Noninvasive prediction of shunt operation outcome in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a syndrome characterized by gait disturbance, cognitive deterioration and urinary incontinence in elderly individuals. These symptoms can be improved by shunt operation in some but not all patients. Therefore, discovering predictive factors for the surgical outcome is of great clinical importance. We used normalized power variance (NPV) of electroencephalography (EEG) waves, a sensitive measure of the instability of cortical electrical activity, and found significantly higher NPV in beta frequency band at the right fronto-temporo-occipital electrodes (Fp2, T4 and O2) in shunt responders compared to non-responders. By utilizing these differences, we were able to correctly identify responders and non-responders to shunt operation with a positive predictive value of 80% and a negative predictive value of 88%. Our findings indicate that NPV can be useful in noninvasively predicting the clinical outcome of shunt operation in patients with iNPH

MEG functional network disorganization associates with cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in early Alzheimer’s disease

To determine whether functional connectivity patterns, as an index of synaptic dysfunction, associate with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (i.e., phospho-tau and amyloid beta -A 42- levels) in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer?s disease. We also assessed orrelations of aberrant functional connections with structural connectivity abnormalities and with cognitive deficit