1
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Zhou ZD, Kihara AH. Neurodegenerative Diseases: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapies. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13721. [PMID: 37762040 PMCID: PMC10530763 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241813721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the progressive degeneration or death of neurons in the central or peripheral nervous system [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Dong Zhou
- National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 30843, Singapore
- Signature Research Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore
| | - Alexandre Hiroaki Kihara
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo 09606-045, SP, Brazil
- Center for Mathematics, Computing and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo 09606-045, SP, Brazil
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2
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Finkielstein CV, Capelluto DGS. The impact of sulfatide loss on the progress of Alzheimer's disease. CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL DISCOVERY 2023; 3:e236. [PMID: 38463462 PMCID: PMC10923534 DOI: 10.1002/ctd2.236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Carla V. Finkielstein
- Integrated Cellular Responses Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA 24016, United States
| | - Daniel G. S. Capelluto
- Protein Signaling Domains Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Fralin Life Sciences Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States
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3
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Monteverdi A, Palesi F, Schirner M, Argentino F, Merante M, Redolfi A, Conca F, Mazzocchi L, Cappa SF, Cotta Ramusino M, Costa A, Pichiecchio A, Farina LM, Jirsa V, Ritter P, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott CAM, D’Angelo E. Virtual brain simulations reveal network-specific parameters in neurodegenerative dementias. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1204134. [PMID: 37577354 PMCID: PMC10419271 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1204134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Neural circuit alterations lay at the core of brain physiopathology, and yet are hard to unveil in living subjects. The Virtual Brain (TVB) modeling, by exploiting structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), yields mesoscopic parameters of connectivity and synaptic transmission. Methods We used TVB to simulate brain networks, which are key for human brain function, in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients, whose connectivity and synaptic parameters remain largely unknown; we then compared them to healthy controls, to reveal novel in vivo pathological hallmarks. Results The pattern of simulated parameter differed between AD and FTD, shedding light on disease-specific alterations in brain networks. Individual subjects displayed subtle differences in network parameter patterns that significantly correlated with their individual neuropsychological, clinical, and pharmacological profiles. Discussion These TVB simulations, by informing about a new personalized set of networks parameters, open new perspectives for understanding dementias mechanisms and design personalized therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Monteverdi
- Unit of Digital Neuroscience, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Fulvia Palesi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Michael Schirner
- Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center Digital Future, Berlin, Germany
| | - Francesca Argentino
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Mariateresa Merante
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alberto Redolfi
- Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Laura Mazzocchi
- Advanced Imaging and Artificial Intelligence Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefano F. Cappa
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- University Institute of Advanced Studies (IUSS), Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Alfredo Costa
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Unit of Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Anna Pichiecchio
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Advanced Imaging and Artificial Intelligence Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Viktor Jirsa
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, INSERM, INS, Aix Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Petra Ritter
- Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Focus State Dependencies of Learning and Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center Digital Future, Berlin, Germany
| | - Claudia A. M. Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- Unit of Digital Neuroscience, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- NMR Research Unit, Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Egidio D’Angelo
