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Chen CL, Cheng SY, Montaser-Kouhsari L, Wu WC, Hsu YC, Tai CH, Tseng WYI, Kuo MC, Wu RM. Advanced brain aging in Parkinson's disease with cognitive impairment. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2024; 10:62. [PMID: 38493188 PMCID: PMC10944471 DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00673-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Patients with Parkinson's disease and cognitive impairment (PD-CI) deteriorate faster than those without cognitive impairment (PD-NCI), suggesting an underlying difference in the neurodegeneration process. We aimed to verify brain age differences in PD-CI and PD-NCI and their clinical significance. A total of 94 participants (PD-CI, n = 27; PD-NCI, n = 34; controls, n = 33) were recruited. Predicted age difference (PAD) based on gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) features were estimated to represent the degree of brain aging. Patients with PD-CI showed greater GM-PAD (7.08 ± 6.64 years) and WM-PAD (8.82 ± 7.69 years) than those with PD-NCI (GM: 1.97 ± 7.13, Padjusted = 0.011; WM: 4.87 ± 7.88, Padjusted = 0.049) and controls (GM: -0.58 ± 7.04, Padjusted = 0.004; WM: 0.88 ± 7.45, Padjusted = 0.002) after adjusting demographic factors. In patients with PD, GM-PAD was negatively correlated with MMSE (Padjusted = 0.011) and MoCA (Padjusted = 0.013) and positively correlated with UPDRS Part II (Padjusted = 0.036). WM-PAD was negatively correlated with logical memory of immediate and delayed recalls (Padjusted = 0.003 and Padjusted < 0.001). Also, altered brain regions in PD-CI were identified and significantly correlated with brain age measures, implicating the neuroanatomical underpinning of neurodegeneration in PD-CI. Moreover, the brain age metrics can improve the classification between PD-CI and PD-NCI. The findings suggest that patients with PD-CI had advanced brain aging that was associated with poor cognitive functions. The identified neuroimaging features and brain age measures can serve as potential biomarkers of PD-CI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Le Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Shao-Ying Cheng
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital Bei-Hu Branch, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Wen-Chao Wu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chun-Hwei Tai
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Acroviz Inc, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Ming-Che Kuo
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Ruey-Meei Wu
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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Tseng WYI, Hsu YC, Huang LK, Hong CT, Lu YH, Chen JH, Fu CK, Chan L. Brain Age Is Associated with Cognitive Outcomes of Cholinesterase Inhibitor Treatment in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 98:1095-1106. [PMID: 38517785 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Background The effect of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is controversial. Brain age has been shown to predict Alzheimer's disease conversion from MCI. Objective The study aimed to show that brain age is related to cognitive outcomes of ChEI treatment in MCI. Methods Brain MRI, the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores were retrospectively retrieved from a ChEI treatment database. Patients who presented baseline CDR of 0.5 and received ChEI treatment for at least 2 years were selected. Patients with stationary or improved cognition as verified by the CDR and MMSE were categorized to the ChEI-responsive group, and those with worsened cognition were assigned to the ChEI-unresponsive group. A gray matter brain age model was built with a machine learning algorithm by training T1-weighted MRI data of 362 healthy participants. The model was applied to each patient to compute predicted age difference (PAD), i.e. the difference between brain age and chronological age. The PADs were compared between the two groups. Results 58 patients were found to fit the ChEI-responsive criteria in the patient data, and 58 matched patients that fit the ChEI-unresponsive criteria were compared. ChEI-unresponsive patients showed significantly larger PAD than ChEI-responsive patients (8.44±8.78 years versus 3.87±9.02 years, p = 0.0067). Conclusions Gray matter brain age is associated with cognitive outcomes after 2 years of ChEI treatment in patients with the CDR of 0.5. It might facilitate the clinical trials of novel therapeutics for MCI.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Li-Kai Huang
- Department of Neurology, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Chien-Tai Hong
- Department of Neurology, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Yueh-Hsun Lu
- Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Department of Radiology, Shuang-Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Jia-Hung Chen
- Department of Neurology, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | | | - Lung Chan
- Department of Neurology, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Taipei Neuroscience Institute, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
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Chiang HL, Tseng WYI, Tseng WL, Tung YH, Hsu YC, Chen CL, Gau SSF. Atypical development in white matter microstructures in ADHD: A longitudinal diffusion imaging study. Asian J Psychiatr 2023; 79:103358. [PMID: 36481569 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In cross-sectional studies, alterations in white matter microstructure are evident in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but not so prominent in adults with ADHD compared to typically-developing controls (TDC). Moreover, the developmental trajectories of white matter microstructures in ADHD are unclear, given the limited longitudinal imaging studies that characterize developmental changes in ADHD vs. TDC. METHODS This longitudinal study acquired diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) at two time points. The sample included 55 participants with ADHD and 61 TDC. The enrollment/first DSI age ranged from 7 to 18 years, with a five-year mean follow-up time. We examined time-by-diagnosis interaction on the generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) of 45 white matter tracts, adjusting for confounding factors and correcting for multiple comparisons. We also tested whether the longitudinal changes of microstructures were associated with ADHD symptoms and attention performance in a computerized continuous performance test. RESULTS Participants with ADHD showed more rapid development of GFA in the arcuate fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, frontal aslant tract, cingulum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), frontostriatal tract connecting the prefrontal cortex (FS-PFC), thalamic radiation, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum. Within participants with ADHD, more rapid GFA increases in cingulum and FS-PFC were associated with slower decreases in inattention symptoms. In addition, in all participants, more rapid GFA increases in cingulum and IFOF were associated with greater improvement in attention performance. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest atypical developmental trajectories of white matter tracts in ADHD, characterized by normalization and possible compensatory neuroplastic processes with age from childhood to early adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huey-Ling Chiang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychiatry, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wan-Ling Tseng
- Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yu-Hung Tung
