Reduced cerebrospinal fluid motion in patients with Parkinson's disease revealed by magnetic resonance imaging with low b-value diffusion weighted imaging

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease is characterized by dopamine-responsive symptoms as well as aggregation of α-synuclein protofibrils. New diagnostic methods assess α-synuclein aggregation characteristics from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and recent pathophysiologic mechanisms suggest that CSF circulation disruptions may precipitate α-synuclein retention. Here, diffusion-weighted MRI with low-to-intermediate diffusion-weightings was applied to test the hypothesis that CSF motion is reduced in Parkinson's disease relative to healthy participants.

METHODS

Multi-shell diffusion weighted MRI (spatial resolution = 1.8 × 1.8 × 4.0 mm) with low-to-intermediate diffusion weightings (b-values = 0, 50, 100, 200, 300, 700, and 1000 s/mm2) was applied over the approximate kinetic range of suprasellar cistern fluid motion at 3 Tesla in Parkinson's disease (n = 27; age = 66 ± 6.7 years) and non-Parkinson's control (n = 32; age = 68 ± 8.9 years) participants. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were applied to test the primary hypothesis that the noise floor-corrected decay rate of CSF signal as a function of b-value, which reflects increasing fluid motion, is reduced within the suprasellar cistern of persons with versus without Parkinson's disease and inversely relates to choroid plexus activity assessed from perfusion-weighted MRI (significance-criteria: p < 0.05).

RESULTS

Consistent with the primary hypothesis, CSF decay rates were higher in healthy (D = 0.00673 ± 0.00213 mm2/s) relative to Parkinson's disease (D = 0.00517 ± 0.00110 mm2/s) participants. This finding was preserved after controlling for age and sex and was observed in the posterior region of the suprasellar cistern (p < 0.001). An inverse correlation between choroid plexus perfusion and decay rate in the voxels within the suprasellar cistern (Spearman's-r=-0.312; p = 0.019) was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Multi-shell diffusion MRI was applied to identify reduced CSF motion at the level of the suprasellar cistern in adults with versus without Parkinson's disease; the strengths and limitations of this methodology are discussed in the context of the growing literature on CSF flow.

Deep learning segmentation of the choroid plexus from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): validation and normative ranges across the adult lifespan

BACKGROUND

The choroid plexus functions as the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier, plays an important role in CSF production and circulation, and has gained increased attention in light of the recent elucidation of CSF circulation dysfunction in neurodegenerative conditions. However, methods for routinely quantifying choroid plexus volume are suboptimal and require technical improvements and validation. Here, we propose three deep learning models that can segment the choroid plexus from commonly-acquired anatomical MRI data and report performance metrics and changes across the adult lifespan.

METHODS

Fully convolutional neural networks were trained from 3D T1-weighted, 3D T2-weighted, and 2D T2-weighted FLAIR MRI using gold-standard manual segmentations in control and neurodegenerative participants across the lifespan (n = 50; age = 21-85 years). Dice coefficients, 95% Hausdorff distances, and area-under-curve (AUCs) were calculated for each model and compared to segmentations from FreeSurfer using two-tailed Wilcoxon tests (significance criteria: p < 0.05 after false discovery rate multiple comparisons correction). Metrics were regressed against lateral ventricular volume using generalized linear models to assess model performance for varying levels of atrophy. Finally, models were applied to an expanded cohort of adult controls (n = 98; age = 21-89 years) to provide an exemplar of choroid plexus volumetry values across the lifespan.

