 expression. However, the mechanism is not clear. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that high-glucose PDS induces hyperpermeability in human peritoneal mesothelial cell (HPMC) monolayer by mitochondrial respiratory chain complex III pathway. METHODS: HPMCs were cultured in a 1 : 1 mix of Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and PDS containing 1.5% and 4.25% glucose for 24 h. A 1 : 1 mixture of 160 mg/L glutathione and 4.25% glucose PDS was also added as an antioxidant group. TER measurement and immunostaining and western blot analysis of claudin-1 expression were examined for detection of permeability damage in HPMCs. MitoSOX™ Red staining and respiratory chain complexes' activities were determined for detection of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial complexes' activities. RESULTS: TER decreased in a time- and concentration-dependent manner after culture with high-glucose PDS for 24 h. Claudin-1 was also downregulated. Complex III activity was inhibited accompanied by increasing mitochondrial ROS generation. These changes were partially prevented by glutathione. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that mitochondrial respiratory complex III pathway has crucial importance in maintaining permeability of HPMCs, which might reveal a valuable target for novel therapies to fight hyperpermeability of peritoneum during the prolonged PD treatment.

[Expression of plasma thrombospondin-1 in renal interstitial fibrosis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression of plasma thrombospondin-1(TSP-1) at different time in protein-overload rats and to analyze the relationship between plasma TSP-1 expression and renal interstitial fibrosis. METHODS: Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a bovine serum albumin (BSA) group and a control group after uninephrectomization. Rats with protein overload nephropathy induced by intraperitoneally injected BSA were used as a model (control group received saline). At the 1st, 5th, and 9th weekend, the level of 24 h proteinuria and renal function was assessed. Pathological changes were observed by electron and fluorescent microscopy. The expression of plasma TSP-1 was detected by Western blot. The relationship between plasma TSP-1 and tubulointerstitial lesions (TIL) score was analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-four hour proteinuria and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) significantly increased in protein-overload rats compared with those in the control group. While protein-overload rats developed more severe fibrosis in the tubular and interstitium. Glomerulosclerosis index and TIL score were upregulated compared with those in the control group. The expression of TSP-1 increased significantly at the 5th and 9th weekend. The expression of TSP-1 was positively correlated with TIL score (r=0.836, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Plasma TSP-1 expression is positively correlated with renal interstitial fibrosis in protein-overload rats. Plasma TSP-1 may be used for an important biomarker of renal interstitial fibrosis.

Spatial and frequency differences of neuromagnetic activities between the perception of open- and closed-class words.

The present study investigated the spatial and frequency differences of neuromagnetic activities between the perception of open- and closed-class words by using a 275-channel whole head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system. Two groups of words, 110 open-class and 110 closed-class, were presented visually and auditorily simultaneously. The data of 12 healthy subjects were analyzed with synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) which can identify the frequency-dependent volumetric distribution of evoked magnetic fields (EMFs). Both vocabulary classes elicited spectral power changes in the left inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area) and left posterior-superior temporal gyrus (Wernicke's area) within 70-120 Hz. However, the open-class words elicited event-related desynchronization (ERD) while the closed-class words elicited event-related synchronization (ERS) in the two areas within 70-120 Hz. In addition, the open-class words also elicited ERS in the right inferior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobe within 1-8 Hz, but the closed-class words only elicited ERD in the right inferior frontal gyrus within 1-8 Hz. Furthermore, there were ERD in the right posterior-superior temporal gyrus within 120-200 Hz for the open-class words, but not for the closed-class words. These results indicate that open- and closed-class words are processed differently in the brain, not only in the anatomical substrates, but also in the frequency range of neuromagnetic activity.

Spatial and frequency differences of neuromagnetic activities in processing concrete and abstract words.