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chang-Le Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Chien YL, Chen YJ, Tseng WL, Hsu YC, Wu CS, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF. Differences in white matter segments in autistic males, non-autistic siblings, and non-autistic participants: An intermediate phenotype approach. Autism 2022; 27:1036-1052. [PMID: 36254873 DOI: 10.1177/13623613221125620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT White matter is the neural pathway that connects neurons in different brain regions. Although research has shown white matter differences between autistic and non-autistic people, little is known about the properties of white matter in non-autistic siblings. In addition, past studies often focused on the whole neural tracts; it is unclear where differences exist in specific segments of the tracts. This study identified neural segments that differed between autistic people, their non-autistic siblings, and the age- and non-autistic people. We found altered segments within the tracts connected to anterior brain regions corresponding to several higher cognitive functions (e.g. executive functions) in autistic people and non-autistic siblings. Segments connecting to regions for social cognition and Theory of Mind were altered only in autistic people, explaining a large portion of autistic traits and may serve as neuroimaging markers. Segments within the tracts associated with fewer autistic traits or connecting brain regions for diverse highly integrated functions showed compensatory increases in the microstructural properties in non-autistic siblings. Our findings suggest that differential white matter segments that are shared between autistic people and non-autistic siblings may serve as potential "intermediate phenotypes"-biological or neuropsychological characteristics in the causal link between genetics and symptoms-of autism. These findings shed light on a promising neuroimaging model to refine the intermediate phenotype of autism which may facilitate further identification of the genetic and biological bases of autism. Future research exploring links between compensatory segments and neurocognitive strengths in non-autistic siblings may help understand brain adaptation to autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ling Chien
- National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taiwan.,National Taiwan University, Taiwan
| | | | | | | | - Chi-Shin Wu
- National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taiwan
| | | | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taiwan.,National Taiwan University, Taiwan
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Chen CL, Hwang TJ, Tung YH, Yang LY, Hsu YC, Liu CM, Lin YT, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Chien YL, Hwu HG, Tseng WYI. Detection of advanced brain aging in schizophrenia and its structural underpinning by using normative brain age metrics. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 34:103003. [PMID: 35413648 PMCID: PMC9018160 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Novel metrics are proposed using the brain age paradigm with normative modeling. Normative brain age is validated to reveal advanced aging in schizophrenia. Men with schizophrenia have older brain age than women with the disorder. The brain age in white matter is positively associated with the negative symptom. The precuneus and uncinate fasciculus are markedly related to the advanced aging.
Conceptualizing mental disorders as deviations from normative functioning provides a statistical perspective for understanding the individual heterogeneity underlying psychiatric disorders. To broaden the understanding of the idiosyncrasy of brain aging in schizophrenia, we introduced an imaging-derived brain age paradigm combined with normative modeling as novel brain age metrics. We constructed brain age models based on GM, WM, and their combination (multimodality) features of 482 normal participants. The normalized predicted age difference (nPAD) was estimated in 147 individuals with schizophrenia and their 130 demographically matched controls through normative models of brain age metrics and compared between the groups. Regression analyses were also performed to investigate the associations of nPAD with illness duration, onset age, symptom severity, and intelligence quotient. Finally, regional contributions to advanced brain aging in schizophrenia were investigated. The results showed that the individuals exhibited significantly higher nPAD (P < 0.001), indicating advanced normative brain age than the normal controls in GM, WM, and multimodality models. The nPAD measure based on WM was positively associated with the negative symptom score (P = 0.009), and negatively associated with the intelligence quotient (P = 0.039) and onset age (P = 0.006). The imaging features that contributed to nPAD mostly involved the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, especially the precuneus and uncinate fasciculus. This study demonstrates that normative brain age metrics could detect advanced brain aging and associated clinical and neuroanatomical features in schizophrenia. The proposed nPAD measures may be useful to investigate aberrant brain aging in mental disorders and their brain-phenotype relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Le Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Hung Tung
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Ying Yang
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Tin Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hsien Hsieh
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Chung Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; AcroViz Inc., Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) has been widely used to assess dementia severity, but it is limited in predicting dementia progression, thus unable to advise preventive measures to those who are at high risk. OBJECTIVE Predicted age difference (PAD) was proposed to predict CDR change. METHODS All diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and CDR scores were obtained from the OASIS-3 databank. A brain age model was trained by a machine learning algorithm using the imaging data of 258 cognitively healthy adults. Two diffusion indices, i.e., mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy, over the whole brain white matter were extracted to serve as the features for model training. The validated brain age model was applied to a longitudinal cohort of 217 participants who had CDR = 0 (CDR0), 0.5 (CDR0.5), and 1 (CDR1) at baseline. Participants were grouped according to different baseline CDR and their subsequent CDR in approximately 2 years of follow-up. PAD was compared between different groups with multiple comparison correction. RESULTS PADs were significantly different among participants with different baseline CDRs. PAD in participants with relatively stable CDR0.5 was significantly smaller than PAD in participants who had CDR0.5 at baseline but converted to CDR1 in the follow-up. Similarly, participants with relatively stable CDR0 had significantly smaller PAD than those who were CDR0 at baseline but converted to CDR0.5 in the follow-up. CONCLUSION Our results imply that PAD might be a potential imaging biomarker for predicting CDR outcomes in patients with CDR0 or CDR0.5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- AcroViz Inc. Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.).,Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.).,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