RESULTS

Deep learning results yielded Dice coefficient = 0.72, Hausdorff distance = 1.97 mm, AUC = 0.87 for T1-weighted MRI, Dice coefficient = 0.72, Hausdorff distance = 2.22 mm, AUC = 0.87 for T2-weighted MRI, and Dice coefficient = 0.74, Hausdorff distance = 1.69 mm, AUC = 0.87 for T2-weighted FLAIR MRI; values did not differ significantly between MRI sequences and were statistically improved compared to current commercially-available algorithms (p < 0.001). The intraclass coefficients were 0.95, 0.95, and 0.96 between T1-weighted and T2-weighted FLAIR, T1-weighted and T2-weighted, and T2-weighted and T2-weighted FLAIR models, respectively. Mean lateral ventricle choroid plexus volume across all participants was 3.20 ± 1.4 cm3; a significant, positive relationship (R2 = 0.54-0.60) was observed between participant age and choroid plexus volume for all MRI sequences (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support comparable performance in choroid plexus delineation between standard, clinically available, non-contrasted anatomical MRI sequences. The software embedding the evaluated models is freely available online and should provide a useful tool for the growing number of studies that desire to quantitatively evaluate choroid plexus structure and function ( https://github.com/hettk/chp_seg ).

Cerebral hemodynamic changes after haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplant in adults with sickle cell disease

ABSTRACT

Preliminary evidence from a series of 4 adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) suggests that hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) improves cerebral hemodynamics. HSCT largely normalizes cerebral hemodynamics in children with SCD. We tested the hypothesis in adults with SCD that cerebral blood flow (CBF), oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) measured using magnetic resonance imaging, normalized to healthy values, comparing measurements from ∼1 month before to 12 to 24 months after HSCT (n = 11; age, 33.3 ± 8.9 years; 389 ± 150 days after HSCT) with age-, race- and sex-matched values from healthy adults without sickle trait (n = 28; age, 30.2 ± 5.6 years). Before transplant, 7 patients had neurological indications for transplant (eg, overt stroke) and 4 had nonneurological reasons for haploidentical bone marrow transplant (haplo-BMT). All received haplo-BMT from first-degree relatives (parent, sibling, or child donor) with reduced-intensity preparation and maintained engraftment. Before transplant, CBF was elevated (CBF, 69.11 ± 24.7 mL/100 g/min) compared with that of controls (P = .004). Mean CBF declined significantly after haplo-BMT (posttransplant CBF, 48.2 ± 13.9 mL/100 g/min; P = .003). OEF was not different from that of controls at baseline and did not change significantly after haplo-BMT (pretransplant, 43.1 ± 6.7%; posttransplant, 39.6 ± 7.0%; P = .34). After transplant, CBF and OEF were not significantly different from controls (CBF, 48.2 ± 13.4 mL/100 g/min; P = .78; and OEF, 39.6 ± 7.0%; P > .99). CMRO2 did not change significantly after haplo-BMT (pretransplant, 3.18 ± 0.87 mL O2/100 g/min; posttransplant, 2.95 ± 0.83; P = .56). Major complications of haplo-BMT included 1 infection-related death and 1 severe chronic graft-versus-host disease. Haplo-BMT in adults with SCD reduces CBF to that of control values and maintains OEF and CMRO2 on average at levels observed in healthy adult controls. The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01850108.

Deep learning segmentation of peri-sinus structures from structural magnetic resonance imaging: validation and normative ranges across the adult lifespan

BACKGROUND

Peri-sinus structures such as arachnoid granulations (AG) and the parasagittal dural (PSD) space have gained much recent attention as sites of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) egress and neuroimmune surveillance. Neurofluid circulation dysfunction may manifest as morphological changes in these structures, however, automated quantification of these structures is not possible and rather characterization often requires exogenous contrast agents and manual delineation.

METHODS

We propose a deep learning architecture to automatically delineate the peri-sinus space (e.g., PSD and intravenous AG structures) using two cascaded 3D fully convolutional neural networks applied to submillimeter 3D T2-weighted non-contrasted MRI images, which can be routinely acquired on all major MRI scanner vendors. The method was evaluated through comparison with gold-standard manual tracing from a neuroradiologist (n = 80; age range = 11-83 years) and subsequently applied in healthy participants (n = 1,872; age range = 5-100 years), using data from the Human Connectome Project, to provide exemplar metrics across the lifespan. Dice-Sørensen and a generalized linear model was used to assess PSD and AG changes across the human lifespan using quadratic restricted splines, incorporating age and sex as covariates.

