High magnetization aqueous ferrofluid: A simple one-pot synthesis

A one-step polyol method was utilized to prepare a stable aqueous iron/iron oxide ferrofluid. The dried powders were characterized by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry for the determination of phase, morphology, and magnetic properties. To show its potential for imaging applications, the ferrofluid was also investigated as a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent

Assessment of mitochondrial impairment and cerebral blood flow in severe brain injured patients

Background We believe that in traumatic brain injury (TBI), the reduction of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) occurs in the presence of adequate cerebral blood flow (CBF) which would lend support to the concept of mitochondrial impairment. The objective of this study was to test this hypothesis in severely injured patients (GCS 8 or less) by obtaining simultaneous measures of CBF and NAA. Methods Fourteen patients were studied of which six patients presented as diffuse injury at admission CT, while focal lesions were present in eight patients. CBF using stable xenon method was measured at the same time that NAA was measured by magnetic resonance proton spec-troscopy (1HMRS) in the MR suite. Additionally, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and maps of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were assessed. Findings In diffuse injury, NAA/Cr reduction occurred uniformly throughout the brain where the values of CBF in all patients were well above ischemic threshold. In focal injury, we observed ischemic CBF values in the core of the lesions. However, in areas other than the core, CBF was above ischemic levels and NAA/Cr levels were decreased. Conclusions Considering the direct link between energy metabolism and NAA synthesis in the mitochondria, this study showed that in the absence of an ischemic insult, reductions in NAA concentration reflects mitochondrial dysfunction

Assessment of mitochondrial impairment in traumatic brain injury using high-resolution proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Object The goal of this study was to demonstrate the posttraumatic neurochemical damage in normal-appearing brain and to assess mitochondrial dysfunction by measuring N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels in patients with severe head injuries, using proton (1H) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy. Methods Semiquantitative analysis of NAA relative to creatine-containing compounds (Cr) and choline (Cho) was carried out from proton spectra obtained by means of chemical shift (CS) imaging and single-voxel (SV) methods in 25 patients with severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) (Glasgow Coma Scale scores ≤ 8) using a 1.5-tesla MR unit. Proton MR spectroscopy was also performed in 5 healthy volunteers (controls). Results The SV studies in patients with diffuse TBI showed partial reduction of NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr ratios within the first 10 days after injury (means ± standard deviations 1.59 ± 0.46 and 1.44 ± 0.21, respectively, in the patients compared with 2.08 ± 0.26 and 2.04 ± 0.31, respectively, in the controls; nonsignificant difference). The ratios gradually declined in all patients as time from injury increased (mean minimum values NAA/Cho 1.05 ± 0.44 and NAA/Cr 1.05 ± 0.30, p < 0.03 and p < 0.02, respectively). This reduction was greater in patients with less favorable outcomes. In patients with focal injuries, the periphery of the lesions revealed identical trends of NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr decrease. These reductions correlated with outcome at 6 months (p < 0.01). Assessment with multivoxel methods (CS imaging) demonstrated that, in diffuse injury, NAA levels declined uniformly throughout the brain. At 40 days postinjury, initially low NAA/Cho levels had recovered to near baseline in patients who had good outcomes, whereas no recovery was evident in patients with poor outcomes (p < 0.01). Conclusions Using 1H-MR spectroscopy, it is possible to detect the posttraumatic neurochemical damage of the injured brain when conventional neuroimaging techniques reveal no abnormality. Reduction of NAA levels is a dynamic process, evolving over time, decreasing and remaining low throughout the involved tissue in patients with poor outcomes. Recovery of NAA levels in patients with favorable outcomes suggests marginal mitochondrial impairment and possible resynthesis from vital neurons

Predominance of cellular edema in traumatic brain swelling in patients with severe head injuries

Object The edema associated with brain swelling after traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been thought to be vasogenic in origin, but the results of previous laboratory studies by the authors have shown that a cellular form of edema is mainly responsible for brain swelling after TBI. In this study the authors used magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques to identify the type of edema that occurs in patients with TBI. Methods Diffusion-weighted MR imaging was used to evaluate the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in 44 patients with TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale Score < 8) and in eight healthy volunteers. Higher ADC values have been associated with vasogenic edema, and lower ADC values with a predominantly cellular form of edema. Regional measurements of ADC in patients with focal and diffuse injury were computed. The water content of brain tissue was also assessed in absolute terms by using MR imaging to measure the percentage of water per gram of tissue. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured using stable Xe–computerized tomography (CT) studies to rule out ischemia as a cause of cellular edema. The mean ADC value in the healthy volunteers was 0.82 ± 0.05 × 10−3 mm2/second. The ADC values in the patients with diffuse brain injury without swelling were close to the mean for the healthy volunteers. In contrast, the patients with brain swelling had increased brain water content and low ADC values (mean 0.74 ± 0.05 × 10−3 mm2/second). The ADC values correlated with CT classifications. In all patients with low ADC values, the CBF values were outside the range for ischemia. Conclusions The brain swelling observed in patients with TBI appears to be predominantly cellular, as signaled by low ADC values in brain tissue with high levels of water content

Correlations Between Brain Tissue Oxygen Tension, Carbon Dioxide Tension, pH, and Cerebral Blood Flow—A Better Way of Monitoring The Severely Injured Brain?

