Sex specific alterations in preterm brain

Background: The literature on brain imaging in premature infants, is mostly made up of studies that evaluate neonates, yet the most dynamic time of brain development happens from birth to one year of age. This study was designed to obtain quantitative brain measures from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of infants born prematurely at 12 months of age. Methods: The subject group was designed to capture a wide range of gestational age (GA) from premature to full term infants. An age-specific atlas generated quantitative brain measures. A regression model was used to predict effects of gestational age, sex, on brain measures. Results: There was a primary effect of sex on: 1) intracranial volume (ICV), males > females; 2) proportional cerebral cortical gray matter (females > males) and 3) cerebral white matter (males> females). GA predicted cerebral volume and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). GA also predicted cortical gray matter in a sex specific manner with GA having a significant effect on cortical volume in the males, but not in females. Conclusions and Relevance: Sex differences in brain structure are large early in life. GA had sex specific effects highlighting the importance evaluating sex effects in neurodevelopmental outcomes of premature infants

Advanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance techniques

There are many research activities to improve and extend cardiovascular MRI techniques. This chapter introduces a selection of developments that has the potential to enrich the clinical application in the future. Under the first topic of myocardial tissue characterization, parametric mapping is described, which comprises the pixelwise quantification of myocardial T1, T2 and T2* relaxation times. Furthermore, cardiac diffusion magnetic resonance imaging that provides non-invasive visualization of tissue microstructure is described, as well as techniques to analyze fat within the myocardium are elucidated. The second topic deals with the analysis of myocardial mechanics and introduces tissue phase mapping, feature tracking, DENSE and SENC that provide insights into the three-dimensional motion of the left ventricle. The third topic focuses on blood flow assessment: 4D-flow is described, which enables the visualization and quantification of flow patterns, as well as novel techniques for real-time flow quantification. The last part provides insight into achievements and outlooks of cardiovascular MRI at ultrahigh magnetic field strength