RESULTS

Findings demonstrate that the PSD and AG volumes can be segmented using T2-weighted MRI with a Dice-Sørensen coefficient and accuracy of 80.7 and 74.6, respectively. Across the lifespan, we observed that total PSD volume increases with age with a linear interaction of gender and age equal to 0.9 cm3 per year (p < 0.001). Similar trends were observed in the frontal and parietal, but not occipital, PSD. An increase in AG volume was observed in the third to sixth decades of life, with a linear effect of age equal to 0.64 mm3 per year (p < 0.001) for total AG volume and 0.54 mm3 (p < 0.001) for maximum AG volume.

CONCLUSIONS

A tool that can be applied to quantify PSD and AG volumes from commonly acquired T2-weighted MRI scans is reported and exemplar volumetric ranges of these structures are provided, which should provide an exemplar for studies of neurofluid circulation dysfunction. Software and training data are made freely available online ( https://github.com/hettk/spesis ).

Accentuated Paralimbic and Reduced Mesolimbic D2/3-Impulsivity Associations in Parkinson's Disease

Impulsivity is a behavioral trait that is elevated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) patients can exhibit a specific pattern of reward-seeking impulsive-compulsive behaviors (ICBs), as well as more subtle changes to generalized trait impulsivity. Prior studies in healthy controls (HCs) suggest that trait impulsivity is regulated by D2/3 autoreceptors in mesocorticolimbic circuits. While altered D2/3 binding is noted in ICB+ PD patients, there is limited prior assessment of the trait impulsivity-D2/3 relationship in PD, and no prior direct comparison with patterns in HCs. We examined 54 PD (36 M; 18 F) and 31 sex- and age-matched HC (21 M; 10 F) subjects using [18F]fallypride, a high-affinity D2/3 receptor ligand, to measure striatal and extrastriatal D2/3 nondisplaceable binding potential (BPND). Subcortical and cortical assessment exclusively used ROI or exploratory-voxelwise methods, respectively. All completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, a measure of trait impulsivity. Subcortical ROI analyses indicated a negative relationship between trait impulsivity and D2/3 BPND in the ventral striatum and amygdala of HCs but not in PD. By contrast, voxelwise methods demonstrated a positive trait impulsivity-D2/3 BPND correlation in ventral frontal olfactocentric-paralimbic cortex of subjects with PD but not HCs. Subscale analysis also highlighted different aspects of impulsivity, with significant interactions between group and motor impulsivity in the ventral striatum, and attentional impulsivity in the amygdala and frontal paralimbic cortex. These results suggest that dopamine functioning in distinct regions of the mesocorticolimbic circuit influence aspects of impulsivity, with the relative importance of regional dopamine functions shifting in the neuropharmacological context of PD.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The biological determinants of impulsivity have broad clinical relevance, from addiction to neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we address biomolecular distinctions in Parkinson's disease. This is the first study to evaluate a large cohort of Parkinson's disease patients and age-matched healthy controls with a measure of trait impulsivity and concurrent [18F]fallypride PET, a method that allows quantification of D2/3 receptors throughout the mesocorticolimbic network. We demonstrate widespread differences in the trait impulsivity-dopamine relationship, including (1) loss of subcortical relationships present in the healthy brain and (2) emergence of a new relationship in a limbic cortical area. This illustrates the loss of mechanisms of behavioral regulation present in the healthy brain while suggesting a potential compensatory response and target for future investigation.