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Chiang HL, Yang LK, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Lo YC, Isaac Tseng WY, Shur-Fen Gau S. Altered White-matter Tract Property in Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Neuroscience 2022; 487:78-87. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.01.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Miranda M, Avila I, Esparza J, Shwartz Y, Hsu YC, Berdeaux R, Lowry WE. Defining a Role for G-Protein Coupled Receptor/cAMP/CRE-Binding Protein Signaling in Hair Follicle Stem Cell Activation. J Invest Dermatol 2022; 142:53-64.e3. [PMID: 34280464 PMCID: PMC8989631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2021.05.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Manipulation of adrenergic signaling has been shown experimentally and clinically to affect hair follicle growth. In this study, we provide direct evidence that canonical cAMP/CRE-binding protein signaling through adrenergic receptors can regulate hair follicle stem cell (HFSC) activation and hair cycle. We found that CRE-binding protein activation is regulated through the hair cycle and coincides with HFSC activation. Both isoproterenol and procaterol, agonists of adrenergic receptors, show the capacity to activate the hair cycle in mice. Furthermore, deletion of ADRB2 receptor, which is thought to mediate sympathetic nervous system regulation of HFSCs, was sufficient to block HFSC activation. Downstream, stimulation of adenylyl cyclase with forskolin or inhibition of phosphodiesterase to increase cAMP accumulation or direct application of cAMP was each sufficient to promote HFSC activation and accelerate initiation of hair cycle. Genetic induction of a Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drug allele showed that G-protein coupled receptor/GαS stimulation, specifically in HFSCs, promoted the activation of the hair cycle. Finally, we provide evidence that G-protein coupled receptor/CRE-binding protein signaling can potentially act on HFSCs by promoting glycolytic metabolism, which was previously shown to stimulate HFSC activation. Together, these data provide mechanistic insights into the role of sympathetic innervation on HFSC function.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Miranda
- Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - I Avila
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - J Esparza
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Y Shwartz
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - YC Hsu
- Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Harvard University and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - R Berdeaux
- Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
| | - WE Lowry
- Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, Division of Dermatology, DGSOM, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095
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Chen PY, Chen CL, Tseng HM, Hsu YC, Huang CWC, Chan WP, Tseng WYI. Differential Associations of White Matter Brain Age With Language-Related Mechanisms in Word-Finding Ability Across the Adult Lifespan. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:701565. [PMID: 34539378 PMCID: PMC8446673 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.701565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on cognitive aging has established that word-finding ability declines progressively in late adulthood, whereas semantic mechanism in the language system is relatively stable. The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations of word-finding ability and language-related components with brain aging status, which was quantified by using the brain age paradigm. A total of 616 healthy participants aged 18–88 years from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience databank were recruited. The picture-naming task was used to test the participants’ language-related word retrieval ability through word-finding and word-generation processes. The naming response time (RT) and accuracy were measured under a baseline condition and two priming conditions, namely phonological and semantic priming. To estimate brain age, we established a brain age prediction model based on white matter (WM) features and estimated the modality-specific predicted age difference (PAD). Mass partial correlation analyses were performed to test the associations of WM-PAD with the cognitive performance measures under the baseline and two priming conditions. We observed that the domain-specific language WM-PAD and domain-general WM-PAD were significantly correlated with general word-finding ability. The phonological mechanism, not the semantic mechanism, in word-finding ability was significantly correlated with the domain-specific WM-PAD. In contrast, all behavioral measures of the conditions in the picture priming task were significantly associated with chronological age. The results suggest that chronological aging and WM aging have differential effects on language-related word retrieval functions, and support that cognitive alterations in word-finding functions involve not only the domain-specific processing within the frontotemporal language network but also the domain-general processing of executive functions in the fronto-parieto-occipital (or multi-demand) network. The findings further indicate that the phonological aspect of word retrieval ability declines as cerebral WM ages, whereas the semantic aspect is relatively resilient or unrelated to WM aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pin-Yu Chen
- Molecular Imaging Centre, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chang-Le Chen
- Molecular Imaging Centre, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hui-Ming Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chi-Wen Christina Huang
- Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wing P Chan
- Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih I Tseng
- Molecular Imaging Centre, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
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Tung YH, Lin HY, Chen CL, Shang CY, Yang LY, Hsu YC, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF. Whole Brain White Matter Tract Deviation and Idiosyncrasy From Normative Development in Autism and ADHD and Unaffected Siblings Link With Dimensions of Psychopathology and Cognition. Am J Psychiatry 2021; 178:730-743. [PMID: 33726525 DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20070999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) preclude definitive identification of neurobiomarkers and biological risks. High clinical overlap suggests multifaceted circuit-level alterations across diagnoses, which remains elusive. This study investigated whether individuals with ADHD or ASD and their unaffected siblings constitute a spectrum of neurodevelopmental conditions in terms of white matter etiology. METHODS Sex-specific white matter tract normative development was modeled from diffusion MRI of 626 typically developing control subjects (ages 5-40 years; 376 of them male). Individualized metrics estimating white matter tract deviation from the age norm were derived for 279 probands with ADHD, 175 probands with ASD, and their unaffected siblings (ADHD, N=121; ASD, N=72). RESULTS ASD and ADHD shared diffuse white matter tract deviations in the commissure and association tracts (rho=0.54; p<0.001), while prefrontal corpus callosum deviated more remarkably in ASD (effect size=-0.36; p<0.001). Highly correlated deviance patterns between probands and unaffected siblings were found in both ASD (rho=0.69; p<0.001) and ADHD (rho=0.51; p<0.001), but only unaffected sisters of ASD probands showed a potential endophenotype in long-range association fibers and projection fibers connecting prefrontal regions. ADHD and ASD shared significant white matter tract idiosyncrasy (rho=0.55; p<0.001), particularly in tracts connecting prefrontal regions, not identified in either sibling group. Canonical correlation analysis identified multiple dimensions of psychopathology/cognition across categorical entities; autistic, visual memory, intelligence/planning/inhibition, nonverbal-intelligence/attention, working memory/attention, and set-shifting/response-variability were associated with distinct sets of white matter tract deviations. CONCLUSIONS When conceptualizing neurodevelopmental disorders as white matter tract deviations from normative patterns, ASD and ADHD are more alike than different. The modest white matter tract alterations in siblings suggest potential endophenotypes in these at-risk populations. This study further delineates brain-driven dimensions of psychopathology/cognition, which may help clarify within-diagnosis heterogeneity and high between-diagnosis co-occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hung Tung
