Status epilepticus, characterized by the temporal neurological deficits, often mimics acute ischemic stroke. We investigated the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging for differentiation of status ...epilepticus from acute ischemic stroke.
A retrospective case series of patients with status epilepticus who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging. For comparative analysis, a series of patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion was used.
Ten patients (4 females and 6 males) with status epilepticus who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging were included. The median age at diagnosis was 82 years (age range, 70–90 years). In all ten patients, hyperintensities in diffusion-weighted imaging with decreased apparent diffusion coefficient values, decreased venous intensity in susceptibility-weighted imaging, and hyperperfusion in arterial spin labeling perfusion were detected in the cortex of the affected side. Four patients showed an additional diffusion restriction in the thalamus. The apparent diffusion coefficient value of the lesional area was 13.1% less than the contralateral, which was less than one-third as acute ischemic stroke. Status epilepticus patients showed no change in medullary venous intensity of the affected area in susceptibility-weighted imaging, whereas acute ischemic stroke patients showed increased cortical and medullary venous intensity in affected hemisphere. Seven of eight patients with status epilepticus who underwent magnetic resonance angiography showed dilation of the cerebral arteries in the ipsilateral side.
The combined use of diffusion-weighted imaging, susceptibility-weighted imaging, and arterial spin labeling perfusion may help accurate and prompt diagnosis of status epilepticus.
•Magnetic resonance imaging enables accurate diagnosis of status epilepticus.•Hyperintense diffusion-weighted imaging do not correspond to vascular distribution.•Decrement of apparent diffusion coefficient is milder than acute ischemic stroke.•Susceptibility-weighted imaging reveals decreased cortical venous intensity.•Arterial spin labeling reveals lesional hyperperfusion in status epilepticus.
Abstract
Fractalkine is one of the CX3C chemokine family, and it is widely expressed in the brain including the hypothalamus. In the brain, fractalkine is expressed in neurons and binds to a CX3C ...chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) in microglia. The hypothalamus regulates energy homeostasis of which dysregulation is associated with obesity. Therefore, we examined whether fractalkine-CX3CR1 signalling involved in regulating food intake and hypothalamic inflammation associated with obesity pathogenesis. In the present study, fractalkine significantly reduced food intake induced by several experimental stimuli and significantly increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA expression in the hypothalamus. Moreover, tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB) antagonist impaired fractalkine-induced anorexigenic actions. In addition, compared with wild-type mice, CX3CR1-deficient mice showed a significant increase in food intake and a significant decrease in BDNF mRNA expression in the hypothalamus. Mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 16 weeks showed hypothalamic inflammation and reduced fractalkine mRNA expression in the hypothalamus. Intracerebroventricular administration of fractalkine significantly suppressed HFD-induced hypothalamic inflammation in mice. HFD intake for 4 weeks caused hypothalamic inflammation in CX3CR1-deficient mice, but not in wild-type mice. These findings suggest that fractalkine-CX3CR1 signalling induces anorexigenic actions via activation of the BDNF-TrkB pathway and suppresses HFD-induced hypothalamic inflammation in mice.
The human adrenal cortex comprises three functionally and structurally distinct layers that produce layer-specific steroid hormones. With aging, the human adrenal cortex undergoes functional and ...structural alteration or “adrenal aging”, leading to the unbalanced production of steroid hormones. Given the marked species differences in adrenal biology, the underlying mechanisms of human adrenal aging have not been sufficiently studied. This study was designed to elucidate the mechanisms linking the functional and structural alterations of the human adrenal cortex.
We conducted single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics analysis of the aged human adrenal cortex.
The data of this study suggest that the layer-specific alterations of multiple signaling pathways underlie the abnormal layered structure and layer-specific changes in steroidogenic cells. We also highlighted that macrophages mediate age-related adrenocortical cell inflammation and senescence.
This study is the first detailed analysis of the aged human adrenal cortex at single-cell resolution and helps to elucidate the mechanism of human adrenal aging, thereby leading to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of age-related disorders associated with adrenal aging.
