Changes in brain functional connectivity and cognition related to white matter lesion burden in hypertensive patients from SPRINT.

PURPOSE: Hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive impairment; however, the mechanisms leading to cognitive changes remain unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluate the impact of white matter lesion (WML) burden on brain functional connectivity (FC) and cognition in a large cohort of hypertensive patients from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) at baseline. METHODS: Functional networks were identified from baseline resting state functional MRI scans of 660 SPRINT participants using independent component analysis. WML volumes were calculated from structural MRI. Correlation analyses were carried out between mean FC of each functional network and global WML as well as WML within atlas-defined white matter regions. For networks of interest, voxel-wise-adjusted correlation analyses between FC and regional WML volume were performed. Multiple variable linear regression models were built for cognitive test performance as a function of network FC, followed by mediation analysis. RESULTS: Mean FC of the default mode network (DMN) was negatively correlated with global WML volume, and regional WML volume within the precuneus. Voxel-wise correlation analyses revealed that regional WML was negatively correlated with FC of the DMN's left lateral temporal region. FC in this region of the DMN was positively correlated to performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and demonstrated significant mediation effects. Additional networks also demonstrated global and regional WML correlations; however, they did not demonstrate an association with cognition. CONCLUSION: In hypertensive patients, greater WML volume is associated with lower FC of the DMN, which in turn is related to poorer cognitive test performance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01206062.

Back to the future: sagittal CT in the evaluation of COPD.

OBJECTIVES: To identify features of obstructive airway disease on sagittal reconstruction, compare the accuracy of findings to traditional imaging characteristics of COPD, and determine the fraction of additional cases identified using new characteristics. METHODS: The study was approved by the centre's Institutional Review Board and is HIPAA compliant. Two hundred sixteen patients with HRCT and spirometry within a 3-month window were included. Four radiologists evaluated each HRCT for traditional characteristics of COPD and new quantitative and qualitative features of obstruction on axial and sagittal reconstructions. Imaging characteristics were assessed for correlation with the spirometric diagnosis of obstructive airway disease. RESULTS: Quantitative and qualitative findings on sagittal reconstruction are highly specific for COPD (specificity >90 %). Features of hyperinflation on sagittal reconstruction are more accurate predictors of obstruction than traditional axial measures, with greater interobserver reliability (hyperinflation left hemidiaphragm: accuracy: 70.08 % ± 2.49 %; kappa: 0.511 versus traditional measures: accuracy: 62.00 % ± 5.38 %; kappa: 0.407). Sagittal reconstruction identified 27-70 % more patients with COPD than traditional axial findings (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of sagittal reconstruction enables greater accuracy and specificity in the diagnosis of obstructive airway disease compared to traditional measures on axial imaging. Use of sagittal reconstructions can help identify up to 70 % more patients with COPD than traditional imaging findings alone. KEY POINTS: • HRCT sagittal reconstruction is useful in the evaluation of obstructive lung disease. • Findings on sagittal reconstructions allow physicians to more accurately diagnose COPD. • Routine use of sagittal reconstructions increases the sensitivity for diagnosing COPD.

Match day: online search trends reflect growing interest in IR training.

Google Trends was used to characterize the relationship between the interventional radiology (IR) applicant pool and related Internet queries for "IR fellowship" from July 2006 to July 2013. Results were compared with National Residency Match Panel data by regression analysis and one-way analysis of variance. Search traffic for IR fellowship demonstrated a statistically significant linear annual increase (R(2) = 0.87; P = .0013). Total IR applicants increased by 184% (R(2) = 0.98; P = .0216). Search traffic was predictive of applicants for each match year (R(2) = 0.92; P = .0004) and programs filled (R(2) = 0.93; P = .0003). Internet queries mirror trainee professional interests, with significant increases in search traffic related to IR fellowship and strong correlation with growth in applicants.

Pilot multimodal twin imaging study of generalized anxiety disorder.