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Hsiang-Yuan Lin
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Chang-Le Chen
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Chi-Yung Shang
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Li-Ying Yang
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- School of Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and Department of Medical Education, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei (Tung); Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei (Tung, Lin, Shang, Gau); Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre and Adult Neurodevelopmental and Geriatric Psychiatry Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto (Lin); Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto (Lin); Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Chen, Yang, Hsu, Tseng); Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei (Tseng, Gau); Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei (Tseng)
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11
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Wu MT, Tang PF, Tseng WYI, Hsu YC, Chen YJ, Goh JOS, Chou TL, Chang YK, Gau SSF, Lan C. Integrity of the Prefronto-striato-thalamo-prefrontal Loop Predicts Tai Chi Chuan Training Effects on Cognitive Task-switching in Middle-aged and Older Adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 12:602191. [PMID: 33658915 PMCID: PMC7917054 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.602191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) exercise has been shown to improve cognitive task-switching performance in older adults, but the extent of this positive effect varies among individuals. Past research also shows that brain white matter integrity could predict behavioral gains of cognitive and motor learning. Therefore, in this randomized controlled trial (NCT02270320), we examined whether baseline integrity of three target white matter tract groups was predictive of task-switching improvement after 12-week TCC training in middle-aged and older adults. Thirty-eight eligible participants were randomly assigned to a TCC group (n = 19) and a control group (n = 19). Cognitive task-switching and physical performances were collected before and after training. Brain diffusion spectrum MR images were acquired before training and the general fractional anisotropy (GFA) of each target white matter tract group was calculated to indicate baseline white matter integrity of that group. Correlation and regression analyses between these GFAs and post-training task-switching improvement were analyzed using adjusted p-values. After 12 weeks, significant task-switching and physical performance improvements were found only in the TCC group. Moreover, higher baseline GFA of the prefronto-striato-thalamo-prefrontal loop fibers (r = −0.63, p = 0.009), but not of the prefronto-parietal/occipital (r = −0.55, p = 0.026) and callosal (r = −0.35, p = 0.189) fiber groups, was associated with greater reductions of task-switching errors after the TCC training. Multiple regression analysis revealed that baseline GFA of the prefronto-striato-thalamo-prefrontal loop fibers was the only independent white matter integrity predictor of task-switching error reductions after TCC training (β = −0.620, adjusted R2 change = 0.265, p = 0.009). These findings not only highlight the important role of baseline integrity of the prefronto-striatal circuits in influencing the extent of positive cognitive task-switching effects from short-term TCC training, but also implicate that preserving good white matter integrity in the aging process may be crucial in order to gain the best cognitive effects of exercise interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Tien Wu
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Yonghe Cardinal Tien Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Fang Tang
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,College of Medicine, Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- College of Medicine, Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- College of Medicine, Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Joshua O S Goh
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Li Chou
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Kai Chang
- Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching Lan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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12
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Isaac Tseng WY, Hsu YC, Chen CL, Kang YJ, Kao TW, Chen PY, Waiter GD. Microstructural differences in white matter tracts across middle to late adulthood: a diffusion MRI study on 7167 UK Biobank participants. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 98:160-172. [PMID: 33290993 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
White matter fiber tracts demonstrate heterogeneous vulnerabilities to aging effects. Here, we estimated age-related differences in tract properties using UK Biobank diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data of 7167 47- to 76-year-old neurologically healthy people (3368 men and 3799 women). Tract properties in terms of generalized fractional anisotropy, axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity were sampled on 76 fiber tracts; for each tract, age-related differences were estimated by fitting these indices against age in a linear model. This cross-sectional study demonstrated 4 age-difference patterns. The dominant pattern was lower generalized fractional anisotropy and higher axial diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and mean diffusivity with age, constituting 45 of 76 tracts, mostly involving the association, projection, and commissure fibers connecting the prefrontal lobe. The other 3 patterns constituted only 14 tracts, with atypical age differences in diffusion indices, and mainly involved parietal, occipital, and temporal cortices. By analyzing the large volume of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data available from the UK Biobank, the study has provided a detailed description of heterogeneous age-related differences in tract properties over the whole brain which generally supports the myelodegeneration hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | - Chang-Le Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Jing Kang
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Te-Wei Kao
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pin-Yu Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Gordon D Waiter
- Aberdeen Biomedical Imaging Centre, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
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13
