Feasibility Study of Language Lateralization using Thai Version of Language Paradigm for Functional MRI in Clinical Service.

Objective: To evaluate the concordance of language lateralization between functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using Thai version of language paradigm and Wada test or awake surgery with direct cortical brain stimulation (DCS). Material and Method: Retrospective study of thirteen patients (3 males and 10 females with mean age of 33.9 years old) with epilepsy (7 cases) or brain tumor (6 cases) was performed. Every patient underwent both fMRI (word generation, verb generation, naming picture, and sentence completion tasks) and Wada test or awake surgery with DCS (defined as the gold standard). The lateralization index (LI) of fMRI was automatically calculated by using the LI-toolbox on SPM8. The hemispheric lateralization was also evaluated visually. The concordance between fMRI and gold standard were analyzed. Results: The concordance between the lateralization of fMRI by visual assessment and gold standard was 92.3%. Concordance between the calculated LI by fMRI and gold standard was varied along with the task and regional calculation method. The concordance was good in all tasks (except for naming picture task) when using calculated LI from frontal or whole brain excluded cerebellum and occipital lobe (range 76.92 to 88.98% and 76.92 to 92.31%, respectively). Conclusion: There was good concordance between fMRI and gold standard. Regional calculation from frontal lobes and whole brain excluded cerebellum and occipital lobes gave the best results. The results supported feasibility to use the fMRI with Thai language paradigm as an alternative way to determine the language dominant hemisphere in Thai patients. In case of language dominant hemisphere is unclear, further invasive investigation of language mapping such as Wada test or DCS is crucial.

Longitudinal Changes in Hippocampal Subfield Volume Associated with Collegiate Football.

Collegiate football athletes are subject to repeated traumatic brain injuriesthat may cause brain injury. The hippocampus is composed of several distinct subfields with possible differential susceptibility to injury. The aim of this study is to determine whether there are longitudinal changes in hippocampal subfield volume in collegiate football. A prospective cohort study was conducted over a 5-year period tracking 63 football and 34 volleyball male collegiate athletes. Athletes underwent high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging, and automated segmentation provided hippocampal subfield volumes. At baseline, football (n = 59) athletes demonstrated a smaller subiculum volume than volleyball (n = 32) athletes (-67.77 mm3; p = 0.012). A regression analysis performed within football athletes similarly demonstrated a smaller subiculum volume among those at increased concussion risk based on athlete position (p = 0.001). For the longitudinal analysis, a linear mixed-effects model assessed the interaction between sport and time, revealing a significant decrease in cornu ammonis area 1 (CA1) volume in football (n = 36) athletes without an in-study concussion compared to volleyball (n = 23) athletes (volume difference per year = -35.22 mm3; p = 0.005). This decrease in CA1 volume over time was significant when football athletes were examined in isolation from volleyball athletes (p = 0.011). Thus, this prospective, longitudinal study showed a decrease in CA1 volume over time in football athletes, in addition to baseline differences that were identified in the downstream subiculum. Hippocampal changes may be important to study in high-contact sports.

Benign metastasizing leiomyoma.

Pulmonary metastases from benign-appearing smooth muscle tumors of the uterus are rare, and are termed benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML). Affected patients usually present with single or multiple lung nodules and are usually women who have undergone hysterectomy. Only a few cases of BML with lung cysts have been reported, with 2 patients presenting with spontaneous pneumothoraces. We report a case of BML in a 29-year-old woman with an abnormal preoperative chest radiograph who several years after hysterectomy developed spontaneous bilateral pneumothoraces.