- Unit of Digital Neuroscience, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Rangaprakash D, Barry RL, Deshpande G. The confound of hemodynamic response function variability in human resting-state functional MRI studies. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:934138. [PMID: 37521709 PMCID: PMC10375034 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.934138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an indirect measure of neural activity with the hemodynamic response function (HRF) coupling it with unmeasured neural activity. The HRF, modulated by several non-neural factors, is variable across brain regions, individuals and populations. Yet, a majority of human resting-state fMRI connectivity studies continue to assume a non-variable HRF. In this article, with supportive prior evidence, we argue that HRF variability cannot be ignored as it substantially confounds within-subject connectivity estimates and between-subjects connectivity group differences. We also discuss its clinical relevance with connectivity impairments confounded by HRF aberrations in several disorders. We present limited data on HRF differences between women and men, which resulted in a 15.4% median error in functional connectivity estimates in a group-level comparison. We also discuss the implications of HRF variability for fMRI studies in the spinal cord. There is a need for more dialogue within the community on the HRF confound, and we hope that our article is a catalyst in the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Rangaprakash
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Robert L. Barry
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Gopikrishna Deshpande
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, AU MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
- Center for Neuroscience, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
- Alabama Advanced Imaging Consortium, Birmingham, AL, United States
- Key Laboratory for Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India
- Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
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5
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He S, Qiu S, Pan M, Palavicini JP, Wang H, Li X, Bhattacharjee A, Barannikov S, Bieniek KF, Dupree JL, Han X. Central nervous system sulfatide deficiency as a causal factor for bladder disorder in Alzheimer's disease. Clin Transl Med 2023; 13:e1332. [PMID: 37478300 PMCID: PMC10361545 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite being a brain disorder, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is often accompanied by peripheral organ dysregulations (e.g., loss of bladder control in late-stage AD), which highly rely on spinal cord coordination. However, the causal factor(s) for peripheral organ dysregulation in AD remain elusive. METHODS The central nervous system (CNS) is enriched in lipids. We applied quantitative shotgun lipidomics to determine lipid profiles of human AD spinal cord tissues. Additionally, a CNS sulfatide (ST)-deficient mouse model was used to study the lipidome, transcriptome and peripheral organ phenotypes of ST loss. RESULTS We observed marked myelin lipid reduction in the spinal cord of AD subjects versus cognitively normal individuals. Among which, levels of ST, a myelin-enriched lipid class, were strongly and negatively associated with the severity of AD. A CNS myelin-specific ST-deficient mouse model was used to further identify the causes and consequences of spinal cord lipidome changes. Interestingly, ST deficiency led to spinal cord lipidome and transcriptome profiles highly resembling those observed in AD, characterized by decline of multiple myelin-enriched lipid classes and enhanced inflammatory responses, respectively. These changes significantly disrupted spinal cord function and led to substantial enlargement of urinary bladder in ST-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS Our study identified CNS ST deficiency as a causal factor for AD-like lipid dysregulation, inflammation response and ultimately the development of bladder disorders. Targeting to maintain ST levels may serve as a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of AD-related peripheral disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijia He
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Shulan Qiu
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Meixia Pan
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Juan P. Palavicini
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
- Division of DiabetesDepartment of MedicineUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Hu Wang
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Xin Li
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Anindita Bhattacharjee
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Savannah Barannikov
- Department of PathologyGlenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative DiseasesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Kevin F. Bieniek
- Department of PathologyGlenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative DiseasesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
| | - Jeffrey L. Dupree
- Department of Anatomy and NeurobiologyVirginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmondVirginiaUSA
- Research DivisionMcGuire Veterans Affairs Medical CenterRichmondVirginiaUSA
| | - Xianlin Han
- Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging StudiesUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
- Division of DiabetesDepartment of MedicineUniversity of Texas Health San AntonioSan AntonioTexasUSA
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6