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Fan LY, Lo YC, Hsu YC, Chen YJ, Tseng WYI, Chou TL. Developmental Differences of Structural Connectivity and Effective Connectivity in Semantic Judgments of Chinese Characters. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:233. [PMID: 32714169 PMCID: PMC7344167 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have investigated the developmental differences of semantic processing regarding brain activation between adults and children. However, little is known about whether the patterns of structural connectivity and effective connectivity differ between adults and children during semantic processing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI), and dynamic causal modeling (DCM) were used to study the developmental differences of brain activation, structural connectivity, and effective connectivity during semantic judgments. Twenty-six children (8- to 12-year-olds) and 26 adults were asked to indicate if character pairs were related in meaning. Compared to children, adults showed greater activation in the left ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Also, adults had significantly greater structural connectivity in the left ventral pathway (inferior frontal occipital fasciculus, IFOF) than children. Moreover, adults showed significantly stronger bottom-up effects from left fusiform gyrus (FG) to ventral IFG than children in the related condition. In conclusion, our findings suggest that age-related increases in brain activation (ventral IFG and MTG), IFOF, and effective connectivity (from FG to ventral IFG) might be associated with the bottom-up influence of orthographic representations on retrieving semantic representations for processing Chinese characters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ying Fan
- Department of Education, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Thanatology and Health Counseling, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,The Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Li Chou
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
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14
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Brain structural alterations are frequently observed in probands with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Here we examined the microstructural integrity of 76 white matter tracts among unaffected siblings of patients with ADHD to evaluate the potential familial risk and its association with clinical and neuropsychological manifestations. METHODS The comparison groups included medication-naïve ADHD probands (n = 50), their unaffected siblings (n = 50) and typically developing controls (n = 50, age-and-sex matched with ADHD probands). Whole brain tractography was reconstructed automatically by tract-based analysis of diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI). Microstructural properties of white matter tracts were represented by the values of generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD). RESULTS Compared to the control group, ADHD probands showed higher AD values in the perpendicular fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus I, corticospinal tract, and corpus callosum. The AD values of unaffected siblings were in the intermediate position between those of the ADHD and control groups. These AD values were significantly associated with ADHD symptoms, sustained attention and working memory, for all white matter tracks evaluated except for the perpendicular fasciculus. Higher FA and lower RD values in the right frontostriatal tract connecting ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (FS-VLPFC) were associated with better performance in spatial span only in the unaffected sibling group. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal AD values of specific white matter tracts among unaffected siblings of ADHD probands suggest the presence of familial risk in this population. The right FS-VLPFC may have a role in preventing the expression of the ADHD-related behavioral phenotype. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV NUMBER NCT01682915.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huey-Ling Chiang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- AcroViz Technology Inc., Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Yuan Shang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, and Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
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15
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Wu ZF, Hsu YC, Tseng WC. Hiccups : an uncommon presentation of pyogenic liver abscess. Acta Gastroenterol Belg 2020; 83:92-93. [PMID: 32233280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Z F Wu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - Y C Hsu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C
| | - W C Tseng
- Department of Anesthesiology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C
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16
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Hsu YC, Su HY, Sun CK, Liang CY, Chen TB, Hsu CW. Risk of post-contrast acute kidney injury in emergency department patients with sepsis. Hong Kong Med J 2019; 25:429-437. [PMID: 31796644 DOI: 10.12809/hkmj198086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Although computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool for exploring occult infection in patients with sepsis in the emergency department, the potential nephrotoxicity of contrast media is a major concern. Our study aimed to investigate the association between use of contrast-enhanced CT and the risks of acute kidney injury and other adverse outcomes in patients with sepsis. METHODS In total, 587 patients with sepsis who underwent CT scan (enhanced CT group: 105, non-enhanced CT group: 482) from January 2012 to December 2016 at a tertiary referral centre were enrolled in this retrospective analysis, and propensity score matching was performed to minimise the selection bias. The length of stay, incidences of acute kidney injury and emergent dialysis, and short-term mortality were compared between the two groups. RESULTS Compared with patients in the non-enhanced CT group, patients in the contrast-enhanced CT group did not have increased risks of acute kidney injury (odds ratio [OR]=1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.55-3.43; P=0.489), emergent dialysis (OR=1.31, 95% CI=0.47-3.68; P=0.602), or short-term mortality (OR=0.90, 95% CI=0.48-1.69; P=0.751). In addition, there was no significant difference in the median length of hospital stay between survivors in the two groups (20 vs 19 days, P=0.742). CONCLUSIONS Intravenous contrast administration during CT scanning was not associated with prolonged length of hospital stay in patients with sepsis in an emergency setting. Moreover, the use of contrast-enhanced CT was not associated with increased risks of acute kidney injury, emergent dialysis, or short-term mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Hsu
- Department of Emergency Medicine, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - H Y Su
- Department of Emergency Medicine, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - C K Sun
- Department of Emergency Medicine, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.,School of Medicine for International Students, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - C Y Liang
- Department of Emergency Medicine, E-Da Cancer Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.,Department of Information Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - T B Chen
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - C W Hsu
- Department of Emergency Medicine, E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.,School of Medicine for International Students, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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17
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Chen CL, Shih YC, Liou HH, Hsu YC, Lin FH, Tseng WYI. Premature white matter aging in patients with right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: A machine learning approach based on diffusion MRI data. Neuroimage Clin 2019; 24:102033. [PMID: 31795060 PMCID: PMC6978225 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
A brain age prediction model was developed based on diffusion MRI data. Patients with right MTLE exhibited older brain age than those with left MTLE. Predicted age difference (PAD) was correlated with seizure frequency in right MTLE. Right uncinate fasciculus had highest contribution to the observed PAD in right MTLE.
