Automated Sulcal Depth Measurement on Cortical Surface Reflecting Geometrical Properties of Sulci

Sulcal depth that is one of the quantitative measures of cerebral cortex has been widely used as an important marker for brain morphological studies. Several studies have employed Euclidean (EUD) or geodesic (GED) algorithms to measure sulcal depth, which have limitations that ignore sulcal geometry in highly convoluted regions and result in under or overestimated depth. In this study, we proposed an automated measurement for sulcal depth on cortical surface reflecting geometrical properties of sulci, which named the adaptive distance transform (ADT). We first defined the volume region of cerebrospinal fluid between the 3D convex hull and the cortical surface, and constructed local coordinates for that restricted region. Dijkstra’s algorithm was then used to compute the shortest paths from the convex hull to the vertices of the cortical surface based on the local coordinates, which may be the most proper approach for defining sulcal depth. We applied our algorithm to both a clinical dataset including patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 25 normal controls and a simulated dataset whose shape was similar to a single sulcus. The mean sulcal depth in the mild AD group was significantly lower than controls (p = 0.007, normal [mean±SD]: 7.29±0.23 mm, AD: 7.11±0.29) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was relatively high, showing the value of 0.818. Results from clinical dataset that were consistent with former studies using EUD or GED demonstrated that ADT was sensitive to cortical atrophy. The robustness against inter-individual variability of ADT was highlighted through simulation dataset. ADT showed a low and constant normalized difference between the depth of the simulated data and the calculated depth, whereas EUD and GED had high and variable differences. We suggest that ADT is more robust than EUD or GED and might be a useful alternative algorithm for measuring sulcal depth

Medial Meniscal Tears in Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Deficient Knees: Effects of Posterior Tibial Slope on Medial Meniscal Tear

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of meniscal tears in patients with chronic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knees, and to determine the influence of posterior tibial slope (PTS) on medial meniscal tears in ACL-deficient knees. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 174 patients (174 knees) with a mean age of 30.7 years who underwent ACL reconstruction for chronic ACL tears. We divided the patients into two groups: low group (135 knees with a PTS or =13degrees). RESULTS: The incidence of medial meniscus tears was 44% (77/174), and that of lateral meniscus tears was 35% (61/174). The mean PTS in patients with medial meniscal tears was 11.4degrees+/-3.0degrees, whereas that in patients without medial meniscal tears was 9.8degrees+/-2.4degrees. The incidence of meniscal tears was 57.8% (78/135) in the low group and 89.7% (35/39) in the high group (p or =13degrees is a risk factor for secondary medial meniscal tears in ACL-deficient knees. So, we suggest that PTS is one of the considerations for determining early ACL reconstruction to prevent secondary meniscal tears.ope

A Preliminary Report of Crosslinguistic Evidence on Efficacy of Semantic-Complexity Based Naming Treatment in Korean Aphasics

The current study investigated the efficacy of semantic-complexity based naming treatment in Korean participants with aphasia. Results suggested that both participants showed small to medium effect sizes in the trained items. However, generalization effects were greater in the participant who received treatment on the atypical items first, than the participant who was initiated on the typical items. These results are consistent with the previous findings in English-speaking aphasic participants (Kiran & Thompson, 2003; Kiran, 2008). Preliminary findings of two Korean participants with aphasia added crosslinguistic evidence on efficacy of the semantic complexity based naming treatment

Untargeted metabolomics analysis of rat hippocampus subjected to sleep fragmentation

Sleep fragmentation (SF) commonly occurs in several pathologic conditions and is especially associated with impairments of hippocampus-dependent neurocognitive functions. Although the effects of SF on hippocampus in terms of protein or gene levels were examined in several studies, the impact of SF at the metabolite level has not been investigated. Thus, in this study, the differentially expressed large-scale metabolite profiles of hippocampus in a rat model of SF were investigated using untargeted metabolomics approaches. Forty-eight rats were divided into the following 4 groups: 4-day SF group, 4-day exercise control (EC) group, 15-day SF group, and 15-day EC group (n = 12, each). SF was accomplished by forced exercise using a walking wheel system with 30-s on/90-s off cycles, and EC condition was set at 10-min on/30-min off. The metabolite profiles of rat hippocampi in the SF and EC groups were analyzed using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Multivariate analysis revealed distinctive metabolic profiles and marker signals between the SF and corresponding EC groups. Metabolic changes were significant only in the 15-day SF group. In the 15-day SF group, L-tryptophan, myristoylcarnitine, and palmitoylcarnitine were significantly increased, while adenosine monophosphate, hypoxanthine, L-glutamate, L-aspartate, L-methionine, and glycerophosphocholine were decreased compared to the EC group. The alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism pathway was observed as the common key pathway in the 15-day SF groups. The results from this untargeted metabolomics study provide a perspective on metabolic impact of SF on the hippocampus.Peer reviewe

Anatomic variations of the T2 nerve root (including the nerve of Kuntz) and their implications for sympathectomy

AbstractObjective: The aim of this study was to clarify the anatomic variations of the intrathoracic nerve of Kuntz, and this should help delineate the resection margins during video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy. Methods: Sixty-six thoracic sympathetic chains of 39 adult Korean cadavers were dissected on both sides of the thorax in 27 cadavers (54 sides) and on one side in 12 cadavers (12 sides). Results: The intrathoracic nerve was observed in 45 (68.2%) sides and was present bilaterally in 48.1% of cadavers. No intrathoracic nerve or ascending ramus communicans arising from the second thoracic nerve was observed in only 5 (7.6%) sides. The diameter of the intrathoracic nerve was 1.25 ± 0.55 mm on average. The arising point of the intrathoracic nerve from the second thoracic nerve was 7.3 mm on average from the sympathetic trunk. Presence of the stellate ganglion was noted in 56 (84.8%) sides, and 6 (9.1%) sides showed a single large ganglion formed by the stellate and the second thoracic sympathetic ganglia. The second thoracic sympathetic ganglion was most commonly located (50%) in the second intercostal space. Conclusion: The anatomic variations of the intrathoracic nerve of Kuntz and the second thoracic sympathetic ganglion were characterized in human cadavers. It is hoped that this study will help to improve the recurrence of symptoms caused by the intrathoracic nerve in an upper thoracic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002;123:498-50