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Hu J, Wang Y, Guo D, Qu Z, Sui C, He G, Wang S, Chen X, Wang C, Liu X. Diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance imaging-based machine learning in Alzheimer's disease detection: a meta-analysis. Neuroradiology 2023; 65:513-527. [PMID: 36477499 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-022-03098-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Advanced machine learning (ML) algorithms can assist rapid medical image recognition and realize automatic, efficient, noninvasive, and convenient diagnosis. We aim to further evaluate the diagnostic performance of ML to distinguish patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) from normal older adults based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant literature published up until July 2021. We used the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool and Checklist for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Imaging (CLAIM) to evaluate all included studies' quality and potential bias. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled sensitivity and specificity, and the Deeks' test was used to assess publication bias. RESULTS We included 24 models based on different brain features extracted by ML algorithms in 19 papers. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio, and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve for ML in detecting AD were 0.85 (95%CI 0.81-0.89), 0.88 (95%CI 0.84-0.91), 7.15 (95%CI 5.40-9.47), 0.17 (95%CI 0.12-0.22), 43.34 (95%CI 26.89-69.84), and 0.93 (95%CI 0.91-0.95). CONCLUSION ML using structural MRI data performed well in diagnosing probable AD patients and normal elderly. However, more high-quality, large-scale prospective studies are needed to further enhance the reliability and generalizability of ML for clinical applications before it can be introduced into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayi Hu
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Yashan Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Dingjie Guo
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Zihan Qu
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Chuanying Sui
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Guangliang He
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Song Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Xiaofei Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China
| | - Chunpeng Wang
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
| | - Xin Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
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Merlo S, Costa L, Chiechio S, Busceti CL, Ciranna L, Santangelo R, Sortino MA, Fornai F, Nicoletti F, Copani A. Increased Heat Pain Tolerance but Hyperalgesia to Tonic Inflammatory Pain in the CRND8 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 96:77-91. [PMID: 37742639 PMCID: PMC10657672 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology on the experience of pain are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE To understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying pain sensory transmission in the transgenic mouse model of AD, CRND8. METHODS We explored AD-related pathology in the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia of 18-week-old female CRND8 mice. We assessed nociceptive responses to both acute heat stimuli and persistent inflammatory pain in CRND8 mice and non-transgenic (non-Tg) littermates. In addition, we searched for differences in biochemical correlates of inflammatory pain between CRND8 and non-Tg mice. Finally, we investigated the excitability of dorsal horn noc iceptive neurons in spinal cord slices from CRND8 and non-Tg mice. RESULTS We demonstrated the presence of intracellular AD-like pathology in the spinal cord and in the dorsal root ganglia nociceptive sensory neurons of CRND8 mice. We found that CRND8 mice had a reduced susceptibility to acute noxious heat stimuli and an increased sensitivity to tonic inflammatory pain. Tonic inflammatory pain correlated with a lack of induction of pro-opiomelanocortin in the spinal cord of CRND8 mice as compared to non-Tg mice. Electrophysiological recording in acute spinal cord slice preparations indicated an increased probability of glutamate release at the membrane of dorsal horn nociceptive neurons in CRND8 mice. CONCLUSION This study suggests that an increased thermal tolerance and a facilitation of nociception by peripheral inflammation can coexist in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Merlo
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Lara Costa
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Santina Chiechio
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
- Oasi Research Institute - IRCCS, Troina, Italy
| | | | - Lucia Ciranna
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Rosa Santangelo
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Maria Angela Sortino
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Francesco Fornai
- Department of Molecular Pathology, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Nicoletti
- Department of Molecular Pathology, IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University Sapienza, Rome, Italy
| | - Agata Copani
- Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
- Institute of Crystallography, National Council of Research, Catania Unit, Catania, Italy
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Sotoudeh H, Alizadeh M, Shahidi R, Shobeiri P, love N, Singhal A. Subcortical signal alteration of corticospinal tracts. A radiologic manifestation of ARIA: A case report. Radiol Case Rep 2023; 18:275-279. [DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.2022.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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9