BACKGROUND: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a common chronic condition that is relatively understudied compared to other psychiatric syndromes. Neuroimaging studies have begun to implicate particular neural structures and circuitry in its pathophysiology; however, no genetically informative research has examined the potential sources of reported brain differences. METHODS: We acquired spectroscopic, volumetric, and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging data from a pilot study of 34 female subjects selected from monozygotic twin pairs based upon their affection status for GAD, and examined brain regions previously implicated in fear and anxiety for their relationship with affection status and genetic risk. RESULTS: Lifetime GAD associated with increased creatine levels in the amygdala, smaller left hippocampal volume, and lower fractional anisotropy in the uncinate fasciculus which connects amygdala and frontal cortex. In addition, GAD genetic risk predicted increases in myo-inositol in the amygdala and, possibly, glutamate/glutamine/GABA alterations in the hippocampus. The association of lifetime GAD with smaller hippocampal volume was independent of major depression and might represent a common genetic risk marker for internalizing disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data suggest that GAD and its genetic risk factors are likely correlated with volumetric and spectroscopic changes in fear-related limbic structures and their connections with the frontal cortex.

Unruptured Arteriovenous Malformations in the Multidetector Computed Tomography Era: Frequency of Detection and Predictable Failures.

OBJECTIVES: While hemorrhage arising from ruptured arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is usually evident on multidetector non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT), unruptured AVMs can be below the limits of detection. We performed a retrospective review of NCCT of patients with a proven diagnosis of unruptured AVM to determine if advances in CT technology have made them more apparent and what features predict their detection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-five NCCTs met inclusion criteria of having angiography or MR proven AVM without hemorrhage, prior surgery, or other CNS disease. Demographic variables, clinical symptoms at presentation, abnormal CT imaging findings, attenuation of the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), and Spetzler-Martin grade of each AVM were recorded. We examined the relationship between AVM detection and SSS attenuation through Kruskal-Wallis test. Exploratory serial logistic principal components analysis was performed including demographics, symptoms, and CT features in the multivariate model. RESULTS: About 80% of the NCCTs showed an abnormality while 20% were normal. All those with an identifiable abnormality showed hyperdensity (80%). Logistic regression models indicate that clustered associations between several CT features, primarily calcifications, hyperdensity, and vascular prominence significantly predicted Spetzler-Martin grade (likelihood ratio 7.7, P = 0.006). SSS attenuation was significantly lower in subjects with occult AVMs when compared to those with CT abnormalities (median 47 vs. 55 HU, P < 0.04). CONCLUSION: Abnormal hyperdensity was evident in all detectable cases (80%) and multiple CT features were predictive of a higher Spetzler-Martin AVM grade. Moreover, SSS attenuation less than 50 HU was significantly correlated with a false-negative NCCT.

A bivariate twin study of regional brain volumes and verbal and nonverbal intellectual skills during childhood and adolescence.

Twin studies indicate that both intelligence and brain structure are moderately to highly heritable. Recent bivariate studies of adult twins also suggest that intelligence and brain morphometry are influenced by shared genetic factors. The current study examines shared genetic and environmental factors between brain morphometry and intelligence in a sample of children and adolescents (twins, twin siblings, and singletons; n = 649, ages 4-19). To extend previous studies, brain morphometric data were parsed into subregions (lobar gray/white matter volumes, caudate nucleus, lateral ventricles) and intelligence into verbal and nonverbal skills (Wechsler Vocabulary and Block Design subtests). Phenotypic relationships between brain volumes and intelligence were small. Verbal skills shared unique environmental effects with gray matter volumes while nonverbal skills shared genetic effects with both global and regional gray and white matter. These results suggest that distinct mechanisms contribute to the small phenotypic relationships between brain volumes and verbal versus nonverbal intelligence.

Lower Respiratory Tract Infection with Human Metapneumovirus: Chest CT Imaging Features and Comparison with Other Viruses.

