RESUMO
Background: Resting-state network (RSN) functional connectivity analyses have profoundly influenced our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychoses and their clinical high risk (CHR) states. However, conventional RSN analyses address the static nature of large-scale brain networks. In contrast, novel methodological approaches aim to assess the momentum state and temporal dynamics of brain network interactions. Methods: Fifty CHR individuals and 33 healthy controls (HC) completed a resting-state functional MRI scan. We performed an Energy Landscape analysis, a data-driven method using the pairwise maximum entropy model, to describe large-scale brain network dynamics such as duration and frequency of, and transition between, different brain states. We compared those measures between CHR and HC, and examined the association between neuropsychological measures and neural dynamics in CHR. Results: Our main finding is a significantly increased duration, frequency, and higher transition rates to an infrequent brain state with coactivation of the salience, limbic, default mode and somatomotor RSNs in CHR as compared to HC. Transition of brain dynamics from this brain state was significantly correlated with processing speed in CHR. Conclusion: In CHR, temporal brain dynamics are attracted to an infrequent brain state, reflecting more frequent and longer occurrence of aberrant interactions of default mode, salience, and limbic networks. Concurrently, more frequent and longer occurrence of the brain state is associated with core cognitive dysfunctions, predictors of future onset of full-blown psychosis.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Symptoms of patients with gastric cancer (GC) are often unspecific and differences in symptoms between patients with cardia and non-cardia GC have been poorly investigated. We aimed to characterize symptoms of patients with cardia and non-cardia GC. METHODS: Patients with cardia (Siewert type II and III) and non-cardia GC were recruited in the German multicenter cohort of the Gastric Cancer Research (staR) study between 2013 and 2017. Alarm, dyspeptic and reflux symptoms at the time of presentation were documented using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: A completed self-administered questionnaire was available for 568/759 recruited patients (132 cardia GC, 436 non-cardia GC, male 61%, mean age 64 years). Dyspeptic symptoms were more common in patients with non-cardia GC (69.0 vs. 54.5%, p=0.0024). Cardia GC patients reported more frequently alarm symptoms (69.7 vs. 44.7%, p<0.0001), and were more likely to have Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) stage III-IV (54.1vs. 38.9%, p=0.0034). Especially, dysphagia and weight loss were more common in patients with cardia GC (49.2 vs. 6.4 %, p<0.0001 and 37.1 vs. 25.7%, p=0.02, respectively). No differences between the two groups were observed with respect to reflux symptoms. Patients with alarm symptoms were more likely to have UICC stage III-IV at presentation (69.4 vs. 42.9%, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice the symptom pattern at presentation may serve as a hint for tumor localization. Despite the fact that they are common in the general population, dyspeptic symptoms offer a chance for earlier GC detection. Thus, in patients with dyspeptic symptoms who fail empiric approaches, endoscopy should not be delayed.