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Pechlivanidou M, Kousiappa I, Angeli S, Sargiannidou I, Koupparis AM, Papacostas SS, Kleopa KA. Glial Gap Junction Pathology in the Spinal Cord of the 5xFAD Mouse Model of Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232415597. [PMID: 36555237 PMCID: PMC9779687 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Gap junctions (GJs) are specialized transmembrane channels assembled by two hemi-channels of six connexin (Cx) proteins that facilitate neuroglial crosstalk in the central nervous system (CNS). Previous studies confirmed the crucial role of glial GJs in neurodegenerative disorders with dementia or motor dysfunction including Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to examine the alterations in astrocyte and related oligodendrocyte GJs in association with Aβ plaques in the spinal cord of the 5xFAD mouse model of AD. Our analysis revealed abundant Aβ plaque deposition, activated microglia, and astrogliosis in 12-month-old (12M) 5xFAD mice, with significant impairment of motor performance starting from 3-months (3M) of age. Additionally, 12M 5xFAD mice displayed increased immunoreactivity of astroglial Cx43 and Cx30 surrounding Aβ plaques and higher protein levels, indicating upregulated astrocyte-to-astrocyte GJ connectivity. In addition, they demonstrated increased numbers of mature CC1-positive and precursor oligodendrocytes (OPCs) with higher immunoreactivity of Cx47-positive GJs in individual cells. Moreover, total Cx47 protein levels were significantly elevated in 12M 5xFAD, reflecting increased oligodendrocyte-to-oligodendrocyte Cx47-Cx47 GJ connectivity. In contrast, we observed a marked reduction in Cx32 protein levels in 12M 5xFAD spinal cords compared with controls, while qRT-PCR analysis revealed a significant upregulation in Cx32 mRNA levels. Finally, myelin deficits were found focally in the areas occupied by Aβ plaques, whereas axons themselves remained preserved. Overall, our data provide novel insights into the altered glial GJ expression in the spinal cord of the 5xFAD model of AD and the implicated role of GJ pathology in neurodegeneration. Further investigation to understand the functional consequences of these extensive alterations in oligodendrocyte-astrocyte (O/A) GJ connectivity is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Pechlivanidou
- Neurobiology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Ioanna Kousiappa
- Neurobiology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Stella Angeli
- Medical School, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus
| | - Irene Sargiannidou
- Neuroscience Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Andreas M. Koupparis
- Neurobiology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Epilepsy Centre, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Dementia and Cognitive Disorders Centre, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Savvas S. Papacostas
- Neurobiology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Medical School, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2414, Cyprus
- Epilepsy Centre, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Dementia and Cognitive Disorders Centre, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
| | - Kleopas A. Kleopa
- Neuroscience Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Center for Neuromuscular Disorders, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Correspondence:
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10
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Monteverdi A, Palesi F, Costa A, Vitali P, Pichiecchio A, Cotta Ramusino M, Bernini S, Jirsa V, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott CAM, D’Angelo E. Subject-specific features of excitation/inhibition profiles in neurodegenerative diseases. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:868342. [PMID: 35992607 PMCID: PMC9391060 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.868342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain pathologies are characterized by microscopic changes in neurons and synapses that reverberate into large scale networks altering brain dynamics and functional states. An important yet unresolved issue concerns the impact of patients' excitation/inhibition profiles on neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In this work, we used The Virtual Brain (TVB) simulation platform to simulate brain dynamics in healthy and neurodegenerative conditions and to extract information about the excitatory/inhibitory balance in single subjects. The brain structural and functional connectomes were extracted from 3T-MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans and TVB nodes were represented by a Wong-Wang neural mass model endowing an explicit representation of the excitatory/inhibitory balance. Simulations were performed including both cerebral and cerebellar nodes and their structural connections to explore cerebellar impact on brain dynamics generation. The potential for clinical translation of TVB derived biophysical parameters was assessed by exploring their association with patients' cognitive performance and testing their discriminative power between clinical conditions. Our results showed that TVB biophysical parameters differed between clinical phenotypes, predicting higher global coupling and inhibition in Alzheimer's Disease and stronger N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent excitation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. These physio-pathological parameters allowed us to perform an advanced analysis of patients' conditions. In backward regressions, TVB-derived parameters significantly contributed to explain the variation of neuropsychological scores and, in discriminant analysis, the combination of TVB parameters and neuropsychological scores significantly improved the discriminative power between clinical conditions. Moreover, cluster analysis provided a unique description of the excitatory/inhibitory balance in individual patients. Importantly, the integration of cerebro-cerebellar loops in simulations improved TVB predictive power, i.e., the correlation between experimental and simulated functional connectivity in all pathological conditions supporting the cerebellar role in brain function disrupted by neurodegeneration. Overall, TVB simulations reveal differences in the excitatory/inhibitory balance of individual patients that, combined with cognitive assessment, can promote the personalized diagnosis and therapy of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Monteverdi