This study investigated the neuromagnetic spatial and frequency differences between recognizing concrete and abstract words using a 275 channel whole head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system. The stimuli consisted of 100 concrete words and 100 abstract words which were presented visually and auditorily simultaneously. The data of 12 right-handed healthy subjects in six different frequency bands were analyzed with synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) which can identify the frequency-dependent volumetric distribution of the evoked magnetic field. Concrete and abstract words evoked a very similar neuromagnetic activation pattern in the primary visual and auditory cortices. However, concrete words evoked stronger synchronization in the right hemisphere and abstract words evoked stronger synchronization in the left hemisphere in 1-8 Hz. In addition, concrete words evoked more desynchronization in the left posterior temporal and parietal cortex; while abstract words evoked a clear synchronization in the left posterior temporal cortex and desynchronization in the left inferior frontal cortex in 70-120 Hz. Furthermore, concrete words evoked clear desynchronization in the left inferior frontal cortex while abstract words evoked strong synchronization in the left posterior temporal cortex in 200-300 Hz. These findings suggested that concrete words and abstract words are processed differently in the brain not only in anatomical substrates, but also in the frequency band of neural activation.

Ethyl 4-{2,6-dichloro-4-[3-(2,6-difluoro-benzo-yl)ureido]phen-oxy}butanoate.

The title compound, C(20)H(18)Cl(2)F(2)N(2)O(5), is considered to belong to the fourth generation of insecticides with properties such as high selectivity, low acute toxicity for mammals and high biological activity. An intramolecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond results in the formation of a six-membered ring. In the crystal structure, intermolecular N-H⋯O and C-H⋯F hydrogen bonds link the molecules.

N-{[2,5-Dichloro-4-(1,1,2,3,3,3-hexa-fluoro-prop-oxy)phen-yl]amino-carbon-yl}-2,6-difluoro-benzamide.

In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(17)H(8)Cl(2)F(8)N(2)O(3), the two aromatic rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 50.12 (3)°. Intra-molecular N-H⋯O, C-H⋯O and N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds result in the formation of two six- and one five-membered rings. The six-membered rings have flattened-boat conformations, while the five-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into centrosymmetric dimers.

1-(2-Chloro-benzo-yl)-3-[4-(trifluoro-meth-oxy)phen-yl]urea.

The title compound, C(15)H(10)ClF(3)N(2)O(3), is considered to belong to a fourth generation of insecticides with properties such as high selectivity, low acute toxicity for mammals and high biological activity. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 59.3 (2)°. Intra-molecular C-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed. Inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding generates a centrosymmetric dimer. The F atoms are disordered over two positions; the site occupancy factors are 0.52 and 0.48.

N,N-Dimethyl-N'-[3-(trifluoro-methyl)-phenyl]-urea.

The title compound, C(10)H(11)F(3)N(2)O, is an important urea-based herbicide. In the crystal structure, the mol-ecular packing is stabilized by two intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and one inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bond, generating a C(4) graph-set motif running parallel to the [001] direction. The F atoms are disordered over two sites, with occupancies of 0.176 (9) and 0.824 (9).

Ethyl 2-{N-[N-(4-chloro-6-methoxy-pyrimidin-2-yl)carbamo-yl]sulfamo-yl}benzoate.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(15)H(15)ClN(4)O(6)S, contains two independent mol-ecules, in which the pyrimidine and benzene rings are oriented at dihedral angles of 75.21 (3) and 86.00 (3)°. Intra-molecular N-H⋯N and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds result in the formation of two five- and two six-membered rings. The six-membered rings have flattened-boat conformations, while the five-membered rings adopt envelope conformations. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules.

[Initial application of brain protection device in dilatation and stenting of carotid and vertebral artery stenosis].

OBJECTIVE: To report the initial application of brain protection device in the dilatation and stenting of atherosclerotic stenosis of the carotid and vertebral artery. METHODS: Eighteen patients with 21 atherosclerotic stenoses of the carotid or vertebral artery underwent dilatation and/or stenting with brain protection device (filterwire or angioguard). The clinical results were summarized and the indispensability and feasibility of the device was discussed. RESULTS: With the aid of brain protection device, endovascular dilatation and (or) stenting were performed in all the patients with 21 stenoses of the carotid or vertebral artery. The interventional manipulation was successful and no complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Brain protection device is helpful to decrease the embolic complication caused by atherosclerotic plaque and thromboembolus and to increase the security of interventional therapy, during the dilatation and/or stenting of stenosis of the carotid or vertebral artery.