Brain age prediction based on machine learning has been applied to various neurological diseases to discover its clinical values. By this innovative approach, it has been reported that the patients with refractory epilepsy had premature brain aging. Of refractory epilepsy, right and left subtypes of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) are the most common forms and exhibit distinct patterns in white matter alterations. So far, it is unclear whether these two subtypes of MTLE would have difference in white matter aging due to distinct white matter alterations. To address this issue, a machine learning based brain age model using diffusion MRI data was established to investigate biological age of white matter tracts. All diffusion MRI datasets were obtained from the same 3-Tesla MRI scanner. To build the brain age prediction model, diffusion MRI datasets of 300 healthy participants were processed to extract age-relevant diffusion indices from 76 major white matter tracts. The extracted diffusion indices underwent Gaussian process regression to build the prediction model for white matter brain age. The model was validated in an independent testing set (N = 40) to ensure no overfitting of the model. The model was then applied to patients with right and left MTLE and matched controls (right MTLE: N = 17, left MTLE: N = 18, controls: N = 37), and predicted age difference (PAD) was obtained by calculating the difference between each individual's predicted brain age and chronological age. The higher PAD score indicated older brain age. The results showed that right MTLE exhibited older predicted brain age than the other two groups (PAD of right MTLE = 10.9 years [p < 0.05 against left MTLE; p < 0.001 against control]; PAD of left MTLE = 2.2 years [p > 0.1 against control]; PAD of controls = 0.82 years). Patients with right and left MTLE showed strong correlations of the PAD scores with age of onset and duration of illness, but both groups showed opposite directions of correlations. In right MTLE, positive correlation of PAD with seizure frequency was found, and the right uncinate fasciculus was the most attributable tract to the increase in PAD. In conclusion, the present study found that patients with right MTLE exhibited premature white matter brain aging and their PAD scores were correlated with seizure frequency. Therefore, PAD is a potentially useful indicator of white matter impairment and disease severity in patients with right MTLE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang-Le Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chia Shih
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Horng-Huei Liou
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | | | - Fa-Hsuan Lin
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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18
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Tseng YS, You MY, Hsu YC, Yang KC. P5388N-cadherin promotes cardiac regeneration by stabilizing beta-catenin. Eur Heart J 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehz746.0348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Although the adult mammalian heart fails to regenerate after injury, it is known that newborn mice within a week have full cardiac regenerative capacity. The molecular determinants underlying the disparate regenerative capacity between neonatal and adult mice, however, remain incompletely understood. Exploiting RNA sequencing in isolated cardiomyocytes from neonatal and adult mouse heart, we identified Cdh2, which encodes the adherence junction protein N-cadherin, as a potential novel mediator of cardiac regeneration. Cdh2 expression levels were much higher in neonatal, compared with adult, cardiomyocytes and showed a strong positive correlation with that of multiple cell cycle genes. N-cadherin has been reported to be essential for embryonic cardiac development; its role in cardiac regeneration, however, remains unknown.
Purpose
To determine the role of Cdh2 (N-cadherin) in cardiac regeneration and to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Methods
Apical resection in postnatal day 1 mice was used as a cardiac regenerative model. The in vitro gain/loss-of function studies of Cdh2/N-cadherin was performed in postnatal day 1 neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes (P1CM) and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CM). N-cadherin inhibitor exherin was used to study the effects of N-cadherin in vivo.
Results
Comparing to sham-operated control, Cdh2 was significantly upregulated in mouse cardiac apex and border zone following apical resection, which was accompanied with increased cardiomyocyte proliferation activity. In vitro, knocking down Cdh2 or inhibition of N-cadherin activity with exherin in P1CM significantly reduced the proliferative activity of cardiomyocytes, whereas overexpression of Cdh2 markedly increased the proliferation of P1CM. In addition, forced expression of Cdh2 resulted in significant upregulation of multiple cell cycle genes, including Ccnd1 (Cyclin D1) and Pcna (proliferating cell nuclear antigen), in P1CM. In vivo inhibition of N-cadherin in P1 neonatal mice with exherin following apical resection impaired cardiac regeneration and increased scar formation (Figure). Knocking down CDH2 in human iPSC-CMs significantly reduced the proliferative activity and the expression levels of cell cycle gene CCND1 in iPSC-CMs. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that the pro-mitotic effects of N-cadherin in cardiomyocytes were mediated, at least partially, by stabilizing β-catenin, a pro-mitotic transcription factor, through direct interaction with its cytoplasmic domain and/or inactivation of GSK3β, a critical component of β-catenin destruction complex.