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Fulvia Palesi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alfredo Costa
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Unit of Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Paolo Vitali
- Department of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Pichiecchio
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Advanced Imaging and Radiomic Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Matteo Cotta Ramusino
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Unit of Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Sara Bernini
- Dementia Research Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Viktor Jirsa
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, INSERM, INS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Claudia A. M. Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Queen Square MS Centre, University College London (UCL) Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Egidio D’Angelo
- Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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11
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Russo C, Muto G, Giordano F, Masala S, Muto M. Imaging of Common Spinal Cord Diseases. Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 2022; 26:510-520. [PMID: 36103892 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1755345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Spinal cord evaluation is an integral part of spine assessment, and its reliable imaging work-up is mandatory because even localized lesions may produce serious effects with potentially irreversible sequelae. Spinal cord alterations are found both incidentally during spine evaluation in otherwise neurologically asymptomatic patients or during neurologic/neuroradiologic assessment in myelopathic patients. Myelopathy (an umbrella term for any neurologic deficit that refers to spinal cord impairment) can be caused by intrinsic lesions or extrinsic mechanical compression, and its etiology may be both traumatic and/or nontraumatic. The symptoms largely depend on the size/extension of lesions, ranging from incontinence to ataxia, from spasticity to hyperreflexia, from numbness to weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging is the reference imaging modality in spinal cord evaluation, ensuring the best signal and spatial resolution. We provide an overview of the most common spinal cord disorders encountered by radiologists and describe the technical measures that offer optimal spinal cord visualization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Russo
- Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology Unit, Dipartimento delle Tecnologie Avanzate Diagnostico-Terapeutiche e dei Servizi sanitari, A.O.R.N. Cardarelli, Naples, Italy.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (DIETI), Università Degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Gianluca Muto
- Service de Radiologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Flavio Giordano
- Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology Unit, Dipartimento delle Tecnologie Avanzate Diagnostico-Terapeutiche e dei Servizi sanitari, A.O.R.N. Cardarelli, Naples, Italy
| | - Salvatore Masala
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Molecular Imaging, Interventional Radiology and Radiation Therapy, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Mario Muto
- Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology Unit, Dipartimento delle Tecnologie Avanzate Diagnostico-Terapeutiche e dei Servizi sanitari, A.O.R.N. Cardarelli, Naples, Italy
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12
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A Method for Bridging Population-Specific Genotypes to Detect Gene Modules Associated with Alzheimer's Disease. Cells 2022; 11:cells11142219. [PMID: 35883662 PMCID: PMC9319087 DOI: 10.3390/cells11142219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genome-wide association studies have successfully identified variants associated with multiple conditions. However, generalizing discoveries across diverse populations remains challenging due to large variations in genetic composition. Methods that perform gene expression imputation have attempted to address the transferability of gene discoveries across populations, but with limited success. METHODS Here, we introduce a pipeline that combines gene expression imputation with gene module discovery, including a dense gene module search and a gene set variation analysis, to address the transferability issue. Our method feeds association probabilities of imputed gene expression with a selected phenotype into tissue-specific gene-module discovery over protein interaction networks to create higher-level gene modules. RESULTS We demonstrate our method's utility in three case-control studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) for three different race/ethnic populations (Whites, African descent and Hispanics). We discovered 182 AD-associated genes from gene modules shared between these populations, highlighting new gene modules associated with AD. CONCLUSIONS Our innovative framework has the potential to identify robust discoveries across populations based on gene modules, as demonstrated in AD.