•The first single-cell and spatial transcriptomics studies of human adrenal aging.•Abnormal layered structure of human adrenocortical tissues.•Altered multiple signaling pathways underlies age-related adrenocortical changes.•Macrophages mediate age-related adrenocortical cell inflammation and senescence.
Most platelets are present in peripheral blood, but some are stored in the spleen. Because the tissue environments of peripheral blood vessels and the spleen are quite distinct, the properties of ...platelets present in each may also differ. However, no studies have addressed this difference. We previously reported that hypothermia activates splenic platelets, but not peripheral blood platelets, whose biological significance remains unknown. In this study, we focused on platelet-derived microvesicles (PDMVs) and analyzed their biological significance connected to intrasplenic platelet activation during hypothermia.
C57Bl/6 mice were placed in an environment of −20 °C, and their rectal temperature was decreased to 15 °C to model hypothermia. Platelets and skeletal muscle tissue were collected and analyzed for their interactions.
Transcriptomic changes between splenic and peripheral platelets were greater in hypothermic mice than in normal mice. Electron microscopy and real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that platelets activated in the spleen by hypothermia internalized transcripts, encoding tissue repairing proteins, into PDMVs and released them into the plasma. Plasma microvesicles from hypothermic mice promoted wound healing in the mouse myoblast cell line C2C12. Skeletal muscles in hypothermic mice were damaged but recovered within 24 h after rewarming. However, splenectomy delayed recovery from skeletal muscle injury after the mice were rewarmed.
These results indicate that PDMVs released from activated platelets in the spleen play an important role in the repair of skeletal muscle damaged by hypothermia.
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•Platelets in the spleen and peripheral blood may have different properties.•The splenic platelets were activated by hypothermia.•Hypothermia induces release of PDMVs containing tissue repair transcripts from splenic platelets.•PDMVs facilitate skeletal muscle recovery from damage caused by hypothermia.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing change in life-space mobility after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis (knee OA). ...Participants and Methods Overall, 58 primary unilateral TKA recipients (9 males and 49 females; age ± SD 74.6 ± 6.5 years) were enrolled. We evaluated Life-Space Assessment (LSA) scores, knee extensor strength, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), one-leg standing time (OLS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis Index, and physical activity self-efficacy (SE) before surgery and at 3 months post-operation. Results Life space mobility significantly expanded 3 months after surgery compared with preoperative baseline. Preoperatively, walking SE and knee extensor muscle strength on the operative side were found to have strong correlation with LSA scores, while stairs SE and knee extensor muscle strength of the operative side were correlated at 3 months post-operation. Conclusion These findings suggest that to expand the life-space mobility of TKA recipients, it is important to enhance self-efficacy for general physical activity in addition to strengthening the quadriceps muscles.
Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons specifically project axons to central and peripheral targets according to their sensory modality. The Runt-related genes Runx1 and Runx3 are expressed in DRG ...neuronal subpopulations, suggesting that they may regulate the trajectories of specific axons. Here we report that Runx3-deficient (Runx3(-/-)) mice displayed severe motor uncoordination and that few DRG neurons synthesized the proprioceptive neuronal marker parvalbumin. Proprioceptive afferent axons failed to project to their targets in the spinal cord as well as those in the muscle. NT-3-responsive Runx3(-/-) DRG neurons showed less neurite outgrowth in vitro. However, we found no changes in the fate specification of Runx3(-/-) DRG neurons or in the number of DRG neurons that expressed trkC. Our data demonstrate that Runx3 is critical in regulating the axonal projections of a specific subpopulation of DRG neurons.
Background
The objectives of this study were: (1) to evaluate the detectability of full-field digital mammography (FFDM) plus dual-mode digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and compare it with that of ...FFDM alone and (2) to compare the detectability of high-resolution-mode (HR mode used with 40°-angle imaging, 100-µm pixel size, and higher dose) DBT with that of standard-mode (ST mode used with 15°-angle imaging, 150-µm pixel size, and lower dose) DBT for diagnostic evaluation.
Materials
The local Institutional Review Board approved this retrospective study of two different sets of cases. All participants gave written informed consent. FFDM and DBT images of 471 women who were recalled were acquired between August 2013 and October 2014. HR mode and ST mode were applied to 155 breasts and 157 breasts, respectively. The cases of both modes were selected randomly. Eight radiologists interpreted the images. The detectability for recall cases and for follow cases, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated.
