Altered White Matter Integrity in Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate microstructural alterations of white matter in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) patients by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Material/Methods. DTI was performed on 14 RVO patients and 14 normal controls (HCs). We measured and recorded fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) of white matter fibers and classified them through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and correlation analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The mean FA value of white matter in RVO patients is lower than the HCs, and the mean RD value in RVO patients increased, especially in the bilateral posterior thalamic, bilateral sagittal stratum, body of corpus callosum, cingulum, and fornix. The ROC curve of different brain regions showed high accuracy. Moreover, the mean FA and RD values were significantly correlated with visual and psychological disorders. CONCLUSION: TBSS could be regarded as an important method to reveal the alterations of white matter in RVO patients, indicating the underlying neurological mechanism of the RVO.

Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in patients with diabetic retinopathy using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by prolonged elevation of blood glucose due to various causes. Currently, the relationship between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and altered connectivity of brain function is unclear. AIM: To investigate the relationship between this brain activity and clinical manifestations and behaviors of DR patients by using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) technique. METHODS: Twenty-four DR patients and 24 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age and gender were enrolled. We measured and recorded average ALFF values of DR patients and HCs and then classified them using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: ALFF values of both left and right posterior cerebellar lobe and right anterior cingulate gyrus were remarkably higher in the DR patients than in the HCs; however, DR patients had lower values in the bilateral calcarine area. ROC curve analysis of different brain regions demonstrated high accuracy in the area under the curve analysis. There was no significant relationship between mean ALFF values for different regions and clinical presentations in DR patients. Neuronal synchronization abnormalities in some brain regions of DR patients were associated with cognitive and visual disorders. CONCLUSION: Abnormal spontaneous brain activity was observed in many areas of DR patients' brains, which may suggest a possible link between clinical manifestations and behaviors in DR patients.

The prognosis and effects of local treatment strategies for orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma: a population-based study.

INTRODUCTION: Orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare childhood malignancy with a good prognosis, but the optimal treatment remains unclear. Using a population-based cancer registry, we assessed the prognoses and survival outcomes of patients with orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma according to the local treatment strategy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma between 1988 and 2012 as part of the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program were included. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the prognostic factors associated with cause-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: In total, 102 patients were included; their median age was 6 years, 78.4% were white, and 56.9% were male. The median tumor size was 30 mm. Of 20 patients with an available histologic grade, the tumors of 90% were poorly differentiated/undifferentiated. Of 92 patients with available surgical and radiotherapy (RT) statuses, 50 (54.3%), 36 (39.1%), and 6 (6.5%) received surgery and RT, primary RT, and primary surgery, respectively. Ninety-five patients (93.1%) received chemotherapy. The 5- and 10-year CSSs of the entire cohort were 94.3% and 92.2%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year OSs were 93.3% and 91.3%, respectively. In 95 patients who were followed up for at least 12 months, there were no significant prognostic factors related to CSS and OS. Furthermore, the local treatment strategy did not significantly affect CSS (P=0.29) or OS (P=0.468). CONCLUSION: There is no local treatment of choice for orbital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in terms of survival. However, RT is a reasonable alternative treatment to surgery.