Increased microglia activation in late non-central nervous system cancer survivors links to chronic systemic symptomatology

Prolonged inflammatory expression within the central nervous system (CNS) is recognized by the brain as a molecular signal of "sickness", that has knock-on effects to the blood-brain barrier, brain-spinal barrier, blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, neuro-axonal structures, neurotransmitter activity, synaptic plasticity, neuroendocrine function, and resultant systemic symptomatology. It is concurred that the inflammatory process associated with cancer and cancer treatments underline systemic symptoms present in a large portion of survivors, although this concept is largely theoretical from disparate and indirect evidence and/or clinical anecdotal reports. We conducted a proof-of-concept study to link for the first time late non-CNS cancer survivors presenting chronic systemic symptoms and the presence of centralized inflammation, or neuroinflammation, using TSPO-binding PET tracer [11 C]-PBR28 to visualize microglial activation. We compared PBR28 SUVR in 10 non-CNS cancer survivors and 10 matched healthy controls. Our data revealed (1) microglial activation was significantly higher in caudate, temporal, and occipital regions in late non-central nervous system/CNS cancer survivors compared to healthy controls; (2) increased neuroinflammation in cancer survivors was not accompanied by significant differences in plasma cytokine markers of peripheral inflammation; (3) increased neuroinflammation was not accompanied by reduced fractional anisotropy, suggesting intact white matter microstructural integrity, a marker of neurovascular fiber tract organization; and (4) the presentation of chronic systemic symptoms in cancer survivors was significantly connected with microglial activation. We present the first data empirically supporting the concept of a peripheral-to-centralized inflammatory response in non-CNS cancer survivors, specifically those previously afflicted with head and neck cancer. Following resolution of the initial peripheral inflammation from the cancer/its treatments, in some cases damage/toxification to the central nervous system occurs, ensuing chronic systemic symptoms.

The Role of a Dopamine-Dependent Limbic-Motor Network in Sensory Motor Processing in Parkinson Disease

Limbic and motor integration is enabled by a mesial temporal to motor cortex network. Parkinson disease (PD) is characterized by a loss of dorsal striatal dopamine but relative preservation of mesolimbic dopamine early in disease, along with changes to motor action control. Here, we studied 47 patients with PD using the Simon conflict task and [18F]fallypride PET imaging. Additionally, a cohort of 16 patients participated in a single-blinded dextroamphetamine (dAMPH) study. Task performance was evaluated using the diffusion model for conflict tasks, which allows for an assessment of interpretable action control processes. First, a voxel-wise examination disclosed a negative relationship, such that longer non-decision time is associated with reduced D2-like binding potential (BPND) in the bilateral putamen, left globus pallidus, and right insula. Second, an ROI analysis revealed a positive relationship, such that shorter non-decision time is associated with reduced D2-like BPND in the amygdala and ventromedial OFC. The difference in non-decision time between off-dAMPH and on-dAMPH trials was positively associated with D2-like BPND in the globus pallidus. These findings support the idea that dysfunction of the traditional striatal-motor loop underlies action control deficits but also suggest that a compensatory parallel limbic-motor loop regulates motor output.

Deep learning segmentation of the choroid plexus from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): validation and normative ranges across the adult lifespan

Background

The choroid plexus functions as the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, plays an important role in neurofluid production and circulation, and has gained increased attention in light of the recent elucidation of neurofluid circulation dysfunction in neurodegenerative conditions. However, methods for routinely quantifying choroid plexus volume are suboptimal and require technical improvements and validation. Here, we propose three deep learning models that can segment the choroid plexus from commonly-acquired anatomical MRI data and report performance metrics and changes across the adult lifespan.

Methods

Fully convolutional neural networks were trained from 3-D T1-weighted, 3-D T2-weighted, and 2-D T2-weighted FLAIR MRI and gold-standard manual segmentations in healthy and neurodegenerative participants across the lifespan (n=50; age=21-85 years). Dice coefficients, 95% Hausdorff distances, and area-under-curve (AUCs) were calculated for each model and compared to segmentations from FreeSurfer using two-tailed Wilcoxon tests (significance criteria: p<0.05 after false discovery rate multiple comparisons correction). Metrics were regressed against lateral ventricular volume using generalized linear models to assess model performance for varying levels of atrophy. Finally, models were applied to an expanded cohort of healthy adults (n=98; age=21-89 years) to provide an exemplar of choroid plexus volumetry values across the lifespan.

