Susceptibility weighted imaging in the evaluation of hemorrhagic diffuse axonal injury

Diffuse axonal injury（DAI）is axonal and small vessel injury produced by a sudden acceleration of the head by an external force,and is a major cause of death and severe disability（Paterakis et al.,2000）.Prognosis is poorer in patients with apparent hemorrhage than in those without（Paterakis et al.,2000）.Therefore,it is important to identify the presence and precise position of hemorrhagic foci for a more accurate diagnosis.CT and magnetic resonance imaging（MRI）have long been applied in the diagnosis of DAI, but they are not sensitive enough for the detection of small hemorrhagic foci, and cannot meet the requirements for early diagnosis. A major advance in MRI has been the development of susceptibility weighted imaging （SWI）, which has greatly increased the ability to detect small hemorrhagic foci after DAI （Ashwal et al., 2006）.

The metabolic brain network in patients with Parkinson's disease based on ^(18)F-FDG PET imaging: evaluation of neuronal injury and regeneration

Over the past two decades, the development of functional imaging methods has greatly promoted our understanding on the changes of neurons following neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkin- son＇s disease （PD）. The application of a spatial covariance analysis on 18F-FDG PET imaging has led to the identification of a distinc- tive disease-related metabolic pattern. This pattern has proven to be useful in clinical diagnosis, disease progression monitoring as well as assessment of the neuronal changes before and after clinical treatment. It may potentially serve as an objective biomarker on disease progression monitoring, assessment, histological and func- tional evaluation of related diseases.

Evaluation of corticospinal tract injury with three-dimensional diffusion tensor tract in patients with acute cerebral infarction

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional diffusion tensor tract (DTT) is the newest imaging to describe the structure of white matter fiber in three-dimensions, it has great significance in dividing the concrete anatomic site of gray and white matter lesions, displaying the correlation with fibrous band and judging clinical prognosis, which is incomparable by other imagings. OBJECTIVE: To observe the conditions of corticospinal tract (CST) in acute cerebral ischemic stroke patients, and analyze the relationship between motor function and the severity of CST injury. DESIGN: A case-control observation. SETTING: Department of Medical Imaging, Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA. PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen patients with acute cerebral infarction were selected from Fuzhou General Hospital of Nanjing Military Area Command of Chinese PLA from February to December in 2005. They all suffered from acute attack and motor disorder of hemiplegic limbs to different extent, and were conformed by CT or MRI. There were 9 males and 6 females, aging 16-87 years old, the median age was 51.7 years, and all were right handed. Fifteen right-handed normal subjects, who were matched by age and sex with the patients in the cerebral infarction group, were selected from the relatives of patients and physicians of the Imaging Department as the control group. All the subjects were informed and agreed with the study. METHODS: The patients with acute cerebral infarction and subjects in the control group received MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with GE 1.5 T nuclear magnetic resonance system, fiber tracking with the software of dTV-Ⅱ. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps and three-dimensional tractography of bilateral CST of all patients were created. Displacement, continuity and destroy of fibrous bands were observed. At the same time, muscle strength of ipsilateral hand of patients with cerebral infarction was measured with Brunnstrom standard. The correlation between the severity of CST injury and the muscle strength of ipsilateral hand was analyzed with spearman correlation analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① FA values in the infarcted sites and those in the contralateral corresponding sites of patients with cerebral infarction; ② CST manifestations in the patients with cerebral infarction and the control group. RESULTS: All the 30 testees were involved in the analysis of results. ① The FA values in infarcted sites of white matter were significantly lower than those in the contralateral ones (t =4.570,P < 0.001). ② In the control group, bilateral CST were reconstructed, they originated from precentral gyrus, went downwards to internal capsule, and extended to pontine and medulla oblongata, each fiber had good uniformity in continuous form. In the patients with cerebral infarction, the forms of contralateral CST were consistent with those in the control group with good continuity. Due to the involvement by the infarcted site to different extents, the ipsilateral CST manifested as continuous interruption and loss of uniformity in anatomic structure and form. The CST involvements were divided into three grades: integrated CST for grade 1 (n =2); integrated CST but compressed or displaced for grade 2 (n =5); interrupted CST for grade 3 (n =8). ③ The severity of CST injury was obviously correlated with the muscle strength of the ipsilateral hand (r =0.888, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ① CST is injured to different extents in patients with acute cerebral infarction, and the severity of injury is associated with muscle strength. It is indicated that it can be used to judge the prognosis of rehabilitative treatment. ②DTT can directly display the status of pyramidal tract more three-dimensionally.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein enhances the vascularization of acellular nerves

Vascularization of acellular nerves has been shown to contribute to nerve bridging.In this study,we used a 10-mm sciatic nerve defect model in rats to determine whether cartilage oligomeric matrix protein enhances the vascularization of injured acellular nerves.The rat nerve defects were treated with acellular nerve grafting（control group） alone or acellular nerve grafting combined with intraperitoneal injection of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein（experimental group）.As shown through two-dimensional imaging,the vessels began to invade into the acellular nerve graft from both anastomotic ends at day 7 post-operation,and gradually covered the entire graft at day 21.The vascular density,vascular area,and the velocity of revascularization in the experimental group were all higher than those in the control group.These results indicate that cartilage oligomeric matrix protein enhances the vascularization of acellular nerves.

Evaluating nerve guidance conduits for peripheral nerve injuries:a novel normalization method

The peripheral nervous system （PNS） is composed of the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord whose primary function is to connect the central nervous system to the limbs and organs. A peripheral nerve injury （PNI） is damage to the nerves and/or its surrounding tissue. These injuries can affect up to 5% of patients that are hospitalized for trauma （Taylor et al., 2008） and over 50,000 surgical repair procedures are performed annually in the United States alone （Evans, 2001）.