N-Cad blocker impairs heart regeneration
Conclusion
Our study uncovered a previously unrecognized role of Cdh2 (N-cadherin) in cardiomyocyte proliferation and cardiac regeneration. Enhancing cardiac expression or activity of N-cadherin, therefore, could be a potential novel therapeutic approach to promote cardiac regeneration and restore cardiac function in adult heart following injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y S Tseng
- National Taiwan University, Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - M Y You
- National Taiwan University, Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Y C Hsu
- National Taiwan University, Department and Graduate Institute of Pharmacology, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - K C Yang
- National Taiwan University Hospital, Division of cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
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19
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Lin CW, Lin HY, Lo YC, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Chen YL, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF. Alterations in white matter microstructure and regional volume are related to motor functions in boys with autism spectrum disorder. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2019; 90:76-83. [PMID: 30452942 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2018.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Altered inter-regional structural connectivity related to higher cognitive functions has been commonly reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, whether these alterations similarly involve cortico-cerebellar motor circuitries remains largely elusive. METHODS Using a cross-modality approach accounting for in-scanner motion levels, we investigated white matter (WM) properties in motor circuits of 55 boys with ASD (aged 8-18 years) and 68 age-matched typically developing boys. Regional WM volumes in the primary motor, supplementary motor, somatosensory, and cerebellar areas were investigated using voxel-based morphometry. Diffusion spectrum imaging tractography was used to estimate WM integrity of the corticospinal, cortico-ponto-cerebellar (including fronto-ponto-cerebellar and parieto-ponto-cerebellar), and dentato-rubro-thalamo-cortical tracts. The reaction time test in the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery was used to assess motor performances. RESULTS Boys with ASD had shorter movement time, increased WM volumes in the left somatosensory area, but decreased generalized fractional anisotropy value in the left parieto-ponto-cerebellar tract, compared to controls. A positive correlation between movement time and microstructural properties of the left parieto-ponto-cerebellar tract was found in boys with ASD. CONCLUSIONS As the first study to demonstrate altered WM properties in the left somatosensory area, and its descending pathway connecting to the cerebellum in ASD, current results may highlight a potential new target of interventions for motor performance in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Wei Lin
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
| | - Hsiang-Yuan Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Lung Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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20
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Koh CL, Tang PF, Chen HI, Hsu YC, Hsieh CL, Tseng WYI. Impaired Callosal Motor Fiber Integrity and Upper Extremity Motor Impairment Are Associated With Stroke Lesion Location. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2019; 32:602-612. [PMID: 30016930 DOI: 10.1177/1545968318779730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Damage to the callosal motor fibers (CMFs) may affect motor recovery in patients with stroke. However, whether the severity of CMF impairment varies with lesion locations remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate (1) whether CMF impairment occurs after stroke and whether the impairment varies with lesion locations and (2) the associations of CMF impairment and upper extremity (UE) motor impairment. METHODS Twenty-nine patients with lesions involving the corticospinal tract (CST) were categorized into 2 groups: lesions involving the CMFs (CMF group, n = 15), and lesions not involving the CMFs (non-CMF group, n = 14). Thirteen healthy adults served as the control group. Tract integrity, assessed by the mean generalized fractional anisotropy (mGFA) using diffusion spectrum imaging, of the CMFs and the CST above the internal capsule (CSTABOVE) of the ipsilesional hemisphere were compared. RESULTS After accounting for the effect of lesion load on the CST, the CMF group exhibited a significantly lower mGFA of the CMFs than did the control and non-CMF groups (post hoc P = .005 and .001, respectively). No significant difference was observed between the non-CMF and control groups (post hoc P = .999). The CST and CMF impairment accounted for 56% of the variance of UE motor impairment in the CMF group ( P = .007), whereas no significant association was observed in the non-CMF group ( P = .570). CONCLUSIONS CMF impairment after stroke depends on lesion locations and CMF integrity has an incremental contribution to the severity of UE motor impairment in the CMF group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Lin Koh
- 1 National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,2 Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Pei-Fang Tang
- 1 National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,3 National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | | | | | - Ching-Lin Hsieh
- 1 National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,3 National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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21
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Sobczak-Edmans M, Lo YC, Hsu YC, Chen YJ, Kwok FY, Chuang KH, Tseng WYI, Chen SHA. Cerebro-Cerebellar Pathways for Verbal Working Memory. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 12:530. [PMID: 30670957 PMCID: PMC6333010 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The current study examined the structural and functional connectivity of the cerebro-cerebellar network of verbal working memory as proposed by Chen and Desmond (2005a). Diffusion spectrum imaging was employed to establish structural connectivity between cerebro-cerebellar regions co-activated during a verbal working memory task. The inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, pons, thalamus, superior cerebellum and inferior cerebellum were used as regions of interest to reconstruct and segment the contralateral white matter cerebro-cerebellar circuitry. The segmented pathways were examined further to establish the relationship between structural and effective connectivity as well as the relationship between structural connectivity and verbal working memory performance. No direct relationship between structural and effective connectivity was found but the results demonstrated that structural connectivity is indirectly related to effective connectivity as DCM models that resembled more closely with underlying white matter pathways had a higher degree of model inference confidence. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the structural connectivity of the ponto-cerebellar tract was associated with individual differences in response time for verbal working memory. The findings of the study contribute to further our understanding of the relationship between structural and functional connectivity and the impact of variability in verbal working memory performance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Graduate Institute of Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Fu Yu Kwok
- Centre for Research in Child Development, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kai-Hsiang Chuang
- The Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,The Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - S H Annabel Chen
- Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Centre for Research and Development in Learning, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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22