Results

Deep learning results yielded Dice coefficient=0.72, Hausdorff distance=1.97 mm, AUC=0.87 for T1-weighted MRI, Dice coefficient=0.72, Hausdorff distance=2.22 mm, AUC=0.87 for T2-weighted MRI, and Dice coefficient=0.74, Hausdorff distance=1.69 mm, AUC=0.87 for T2-weighted FLAIR MRI; values did not differ significantly between2 MRI sequences and were statistically improved compared to current commercially-available algorithms (p<0.001). The intraclass coefficients were 0.95, 0.95, and 0.96 between T1-weighted and T2-FLAIR, T1-weighted and T2-weighted, and T2-weighted and T2-FLAIR models, respectively. Mean lateral ventricle choroid plexus volume across all participants was 3.20±1.4 cm3; a significant, positive relationship (R2=0.54; slope=0.047) was observed between participant age and choroid plexus volume for all MRI sequences (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Findings support comparable performance in choroid plexus delineation between standard, clinically available, non-contrasted anatomical MRI sequences. The software embedding the evaluated models is freely available online and should provide a useful tool for the growing number of studies that desire to quantitatively evaluate choroid plexus structure and function (https://github.com/hettk/chp_seg).

Reduced suprasellar cistern cerebrospinal fluid motion in patients with Parkinson's disease revealed by magnetic resonance imaging with dynamic cycling of diffusion weightings

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease is characterized by dopamine-responsive symptoms as well as aggregation and accumulation of a-synuclein protofibrils. New diagnostic methods assess a-synuclein aggregation characteristics from cerebrospinal fluid and recent pathophysiologic mechanisms suggest that cerebrospinal fluid circulation disruptions may precipitate a-synuclein retention. Here, we test the hypothesis that cerebrospinal fluid motion at the level of the suprasellar cistern is reduced in Parkinson's disease relative to healthy participants and this reduction relates to choroid plexus perfusion.

METHODS

Diffusion weighted imaging (spatial resolution=1.8×1.8×4 mm) magnetic resonance imaging with cycling of diffusion weightings (b-values=0, 50, 100, 200, 300, 700, and 1000 s/mm2) over the approximate kinetic range of suprasellar cistern neurofluid motion was applied at 3-Tesla in Parkinson's disease (n=27; age=66±6.7 years) and healthy (n=32; age=68±8.9 years) participants. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were applied to test the primary hypothesis that the decay rate of cerebrospinal fluid signal as a function of b-value, which reflects increasing fluid motion, is reduced in persons with versus without Parkinson's disease and inversely relates to choroid plexus activity assessed from perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (Spearman rank-order correlation; significance-criteria: p<0.05).

RESULTS

Consistent with the primary hypothesis, decay rates were higher in healthy (D=0.00328±0.00123mm2/s) relative to Parkinson's disease (D=0.00256±0.0094mm2/s) participants (p=0.016). This finding was preserved after controlling for age and sex. An inverse correlation between choroid plexus perfusion and decay rate (p=0.011) was observed in Parkinson's disease participants.

CONCLUSIONS

Cerebrospinal fluid motion at the level of the suprasellar cistern is often reduced in adults with versus without Parkinson's disease and this reduction correlates on average with choroid plexus perfusion.