Background The ideal method for monitoring the acutely injured brain would measure substrate delivery and brain function continuously, quantitatively, and sensitively. We have tested the hypothesis that brain pO 2, pCO 2, and pH, which can now be measured continuously using a single sensor, are valid indicators of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxidative metabolism, by measuring its product, brain pCO 2. Methods Twenty-five patients (Glasgow Coma Score ≤ 8) were studied. A Clark electrode, combined with a fiber optic system (Paratrend 7, Biomedical Sensors, Malvern, PA) was used to measure intraparenchymal brain pO 2, pCO 2, and pH. Data were averaged over a 1-h period before and after CBF studies. Regional CBF was measured around the probe, using stable xenon computed tomography. Regression analyses and Spearman Rank tests were used for data analysis. Results Regional CBF and mean brain pO 2 were strongly correlated (r = 0.74, p = 0.0001). CBF values < 18 mL/100 g/min were all accompanied by brain pO 2 ≤ 26 mm Hg. The four patients with a brain pO 2 < 18 mm Hg died. Brain pCO 2 and pH, however, were not correlated with CBF (r = 0.36, p = 0.24 and r = 0.30, p = 0.43, respectively). Conclusions Until recently, substrate supply to the severely injured brain could only be intermittently estimated by measuring CBF. The excellent intra-regional correlation between CBF and brain pO 2, suggests that this method does allow continuous monitoring of true substrate delivery, and offers the prospect that measures to increase O 2 delivery (e.g., increasing CBF, CPP, perfluorocarbons etc.) can be reliably tested by brain pO 2 monitoring

A Dual PET/MR Imaging Nanoprobe: 124I Labeled Gd3N@C80

The current report describes the development of a dual modality tomographic agent for both positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI). The dual-modality agent in this study was based on a 124I (PET) radiolabeled tri-gadolinium endohedral metallofullerene Gd3N@C80 (MRI) nanoprobe platform. The outer surface of the fullerene cage of the Gd3N@C80 metallofullerenes was surface functionalized with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups (f-Gd3N@C80) using previously developed procedures and subsequently iodinated with 124I to produce 124I-f-Gd3N@C80 nanoprobe. Orthotopic tumor-bearing rats were infused intratumorally by convection-enhanced delivery (CED) with the 124I-f-Gd3N@C80 agent and imaged by MRI or micro PET. The anatomical positioning and distribution of the 124I-f-Gd3N@C80 agent were comparable between the MRI and PET scans. The 124I-f-Gd3N@C80­ dual-agent distribution and infusion site within the tumor was clearly evident in both T1- and T2-weighted MR images. The results demonstrate the successful preparation of a dual-modality imaging agent, 124I-f-Gd3N@C80, which could ultimately be used for simultaneous PET/MR imaging

Aspects of Three-Dimensional Imaging by Classical Tomography for Dual Detector Positron Emission Mammography (PEM)

Images from dual detector positron emission mammography (PEM) systems are commonly reconstructed by backprojection methods of classical tomography. Characteristics of three-dimensional (3-D) PEM images were investigated using analytic models, computer simulations, and experimental acquisitions with compact pixellated detectors, in particular depth resolution normal to the detectors. An analytic formula was developed using circular image pixels that models blurring normal to the detectors. The amount of blurring is dependent on the acceptance angle for coincidence events and may vary across the field of view due to geometric limitations on the maximum angle of lines of response normal to the detectors. For experimental acquisitions with line sources and a pixellated lutetium gadolinium oxyorthosilicate (LGSO) detector, depth resolution is broader than predicted by numerical simulations, possibly due to uncorrected randoms or scatter within the scintillator arrays. Iterative image reconstruction with the maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) algorithm of a compressed breast phantom acquisition with a pixellated gadolinium oxyorthosilicate (GSO) detector shows improved contract compared with backprojection reconstruction. Image reconstruction for dual detector PEM with static detectors represents a case of limited angle tomography with truncated projection data, and there is the opportunity to improve three-dimensional PEM imaging by the use of more sophisticated image reconstruction techniques