PURPOSE: Human metapneumovirus has been increasingly identified as a cause of lower respiratory tract infection in adults worldwide. The CT imaging features of human metapneumovirus in adults have not been characterized. The purpose of this paper is to determine the imaging features of human metapneumovirus and to compare them with features of other viruses. METHODS: Two clinicians retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 104 adults with lower respiratory tract infection due to human metapneumovirus at four hospitals in the northeast USA over 32 months. CT images were evaluated by two chest radiologists for airspace consolidation, bronchiectasis, bronchial wall thickening, ground-glass opacities, pleural effusion and tree-in-bud opacities and the dominant imaging pattern. Results for human metapneumovirus were compared with results previously reported for other viruses. RESULTS: Human metapneumovirus predominantly caused an airway-centric pattern (71-81/104, 68-77%) of infection characterized by bronchial wall thickening, tree-in-bud opacities, peri-bronchial consolidation and/or peri-bronchial ground-glass opacities. The airway-centric pattern has been previously reported with other paramyxoviridae (parainfluenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus). However, human metapneumovirus was significantly more likely (p = 0.03-0.001) to cause bronchopneumonia (46-55%) than parainfluenza virus (17%) or respiratory syncytial virus (21%). Follow-up CT in 41 (39%) patients with hMPV revealed resolution of findings in 38/41 (91%). CONCLUSION: The paramyxoviridae, including human metapneumovirus, are known to have a propensity to infect ciliated respiratory cells and we have demonstrated this leads to a propensity to cause bronchitis, bronchiolitis and bronchopneumonia on CT scans. Of these, human metapneumovirus is most likely to cause bronchopneumonia. Healthcare providers should consider human metapneumovirus as a cause of pneumonia on chest CT.

Differences in genetic and environmental influences on the human cerebral cortex associated with development during childhood and adolescence.

In this report, we present the first regional quantitative analysis of age-related differences in the heritability of cortical thickness using anatomic MRI with a large pediatric sample of twins, twin siblings, and singletons (n = 600, mean age 11.1 years, range 5-19). Regions of primary sensory and motor cortex, which develop earlier, both phylogenetically and ontologically, show relatively greater genetic effects earlier in childhood. Later developing regions within the dorsal prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes conversely show increasingly prominent genetic effects with maturation. The observation that regions associated with complex cognitive processes such as language, tool use, and executive function are more heritable in adolescents than children is consistent with previous studies showing that IQ becomes increasingly heritable with maturity(Plomin et al. 1997: Psychol Sci 8:442-447). These results suggest that both the specific cortical region and the age of the population should be taken into account when using cortical thickness as an intermediate phenotype to link genes, environment, and behavior.

Efficient calculation of empirical P-values for genome-wide linkage analysis through weighted permutation.

Linkage analysis in multivariate or longitudinal context presents both statistical and computational challenges. The permutation test can be used to avoid some of the statistical challenges, but it substantially adds to the computational burden. Utilizing the distributional dependencies between p (defined as the proportion of alleles at a locus that are identical by descent (IBD) for a pairs of relatives, at a given locus) and the permutation test we report a new method of efficient permutation. In summary, the distribution of p for a sample of relatives at locus x is estimated as a weighted mixture of p drawn from a pool of 'representative' p distributions observed at other loci. This weighting scheme is then used to sample from the distribution of the permutation tests at the representative loci to obtain an empirical P-value at locus x (which is asymptotically distributed as the permutation test at loci x). This weighted mixture approach greatly reduces the number of permutation tests required for genome-wide scanning, making it suitable for use in multivariate and other computationally intensive linkage analyses. In addition, because the distribution of p is a property of the genotypic data for a given sample and is independent of the phenotypic data, the weighting scheme can be applied to any phenotype (or combination of phenotypes) collected from that sample. We demonstrate the validity of this approach through simulation.

Trends in Fluoroscopy Time in Fluoroscopy-Guided Lumbar Punctures Performed by Trainees Over an Academic Year.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Fluoroscopy-guided lumbar puncture (FGLP) is an operator-dependent procedure that can contribute to lifetime cumulative radiation dose. Benchmark fluoroscopic times (FTs) have been published for ranges of body mass index (BMI), but trends in FT in FGLPs performed by neuroradiology trainees during their training have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends in FTs in FGLPs performed by neuroradiology fellows in an academic year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed FGLPs performed at our institution from July 2013 to June 2015 and determined the FT average and standard deviation of residents and non-neuroradiology fellows, neuroradiology fellows, and neuroradiology attendings. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test to evaluate group differences in FT in operator groups and academic quarters and by patient age, BMI, and needle length. Linear and Poisson regression analyses were performed to directly examine the relationship between the number of FGLPs performed and FTs. RESULTS: A total of 776 patients had successful FGLPs; 594 cases (77%) were performed by neuroradiology fellows (n = 14). The average FT and variance for neuroradiology fellows significantly decreased over the year (P = 0.004 and P < 0.001) with an estimated decrease of 0.01 minute of FT per FGLP. BMI, long needle length, and age ≥65 years old significantly affected the average FT (P = 0.03, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001) and FT decreased in all of these subgroups in the academic year. CONCLUSIONS: FT in FGLP cases performed by neuroradiology fellows decreases during the year. Our data can be utilized by radiology training programs and practices as a benchmark to monitor individual operator FT.