Parasagittal dural space hypertrophy and amyloid-β deposition in Alzheimer's disease

One of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's and related diseases is the increased accumulation of protein amyloid-β in the brain parenchyma. As such, recent studies have focused on characterizing protein and related clearance pathways involving perivascular flow of neurofluids, but human studies of these pathways are limited owing to limited methods for evaluating neurofluid circulation non-invasively in vivo. Here, we utilize non-invasive MRI methods to explore surrogate measures of CSF production, bulk flow and egress in the context of independent PET measures of amyloid-β accumulation in older adults. Participants (N = 23) were scanned at 3.0 T with 3D T2-weighted turbo spin echo, 2D perfusion-weighted pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling and phase-contrast angiography to quantify parasagittal dural space volume, choroid plexus perfusion and net CSF flow through the aqueduct of Sylvius, respectively. All participants also underwent dynamic PET imaging with amyloid-β tracer 11C-Pittsburgh Compound B to quantify global cerebral amyloid-β accumulation. Spearman's correlation analyses revealed a significant relationship between global amyloid-β accumulation and parasagittal dural space volume (rho = 0.529, P = 0.010), specifically in the frontal (rho = 0.527, P = 0.010) and parietal (rho = 0.616, P = 0.002) subsegments. No relationships were observed between amyloid-β and choroid plexus perfusion nor net CSF flow. Findings suggest that parasagittal dural space hypertrophy, and its possible role in CSF-mediated clearance, may be closely related to global amyloid-β accumulation. These findings are discussed in the context of our growing understanding of the physiological mechanisms of amyloid-β aggregation and clearance via neurofluids.

Choroid plexus perfusion and bulk cerebrospinal fluid flow across the adult lifespan

The choroid plexus (ChP) comprises a collection of modified ependymal cells that play an important role in the production of brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and ChP perfusion aberrations have been implicated in a range of cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. To provide an exemplar for the growing interest in ChP activity, we evaluated ChP perfusion and bulk CSF flow cross-sectionally across the healthy adult lifespan. Participants (n = 77; age range = 21-86 years) were scanned at 3T using T1-weighted, T2-weighted-FLAIR, perfusion-weighted pCASL, and phase contrast MRI to calculate ChP anatomy, perfusion, and aqueductal CSF flow, respectively. Regression models were applied to evaluate aging effects on ChP volume and ChP perfusion in the lateral ventricles, as well as CSF flow. ChP volume (mean ± std = 2.81 ± 1.1 cm3) increased (p < 0.001), ChP perfusion (36.3 ± 8.6 mL/100 g/min) decreased (p = 0.0078), and ChP total blood flow (1.13 ± 0.34 mL/min) increased (p < 0.001) with age. Cranial-to-caudal net CSF flow (0.245 ± 0.20 mL/min) decreased, absolute CSF flow (4.86 ± 2.96 mL/min) increased, and CSF regurgitant fraction (0.87 ± 0.126) increased with age (all: p < 0.001). ChP perfusion was directly related to net cranial-to-caudal CSF flow through the aqueduct (p = 0.033). The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the growing literature on CSF circulatory dysfunction in neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular disease.

Amphetamine-induced dopamine release and impulsivity in Parkinson's disease

Impulsive-compulsive behaviours manifest in a substantial proportion of subjects with Parkinson's disease. Reduced ventral striatum dopamine receptor availability, and increased dopamine release is noted in patients with these symptoms. Prior studies of impulsivity suggest that midbrain D2 autoreceptors regulate striatal dopamine release in a feedback inhibitory manner, and in healthy populations, greater impulsivity is linked to poor proficiency of this inhibition. This has not been assessed in a Parkinson's disease population. Here, we applied 18F-fallypride PET studies to assess striatal and extrastriatal D2-like receptor uptake in a placebo-controlled oral dextroamphetamine sequence. We hypothesized that Parkinson's disease patients with impulsive-compulsive behaviours would have greater ventral striatal dopaminergic response to dextroamphetamine, and that an inability to attenuate ventral striatal dopamine release via midbrain D2 autoreceptors would underlie this response. Twenty patients with Parkinson's disease (mean age = 64.1 ± 5.8 years) both with (n = 10) and without (n = 10) impulsive-compulsive behaviours, participated in a single-blind dextroamphetamine challenge (oral; 0.43 mg/kg) in an OFF dopamine state. All completed PET imaging with 18F-fallypride, a high-affinity D2-like receptor ligand, in the placebo and dextroamphetamine state. Both voxelwise and region of interest analyses revealed dextroamphetamine-induced endogenous dopamine release localized to the ventral striatum, and the caudal-medial orbitofrontal cortex. The endogenous dopamine release observed in the ventral striatum correlated positively with patient-reported participation in reward-based behaviours, as quantified by the self-reported Questionnaire for Impulsivity in Parkinson's disease Rating Scale. In participants without impulsive-compulsive behaviours, baseline midbrain D2 receptor availability negatively correlated with ventral striatal dopamine release; however, this relationship was absent in those with impulsive-compulsive behaviours. These findings emphasize that reward-based behaviours in Parkinson's disease are regulated by ventral striatal dopamine release, and suggest that loss of inhibitory feedback from midbrain autoreceptors may underlie the manifestation of impulsive-compulsive behaviours.