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13
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Sartoretti T, Ganley RP, Ni R, Freund P, Zeilhofer HU, Klohs J. Structural MRI Reveals Cervical Spinal Cord Atrophy in the P301L Mouse Model of Tauopathy: Gender and Transgene-Dosing Effects. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:825996. [PMID: 35585865 PMCID: PMC9108240 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.825996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In primary tauopathies, the deposition of tau neurofibrillary tangles and threads as well as neurodegenerative changes have been found within the brain and spinal cord. While degenerative changes have been intensively studied in the brain using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI studies investigating the spinal cord are still scarce. In the present study, we acquired ex vivo high resolution structural MRI of the cervical spinal cord of 8.5–9 month old hemizygous and homozygous P301L mice and non-transgenic littermates of both genders. We assessed the total cross-sectional area, and the gray and white matter anterior-posterior width and left-right width that are established imaging marker of spinal cord degeneration. We observed significant tissue-specific reductions in these parameters in female P301L mice that were stronger in homozygous than in hemizygous P301L mice, indicating both an effect of gender and transgene expression on cervical spinal cord atrophy. Moreover, atrophy was stronger in the gray matter than in the white matter. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory changes in the cervical spinal cord in both the gray and white matter of P301L mice. Collectively, our results provide evidence for cervical spinal cord atrophy that may directly contribute to the motor signs associated with tauopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Sartoretti
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH & University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robert P. Ganley
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ruiqing Ni
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH & University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Neuroscience Center (ZNZ), Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Freund
- Zurich Neuroscience Center (ZNZ), Zurich, Switzerland
- Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hanns Ulrich Zeilhofer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Neuroscience Center (ZNZ), Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jan Klohs
- Institute for Biomedical Engineering, ETH & University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Zurich Neuroscience Center (ZNZ), Zurich, Switzerland
- *Correspondence: Jan Klohs
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14
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Klonarakis M, De Vos M, Woo E, Ralph L, Thacker JS, Gil-Mohapel J. The three sisters of fate: Genetics, pathophysiology and outcomes of animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 135:104541. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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15
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Singh A, Dawson TM, Kulkarni S. Neurodegenerative disorders and gut-brain interactions. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:e143775. [PMID: 34196307 DOI: 10.1172/jci143775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) affect essential functions not only in the CNS, but also cause persistent gut dysfunctions, suggesting that they have an impact on both CNS and gut-innervating neurons. Although the CNS biology of NDs continues to be well studied, how gut-innervating neurons, including those that connect the gut to the brain, are affected by or involved in the etiology of these debilitating and progressive disorders has been understudied. Studies in recent years have shown how CNS and gut biology, aided by the gut-brain connecting neurons, modulate each other's functions. These studies underscore the importance of exploring the gut-innervating and gut-brain connecting neurons of the CNS and gut function in health, as well as the etiology and progression of dysfunction in NDs. In this Review, we discuss our current understanding of how the various gut-innervating neurons and gut physiology are involved in the etiology of NDs, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, to cause progressive CNS and persistent gut dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alpana Singh
- Center for Neurogastroenterology, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine
| | - Ted M Dawson
- Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering.,Department of Neurology.,Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, and.,Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundation, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Subhash Kulkarni
- Center for Neurogastroenterology, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine
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16
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Kiper K, Freeman JL. Use of Zebrafish Genetic Models to Study Etiology of the Amyloid-Beta and Neurofibrillary Tangle Pathways in Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Neuropharmacol 2021; 20:524-539. [PMID: 34030617 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x19666210524155944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing globally, with an imperative need to identify and expand the availability of pharmaceutical treatment strategies. Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure or has limited treatments. Rodent models are primarily used in Alzheimer's disease research to investigate causes, pathology, molecular mechanisms, and pharmaceutical therapies. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive understanding of Alzheimer's disease causes, pathogenesis, and optimal treatments due in part to some limitations of using rodents, including higher economic cost, which can influence sample size and ultimately statistical power. It is necessary to expand our animal model toolbox to provide alternative strategies in Alzheimer's disease research. The zebrafish application in neurodegenerative disease research and neuropharmacology is greatly expanding due to several vital strengths spanning lower economic costs, the smaller size of the organism, a sequenced characterized genome, and well described anatomical structures. These characteristics are coupled to the conserved molecular function and disease pathways in humans. The existence of orthologs for genes associated with Alzheimer's disease in zebrafish is also confirmed. While wild-type zebrafish appear to lack some of the neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease, the advent of genetic editing technologies has expanded evaluation of the amyloid and neurofibrillary tangle hypotheses using the zebrafish and exploration of pharmaceutical molecular targets. An overview of how genetic editing technologies are being used with the zebrafish to create models to investigate the causes, pathology, molecular mechanisms, and pharmaceutical targets of Alzheimer's disease is detailed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keturah Kiper
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
| | - Jennifer L Freeman
- School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
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17
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Jütten K, Mainz V, Schubert GA, Fabian Gohmann R, Schmidt T, Ridwan H, Clusmann H, Mueller CA, Blume C. Cortical volume reductions as a sign of secondary cerebral and cerebellar impairment in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2021; 30:102624. [PMID: 33773163 PMCID: PMC8025145 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Degenerative cervical myelopathy is the most common cause of chronic impairment of the spinal cord. MRI-based anatomical assessment of cerebral and cerebellar areas revealed significant tissue volume reduction in DCM patients compared to healthy controls. Disease severity correlated with cerebral and cerebellar atrophy in the primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex and cerebellar areas. Chronic injury to the spinal cord seems to have impact on remote anatomical structures in the brain.