Phosphatidylcholine induces apoptosis of 3T3-L1 adipocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Phosphatidylcholine (PPC) formulation is used for lipolytic injection, even though its mechanism of action is not well understood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The viability of 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and differentiated 3T3-L1 cells was measured after treatment of PPC alone, its vehicle sodium deoxycholate (SD), and a PPC formulation. Western blot analysis was performed to examine PPC-induced signaling pathways.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PPC, SD, and PPC formulation significantly decreased 3T3-L1 cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. PPC alone was not cytotoxic to CCD-25Sk human fibroblasts at concentrations <1 mg/ml, whereas SD and PPC formulation were cytotoxic. Western blot analysis demonstrated that PPC alone led to the phosphorylation of the stress signaling proteins, such as p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and activated caspase-9, -8, -3 as well as cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. However, SD did not activate the apoptotic pathways. Instead, SD and PPC formulation induced cell membrane lysis, which may lead to necrosis of cells.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PPC results in apoptosis of 3T3-L1 cells.</p

Quantification of sulcal emergence timing and its variability in early fetal life: Hemispheric asymmetry and sex difference

Human fetal brains show regionally different temporal patterns of sulcal emergence following a regular timeline, which may be associated with spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression among cortical regions. This study aims to quantify the timing of sulcal emergence and its temporal variability across typically developing fetuses by fitting a logistic curve to presence or absence of sulcus. We found that the sulcal emergence started from the central to the temporo-parieto-occipital lobes and frontal lobe, and the temporal variability of emergence in most of the sulci was similar between 1 and 2 weeks. Small variability (\u3c 1 week) was found in the left central and postcentral sulci and larger variability (\u3e2 weeks) was shown in the bilateral occipitotemporal and left superior temporal sulci. The temporal variability showed a positive correlation with the emergence timing that may be associated with differential contributions between genetic and environmental factors. Our statistical analysis revealed that the right superior temporal sulcus emerged earlier than the left. Female fetuses showed a trend of earlier sulcal emergence in the right superior temporal sulcus, lower temporal variability in the right intraparietal sulcus, and higher variability in the right precentral sulcus compared to male fetuses. Our quantitative and statistical approach quantified the temporal patterns of sulcal emergence in detail that can be a reference for assessing the normality of developing fetal gyrification

Characteristics of Radial Tears in the Posterior Horn of the Medial Meniscus Compared to Horizontal Tears

BACKGROUND: The clinical and radiologic features of radial tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn were compared with those of horizontal tears. METHODS: From January 2007 to December 2008, 387 consecutive cases of medial meniscal tears were treated arthroscopically. Among these, 91 were radial tears in the medial meniscus posterior horn, and 95 were horizontal tears in the posterior segment of the medial meniscus. The patients' data (age, gender, duration of symptom, body mass index, and injury history), radiographic findings (Kellgren and Lawrence score, posterior tibial slope, and femorotibial angle), and chondral lesions were recorded. RESULTS: The patient factors of age, gender, and body mass index were related to radial tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn. Radial tears were significantly correlated with Kellgren and Lawrence score, varus alignment, posterior tibial slope, and severity of the chondral lesion. CONCLUSIONS: Radial tears of the medial meniscus posterior horn are a unique clinical entity that are associated with older age, females and obesity, and are strongly associated with an increased incidence and severity of cartilage degeneration compared to horizontal tears.ope

Incidence and risk factors of subsyndromal delirium after curative resection of gastric cancer

Background: Subsyndromal delirium, a condition in which patients exhibit some, but not all, of the symptoms of delirium, can negatively affect the outcomes of patients with cancer. However, the incidence of subsyndromal delirium in patients with gastric cancer is unknown. Here, we investigated the incidence and risk factors of subsyndromal delirium after curative resection of gastric cancer. Methods: We recruited consecutive patients with gastric cancer who were scheduled for curative resection at a tertiary hospital. Patients&apos; subsyndromal delirium symptoms were serially assessed preoperatively and 1, 2, 3, and 7 days postoperatively using the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised-98 (DRS-R-98). A DRS-R-98 score of 8-14 at any postoperative assessment was considered to indicate subsyndromal delirium. Sociodemographic and pre-/intraoperative clinical data were also assessed. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the associated risk factors. Results: Data were analysed from 163 out of 217 eligible patients. Postoperative delirium occurred in one patient (0.6%) and subsyndromal delirium occurred in 19 patients (11.7%). Age &gt;= 70 years (odds ratio, [OR] 3.85; 95% confidence interval [0], 136-10.92; p = 0.011) and education level &lt;= 9 years (OR, 3.98; 95% CI, 139-11.41; p= 0.010) were independent risk factors of subsyndromal delirium after adjusting for preoperative cognitive function. Other pre-/intra-operative variables including anxiety/depression, poor sleep quality, and anaesthesia duration were not associated with subsyndromal delirium. Conclusions: In contrast to the low incidence of delirium among patients undergoing curative resection of gastric cancer, a substantial proportion of such patients experienced subsyndromal delirium. Considering the prognostic implications, more careful detection and management of subsyndromal delirium may be warranted in patients with gastric cance