Abnormal focal segments in left uncinate fasciculus in adults with obsessive–compulsive disorder

BackgroundAlthough the specific role of the uncinate fasciculus (UF) in emotional processing in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has been investigated, the exact focal abnormalities in the UF have not been identified. The aim of the current study was to identify focal abnormalities in the white matter (WM) microstructure of the UF and to determine the associations between clinical features and structural neural substrates.MethodsIn total, 71 drug-naïve patients with OCD and 81 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. Automated fiber quantification (AFQ), a tract-based quantitative approach, was adopted to measure alterations in diffusion parameters, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD), along the trajectory of the UF. Additionally, we utilized partial correlation analyses to explore the relationship between the altered diffusion parameters and clinical characteristics.ResultsOCD patients showed significantly higher FA and lower RD at the level of the temporal and insular portions in the left UF than HCs. In the insular segments of the left UF, increased FA was positively correlated with the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) score, while decreased RD was negatively correlated with the duration of illness.ConclusionWe observed specific focal abnormalities in the left UF in adult patients with OCD. Correlations with measures of anxiety and duration of illness underscore the functional importance of the insular portion of left UF disturbance in OCD patients

Low-grade malignant myofibroblastic sarcoma of the larynx: a case report

Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma (LGMS) is a rare malignant mesenchymal tumor derived from myofibroblasts. It is commonly identified in the head and neck, and particularly in the oral cavity, but rarely in the larynx. In this case report, we describe a patient who presented with hoarseness and underwent electronic fiber laryngoscopy, which revealed a neoplasm on the surface of his left vocal cord. The vocal cord tumor was resected under general anesthesia, and a malignant LGMS was diagnosed on postoperative pathologic examination. The results of immunohistochemical staining of the sections for vimentin (diffuse +), actin (partial +), and desmin (−) were consistent with this diagnosis. The patient recovered well after the surgery, and there was no recurrence of the neoplasm

Abnormal amygdala resting-state functional connectivity in adults and adolescents with major depressive disorder: A comparative meta-analysisResearch in context

Background: Although dysfunction of amygdala-related circuits is centrally implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD), little is known about how this dysfunction differs between adult and adolescent MDD patients. Methods: Voxel-wise meta-analyses of abnormal amygdala resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were conducted in adult and adolescent groups separately, followed by a quantitative meta-analytic comparison of the two groups. Findings: Nineteen studies that included 665 MDD patients (392 adults and 273 adolescents) and 546 controls (341 adults and 205 adolescents) were identified in the current study. Adult-specific abnormal amygdala rsFC in MDD patients compared to that in controls was located mainly within the affective network, including increased connectivity with the right hippocampus/parahippocampus and bilateral ventromedial orbitofrontal cortex and decreased connectivity with the bilateral insula and the left caudate. Adolescent MDD patients specifically demonstrated decreased amygdala rsFC within the cognitive control network encompassing the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and imbalanced amygdala rsFC within the default mode network, which was manifested as hyperconnectivity in the right precuneus and hypoconnectivity in the right inferior temporal gyrus. Additionally, direct comparison between the two groups showed that adult patients had strengthened amygdala rsFC with the right hippocampus/parahippocampus as well as the right inferior temporal gyrus and weakened amygdala rsFC with the bilateral insula compared to that in adolescent patients. Interpretation: Distinct impairments of amygdala-centered rsFC in adult and adolescent patients were related to different network dysfunctions in MDD. Adult-specific amygdala rsFC dysfunction within the affective network presumably reflects emotional dysregulation in MDD, whereas adolescent-specific amygdala rsFC abnormalities in networks involved in cognitive control might reflect the neural basis of affective cognition deficiency that is characteristic of adolescent MDD. Fund: This study was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81671669) and by a Sichuan Provincial Youth Grant (2017JQ0001). Keywords: Major depressive disorder, Amygdala, Functional connectivity, Adults, Adolescents, Meta-analysi