Utility of fat-suppressed sequences in differentiation of aggressive vs typical asymptomatic haemangioma of the spine.

OBJECTIVE: While haemangiomas are common benign vascular lesions involving the spine, some behave in an aggressive fashion. We investigated the utility of fat-suppressed sequences to differentiate between benign and aggressive vertebral haemangiomas. METHODS: Patients with the diagnosis of aggressive vertebral haemangioma and available short tau inversion-recovery or T2 fat saturation sequence were included in the study. 11 patients with typical asymptomatic vertebral body haemangiomas were selected as the control group. Region of interest signal intensity (SI) analysis of the entire haemangioma as well as the portion of each haemangioma with highest signal on fat-saturation sequences was performed and normalized to a reference normal vertebral body. RESULTS: A total of 8 patients with aggressive vertebral haemangioma and 11 patients with asymptomatic typical vertebral haemangioma were included. There was a significant difference between total normalized mean SI ratio (3.14 vs 1.48, p = 0.0002), total normalized maximum SI ratio (5.72 vs 2.55, p = 0.0003), brightest normalized mean SI ratio (4.28 vs 1.72, p < 0.0001) and brightest normalized maximum SI ratio (5.25 vs 2.45, p = 0.0003). Multiple measures were able to discriminate between groups with high sensitivity (>88%) and specificity (>82%). CONCLUSION: In addition to the conventional imaging features such as vertebral expansion and presence of extravertebral component, quantitative evaluation of fat-suppression sequences is also another imaging feature that can differentiate aggressive haemangioma and typical asymptomatic haemangioma. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: The use of quantitative fat-suppressed MRI in vertebral haemangiomas is demonstrated. Quantitative fat-suppressed MRI can have a role in confirming the diagnosis of aggressive haemangiomas. In addition, this application can be further investigated in future studies to predict aggressiveness of vertebral haemangiomas in early stages.

Small pulmonary artery defects are not reliable indicators of pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the rate of agreement of pulmonary embolism diagnosis in computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiogram studies and to evaluate the rate of inaccurate interpretations in the community hospital setting. METHODS: Using the keywords "pulmonary embolism/embolus/emboli," the radiology information system was searched for CT pulmonary angiograms performed over a 3-year period at three U.S. community hospitals. Studies containing probable or definite pulmonary emboli were independently reviewed by four subspecialty thoracic radiologists. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Agreement about the presence of pulmonary embolism progressively decreased with decreasing diameter of pulmonary vascular lesions (P < 0.0001). There was a sharp fall in observer agreement for pulmonary embolism of subsegmental lesions (P < 0.0001). The frequency of agreement decreased with decreasing quality of the imaging examination (P < 0.0001). Community radiologists were prone to false-positive pulmonary embolism diagnosis of subsegmental and/or small pulmonary arterial defects. The probability of a false-positive diagnosis and indeterminate examinations progressively increased with: (1) more peripheral location of the lesion, (2) decreased size (short-axis diameter) of the lesion, and (3) diminishing quality of the CT examination. Forty-eight of 177 (27%) of subsegmental vascular defects identified by community radiologists were deemed indeterminate, and 27 of 177 (15%) of subsegmental vascular defects were judged to be false positive for pulmonary embolism by the consensus diagnosis. Fifty-four of 274 (20%) vascular defects with short axis less than 6 mm were indeterminate for pulmonary embolism, and 37 of 274 (14%) of vascular defects with short axis less than 6 mm were false positive for pulmonary embolism. Eleven of 13 (85%) of vascular lesions identified as pulmonary emboli on the lowest-quality CT examinations were false positive or indeterminate for pulmonary embolism. False-positive examinations were most often due to respiratory motion artifact (19/38, 50%). CONCLUSIONS: There is relatively poor interobserver agreement for subsegmental and/or small pulmonary artery defects, especially in CT pulmonary angiograms degraded by technical artifacts. These factors can lead to an increased frequency of inaccurate interpretation or indeterminate diagnosis of subsegmental and/or small defects. Caution is indicated in interpreting the significance of small vascular defects in CT pulmonary angiograms.