D2-Like Receptor Expression in the Hippocampus and Amygdala Informs Performance on the Stop-Signal Task in Parkinson's Disease

The stop-signal task is a well-established assessment of response inhibition, and in humans, proficiency is linked to dorsal striatum D2 receptor availability. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by changes to efficiency of response inhibition. Here, we studied 17 PD patients (6 female and 11 male) using the stop-signal paradigm in a single-blinded d-amphetamine (dAMPH) study. Participants completed [18F]fallypride positron emission topography (PET) imaging in both placebo and dAMPH conditions. A voxel-wise analysis of the relationship between binding potential (BPND) and stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) revealed that faster SSRT is associated with greater D2-like BPND in the amygdala and hippocampus (right cluster qFDR-corr = 0.026, left cluster qFDR-corr = 0.002). A region of interest (ROI) examination confirmed this association in both the amygdala (coefficient = -48.26, p = 0.005) and hippocampus (coefficient = -104.94, p = 0.007). As healthy dopaminergic systems in the dorsal striatum appear to regulate response inhibition, we interpret our findings in PD to indicate either nigrostriatal damage unmasking a mesolimbic contribution to response inhibition, or a compensatory adaptation from the limbic and mesial temporal dopamine systems. These novel results expand the conceptualization of action-control networks, whereby limbic and motor loops may be functionally connected.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT While Parkinson's disease (PD) is characteristically recognized for its motor symptoms, some patients develop impulsive and compulsive behaviors (ICBs), manifested as repetitive and excessive participation in reward-driven activities, including sex, gambling, shopping, eating, and hobbyism. Such cognitive alterations compel a consideration of response inhibition in PD. To investigate inhibitory control and assess the brain regions that may participate, we assessed PD patients using a single-blinded d-amphetamine (dAMPH) study, with [18F]fallypride positron emission topography (PET) imaging, and stop-signal task performance. We find a negative relationship between D2-like binding in the mesial temporal region and top-signal reaction time (SSRT), with greater BPND associated with a faster SSRT. These discoveries indicate a novel role for mesolimbic dopamine in response inhibition, and advocate for limbic regulation of action control in this clinical population.

The alkaloid Berberine inhibits the growth of Anoikis-resistant MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines by inducing cell cycle arrest