This study investigated supra- and infratentorial structural gray and white matter (GM, WM) alterations in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) as an indicator of secondary harm due to chronic cervical cord compression and micro trauma. With MRI-based anatomical assessment and subsequent voxel-based morphometry analyses, pre- and postoperative volume alterations in the primary motor cortex (MI), the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), the supplementary motor area (SMA), and the cerebellum were analyzed in 43 DCM patients and 20 controls. We assessed disease-related symptom severity by the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale (mJOA). The study also explored symptom severity-based brain volume alterations as well as their association with clinical status. Patients had lower mJOA scores (p = .000) and lower GM volume than controls in SI (p = .016) and cerebellar regions (p = .001). Symptom severity-based subgroup analyses revealed volume reductions in almost all investigated GM ROIs (MI: p = .001; CB: p = .040; SMA: p = .007) in patients with severe clinical symptoms as well as atrophy already present in patients with moderate symptom severity. Clinical symptoms in DCM were associated with cortical and cerebellar volume reduction. GM volume alterations may serve as an indicator of both disease severity and ongoing disease progression in DCM, and should be considered in further patient care and treatment monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Jütten
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Verena Mainz
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 19, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Robin Fabian Gohmann
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Heart Center Leipzig, Strümpelstraße 39, 04289 Leipzig, Germany; Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Liebigstraße 27, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Schmidt
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Hani Ridwan
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Hans Clusmann
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Christian Blume
- Department of Neurosurgery, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstraße 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
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18
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Bautin P, Cohen-Adad J. Minimum detectable spinal cord atrophy with automatic segmentation: Investigations using an open-access dataset of healthy participants. NEUROIMAGE: CLINICAL 2021; 32:102849. [PMID: 34624638 PMCID: PMC8503570 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Evaluate the robustness of an automated analysis pipeline for detecting SC atrophy. Simulate spinal cord atrophy and scan-rescan variability. Fully automated analysis method available on an open access database. Evaluation of sample size and inter/intra-subject variability for T1w and T2w images.