Results
Adding DBT to FFDM significantly increased the detectability for recall cases and AUC relative to those of FFDM alone (HR mode 8.9 %; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 5.7, 15.0 %;
P
= 0.013 and 4.9 %; 95 % CI 2.1, 7.7 %;
P
= 0.001; ST mode 8.3 %; 95 % CI 4.1, 12.1 %;
P
= 0.007 and 2.9 %; 95 % CI 0.5, 5.3 %;
P
= 0.02), whereas the detectability for follow cases did not significantly differ. The AUC increase was significantly higher in HR mode than in ST mode (1.5 %; 95 % CI 0.5, 3.7 %;
P
= 0.023).
Conclusion
Adding HR-mode or ST-mode DBT to FFDM significantly improved the detectability for diagnostic evaluation case.
To help Japanese black cattle farmers diagnose vitamin A deficiency (VAD) levels in cattle, eye images of 40 cattle were recorded monthly during their vitamin A manipulated period using a 2-CCD ...camera. Ocular features extracted from images, including pupil colour, pupillary light reflex and light reflection, were investigated. Multivariate classification methods (SIMCA and PLS-DA) were used to classify cattle into mild, moderate and severe VAD groups. Five variables (r, I, CA, IPR, I_RFL) were used for classification. The mild and severe VAD groups could be classified with over 85% correct classification rate. However, the moderate VAD group could not be discriminated adequately. A VAD index was developed and proven to be effective in representing VAD status. The results showed the potential for ocular changes to be utilised as an aid to farm management.
•Ocular changes were evaluated for vitamin A deficiency detection in cattle.•PLS-DA and SIMICA performs well at classification of mild and severe VAD groups.•The Vitamin A deficiency index was effective in representing VAD status of cattle.
Background
The main barrier to adoption of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) plus full-field digital mammography (FFDM) is radiation exposure dose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ...diagnostic performance of DBT plus FFDM, both with newly developed technology (nd), at a dose comparable to that of the conventional FFDM alone.
Methods
Nine hundred and thirteen participants were recruited from May 2014 to January 2016 consecutively. For each subject, the exposure setting for DBT(nd) + FFDM(nd) was also used for the conventional FFDM alone. Retrospective reader studies were performed: DBT(nd) + FFDM(nd) (142 cases, including 42 cancer cases) and conventional FFDM (258 cases, including 87 cancer cases). Eight radiologists provided Japanese categorizations and probability of malignancy independently. Diagnostic performance was assessed by comparing sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Two-sided
P
values were calculated.
Results
DBT(nd) + FFDM(nd) showed sensitivity and AUC significantly increased over the conventional FFDM (85.4 vs. 80.3%,
P
= 0.015 and 90.9 vs. 88.3%,
P
= 0.049) and specificity did not significantly increase (89.6 vs. 88.4%,
P
= 0.52). The mean glandular dose (MGD) difference of DBT(nd) + FFDM(nd) and conventional FFDM was not significant (difference − 0.11 mGy,
P
= 0.08).
Conclusions
In this study population, DBT plus FFDM, both with newly developed technology, provided diagnostic performance improved over the conventional FFDM alone, even at comparable MGD.
Abstract. Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing change in life-space mobility after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis (knee ...OA). Participants and Methods Overall, 58 primary unilateral TKA recipients (9 males and 49 females; age+-SD 74.6+-6.5 years) were enrolled. We evaluated Life-Space Assessment (LSA) scores, knee extensor strength, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), one-leg standing time (OLS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis Index, and physical activity self-efficacy (SE) before surgery and at 3 months post-operation. Results Life space mobility significantly expanded 3 months after surgery compared with preoperative baseline. Preoperatively, walking SE and knee extensor muscle strength on the operative side were found to have strong correlation with LSA scores, while stairs SE and knee extensor muscle strength of the operative side were correlated at 3 months post-operation. Conclusion These findings suggest that to expand the life-space mobility of TKA recipients, it is important to enhance self-efficacy for general physical activity in addition to strengthening the quadriceps muscles.
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