Berberine is a pure phenanthren alkaloid isolated from the roots and bark of herbal plants such as Berberis, Hydrastis canadensis and Coptis chinensis. Berberine has been established to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, but its effects on the drug resistance and anoikis-resistance of breast cancer cells have yet to be elucidated. Anoikis, or detachment-induced apoptosis, may prevent cancer progression and metastasis by blocking signals necessary for survival of localized cancer cells. Resistance to anoikis is regarded as a prerequisite for metastasis; however, little is known about the role of berberine in anoikis-resistance. We established anoikis-resistant cells from the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 by culturing them on a Poly-Hema substratum. We then investigated the effects of berberine on the growth of these cells. The anoikis-resistant cells had a reduced growth rate and were more invasive than their respective adherent cell lines. The effect of berberine on growth was compared to that of doxorubicine, which is a drug commonly used to treat breast cancer, in both the adherent and anoikis-resistant cell lines. Berberine promoted the growth inhibition of anoikis-resistant cells to a greater extent than doxorubicine treatment. Treatment with berberine-induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 in the anoikis-resistant MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells as compared to untreated control cells. In summary, these results revealed that berberine can efficiently inhibit growth by inducing cell cycle arrest in anoikis-resistant MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Further analysis of these phenotypes is essential for understanding the effect of berberine on anoikis-resistant breast cancer cells, which would be relevant for the therapeutic targeting of breast cancer metastasis.

Usefulness of catheter-directed thrombolysis using alteplase in peripheral vascular occlusion

This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of alteplase in catheter-directed treatment for peripheral arterial and venous thrombosis and considered the optimal dosing regimen. Forty-four patients (49 encounters) underwent transcatheter therapy using alteplase between January and November 1999. The most common indications for thrombolysis were peripheral arterial occlusion (PAO) and venous thrombosis (38 patients, 43 encounters). Each encounter was reviewed for indication, dosage of alteplase, duration of infusion, concomitant use of anticoagulation, degree of lysis, and complications. Patients were divided into low-dose (0.5 to 1.0 mg/hr), mid-dose (1.0 to 1.5 mg/hr), and high-dose (>1.5 mg/hr) groups. For PAO, there was no significant difference in the success rate between the 3 dose groups. A lower complication rate was achieved in the low-dose group. For venous thrombosis, there was no difference in the overall success or complication rates for each of the 3 groups. Partial lysis was achieved more readily in the mid and high-dose groups, but the risk of serious complications was greater. Overall, the complete thrombolysis rate was 71% for PAO and 55% for venous thrombosis. Major and minor complication rates were 7% and 19%, respectively. An equivalent success rate with a lower complication rate can be achieved using a low-dose constant catheter-directed infusion of alteplase for cases of PAO. Cases of venous thrombosis had a lower overall success rate compared with PAO. A mid-dose infusion of alteplase can achieve greater complete and partial thrombolysis rates without increasing the complication rate. Major and minor complication rates were similar to the rates given in the published literature.

Cloning and expression of the VP2 gene of an infectious bursal disease virus

A serotype I infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) strain HZ96 was isolated in Hangzhou, China, in 1996 and attenuated by adaptation to chicken embryo fibroblast cells. The VP2 gene of strain HZ96 was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, cloned, and sequenced. Compared with the VP2 sequences of other IBDV strains, HZ96 is most related to two attenuated strains, CU-1 and PBG98, and two attenuated Chinese strains, Harbin and CJ801bkf. HZ96 shares nucleotide sequence homology 98.9% with CU-1 and PBG98, 98.5% with Harbin, and 98.6% with CJ801bkf. Most of the sequence variations observed between HZ96 and other strains are located in the middle variable region from nucleotides 637 to 996. Similar to other attenuated IBDVs, HZ96 has unique substitutions at residues 279 (Asp to Asn) and 284 (Ala to Thr), suggesting that these two substitutions may be directly related to adaptation of the virus to cell culture and attenuation of its virulence. As part of our effort to develop a submit vaccine for IBDV, the VP2 gene of HZ96 was cloned into a heat-inducible expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli system. A protein band with expected molecular weight of 52 kD was detected by direct protein staining and western blotting.

The ureteric ring

A ureteric ring is a smooth, concentric ring-like narrowing occurring in the upper third of the ureter. It is nonobstructive and may be transient and bilateral. There is a slight female preponderance. They are seen in all age groups and are common in the neonate together with transient changes. A ureteric ring has a characteristic appearance and is believed to result from contraction of circular muscle.