Spinal cord atrophy is a well-known biomarker in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases. It is measured by segmenting the spinal cord on an MRI image and computing the average cross-sectional area (CSA) over a few slices. Introduced about 25 years ago, this procedure is highly sensitive to the quality of the segmentation and is prone to rater-bias. Recently, fully-automated spinal cord segmentation methods, which remove the rater-bias and enable the automated analysis of large populations, have been introduced. A lingering question related to these automated methods is: How reliable are they at detecting atrophy? In this study, we evaluated the precision and accuracy of automated atrophy measurements by simulating scan-rescan experiments. Spinal cord MRI data from the open-access spine-generic project were used. The dataset aggregates 42 sites worldwide and consists of 260 healthy subjects and includes T1w and T2w contrasts. To simulate atrophy, each volume was globally rescaled at various scaling factors. Moreover, to simulate patient repositioning, random rigid transformations were applied. Using the DeepSeg algorithm from the Spinal Cord Toolbox, the spinal cord was segmented and vertebral levels were identified. Then, the average CSA between C3-C5 vertebral levels was computed for each Monte Carlo sample, allowing us to derive measures of atrophy, intra/inter-subject variability, and sample-size calculations. The minimum sample size required to detect an atrophy of 2% between unpaired study arms, commonly seen in MS studies, was 467 +/− 13.9 using T1w and 467 +/− 3.2 using T2w images. The minimum sample size to detect a longitudinal atrophy (between paired study arms) of 0.8% was 60 +/− 25.1 using T1w and 10 +/− 1.2 using T2w images. At the intra-subject level, the estimated CSA, observed in this study, showed good precision compared to other studies with COVs (across Monte Carlo transformations) of 0.8% for T1w and 0.6% for T2w images. While these sample sizes seem small, we would like to stress that these results correspond to a “best case” scenario, in that the dataset used here was of particularly good quality and the model for simulating atrophy does not encompass all the variability met in real-life datasets. The simulated atrophy and scan-rescan variability may over-simplify the biological reality. The proposed framework is open-source and available at https://csa-atrophy.readthedocs.io/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Bautin
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Julien Cohen-Adad
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Functional Neuroimaging Unit, CRIUGM, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; Mila - Quebec AI Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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19
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Grussu F, Battiston M, Veraart J, Schneider T, Cohen-Adad J, Shepherd TM, Alexander DC, Fieremans E, Novikov DS, Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott CAM. Multi-parametric quantitative in vivo spinal cord MRI with unified signal readout and image denoising. Neuroimage 2020; 217:116884. [PMID: 32360689 PMCID: PMC7378937 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Multi-parametric quantitative MRI (qMRI) of the spinal cord is a promising non-invasive tool to probe early microstructural damage in neurological disorders. It is usually performed in vivo by combining acquisitions with multiple signal readouts, which exhibit different thermal noise levels, geometrical distortions and susceptibility to physiological noise. This ultimately hinders joint multi-contrast modelling and makes the geometric correspondence of parametric maps challenging. We propose an approach to overcome these limitations, by implementing state-of-the-art microstructural MRI of the spinal cord with a unified signal readout in vivo (i.e. with matched spatial encoding parameters across a range of imaging contrasts). We base our acquisition on single-shot echo planar imaging with reduced field-of-view, and obtain data from two different vendors (vendor 1: Philips Achieva; vendor 2: Siemens Prisma). Importantly, the unified acquisition allows us to compare signal and noise across contrasts, thus enabling overall quality enhancement via multi-contrast image denoising methods. As a proof-of-concept, here we provide a demonstration with one such method, known as Marchenko-Pastur (MP) Principal Component Analysis (PCA) denoising. MP-PCA is a singular value (SV) decomposition truncation approach that relies on redundant acquisitions, i.e. such that the number of measurements is large compared to the number of components that are maintained in the truncated SV decomposition. Here we used in vivo and synthetic data to test whether a unified readout enables more efficient MP-PCA denoising of less redundant acquisitions, since these can be denoised jointly with more redundant ones. We demonstrate that a unified readout provides robust multi-parametric maps, including diffusion and kurtosis tensors from diffusion MRI, myelin metrics from two-pool magnetisation transfer, and T1 and T2 from relaxometry. Moreover, we show that MP-PCA improves the quality of our multi-contrast acquisitions, since it reduces the coefficient of variation (i.e. variability) by up to 17% for mean kurtosis, 8% for bound pool fraction (myelin-sensitive), and 13% for T1, while enabling more efficient denoising of modalities limited in redundancy (e.g. relaxometry). In conclusion, multi-parametric spinal cord qMRI with unified readout is feasible and provides robust microstructural metrics with matched resolution and distortions, whose quality benefits from multi-contrast denoising methods such as MP-PCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Grussu
- Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK; Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Marco Battiston
- Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jelle Veraart
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
| | | | - Julien Cohen-Adad
- NeuroPoly Lab, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Functional Neuroimaging Unit, CRIUGM, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Timothy M Shepherd
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Daniel C Alexander
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Els Fieremans
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Dmitry S Novikov
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Claudia A M Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott
- Queen Square MS Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK; Brain MRI 3T Research Centre, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy; Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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