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Lo YC, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Chien YL, Gau SSF, Tseng WYI. Altered frontal aslant tracts as a heritable neural basis of social communication deficits in autism spectrum disorder: A sibling study using tract-based automatic analysis. Autism Res 2018; 12:225-238. [PMID: 30548800 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Investigating social behaviors and brain structural alterations in unaffected siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may help identify intermediate phenotypes of social communication deficits in ASD. This study hypothesized that such intermediate phenotypes could be identified in white matter tracts of the social communication model that exhibited reduced tract integrity and associations with social communication deficits. Boys with ASD (N = 30), unaffected male siblings (N = 27), and typically developing (TD) boys (N = 30) underwent clinical evaluation and MRI scanning. Group differences in generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) values, a white matter integrity index derived from diffusion MRI data, and the relationships of GFA with the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/4-18) scores were investigated. Significant differences were found in the GFA values of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) among the three groups, with the decreasing order of GFA from TD to siblings to ASD. The GFA values of the FAT were associated with the social communication scores (on the SRS) in the sibling group, and those of the superior longitudinal fasciculus III were associated with the social problems scores (on the CBCL/4-18) in the boys with ASD. Due to the altered tract integrity and association with social communication deficits in the unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD, the FAT might be a heritable neural basis for social communication deficits of ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 225-238 © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of highly heritable disorders with social communication deficits as one of the core symptoms. This study aimed to identify a neural trait of social communication deficits in individuals with ASD. We investigated brain structural alterations and their associations with social communication scores in unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD. The siblings' frontal aslant tract was found to be impaired, and this tract showed a significant association with the social communication scores. Our findings support that the frontal aslant tract might be a potential neural trait of social communication deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Research Center of Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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23
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Wu MT, Tang PF, Goh JOS, Chou TL, Chang YK, Hsu YC, Chen YJ, Chen NC, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF, Chiu MJ, Lan C. Task-Switching Performance Improvements After Tai Chi Chuan Training Are Associated With Greater Prefrontal Activation in Older Adults. Front Aging Neurosci 2018; 10:280. [PMID: 30319391 PMCID: PMC6165861 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies have shown that Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) training has benefits on task-switching ability. However, the neural correlates underlying the effects of TCC training on task-switching ability remain unclear. Using task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a numerical Stroop paradigm, we investigated changes of prefrontal brain activation and behavioral performance during task-switching before and after TCC training and examined the relationships between changes in brain activation and task-switching behavioral performance. Cognitively normal older adults were randomly assigned to either the TCC or control (CON) group. Over a 12-week period, the TCC group received three 60-min sessions of Yang-style TCC training weekly, whereas the CON group only received one telephone consultation biweekly and did not alter their life style. All participants underwent assessments of physical functions and neuropsychological functions of task-switching, and fMRI scans, before and after the intervention. Twenty-six (TCC, N = 16; CON, N = 10) participants completed the entire experimental procedure. We found significant group by time interaction effects on behavioral and brain activation measures. Specifically, the TCC group showed improved physical function, decreased errors on task-switching performance, and increased left superior frontal activation for Switch > Non-switch contrast from pre- to post-intervention, that were not seen in the CON group. Intriguingly, TCC participants with greater prefrontal activation increases in the switch condition from pre- to post-intervention presented greater reductions in task-switching errors. These findings suggest that TCC training could potentially provide benefits to some, although not all, older adults to enhance the function of their prefrontal activations during task-switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Tien Wu
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Yonghe Cardinal Tien Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Fang Tang
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Joshua O. S. Goh
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Li Chou
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Kai Chang
- Department of Physical Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Nai-Chi Chen
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Jang Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching Lan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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24
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Tsai TH, Su HT, Hsu YC, Shih YC, Chen CC, Hu FR, Tseng WYI. White matter microstructural alterations in amblyopic adults revealed by diffusion spectrum imaging with systematic tract-based automatic analysis. Br J Ophthalmol 2018; 103:511-516. [PMID: 29844086 PMCID: PMC6691873 DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2017-311733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2017] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Background/aim We investigated the microstructural changes in white matter of adults with amblyopia using diffusion spectrum imaging with systematic tract-based automatic analysis of the whole brain. Methods Ten adults with amblyopia (six women and four men, 33.6±10.6 years old on average) and 20 age- and sex-matched normal-sighted controls were enrolled. The mean generalised fractional anisotropy (GFA) was measured in 76 white matter tracts and compared between the experimental and control groups using a threshold-free cluster-weighted method and t-test. A 2-percentile cut-off was used to identify segments with the greatest differences between the two groups. Results Participants with amblyopia had significantly lower GFA values than the controls in 11 segments located in nine white matter tracts, which included the following: left arcuate fasciculus, left frontal aslant tract, left fornix and left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus of the association fibres; left thalamic radiations of the auditory nerve and bilateral optic radiations of the projection fibres; and genu and middle temporal gyrus of the callosal fibres. Amblyopic participants had statistically higher GFA values in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus than those of the controls. Conclusion This preliminary study using whole-brain tractographic analysis of white matter reveals association between abnormal early visual processing and alterations in brain architecture, which may be related to various higher-level deficits, such as audiovisual integration and hand−eye coordination in patients with amblyopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzu-Hsun Tsai
- Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsien-Te Su
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chia Shih
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Chung Chen
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University College of Science, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Fung-Rong Hu
- Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan .,Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan .,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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25
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Fan LY, Lai YM, Chen TF, Hsu YC, Chen PY, Huang KZ, Cheng TW, Tseng WYI, Hua MS, Chen YF, Chiu MJ. Diminution of context association memory structure in subjects with subjective cognitive decline. Hum Brain Mapp 2018. [PMID: 29516634 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) progresses insidiously from the preclinical stage to dementia. While people with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) have normal cognitive performance, some may be in the preclinical stage of AD. Neurofibrillary tangles appear first in the transentorhinal cortex, followed by the entorhinal cortex in the clinically silent stage of AD. We expected the earliest changes in subjects with SCD to occur in medial temporal subfields other than the hippocampal proper. These selective structural changes would affect specific memory subcomponents. We used the Family Picture subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III, which was modified to separately compute character, activity, and location subscores for episodic memory subcomponents. We recruited 43 subjects with SCD, 44 subjects with amnesic mild cognitive impairment, and 34 normal controls. MRI was used to assess cortical thickness, subcortical gray matter volume, and fractional anisotropy. The results demonstrated that SCD subjects showed significant cortical atrophy in their bilateral parahippocampus and perirhinal and the left entorhinal cortices but not in their hippocampal regions. SCD subjects also exhibited significantly decreased mean fractional anisotropy in their bilateral uncinate fasciculi. The diminution of cortical thickness over the mesial temporal subfields corresponded to brain areas with early tangle deposition, and early degradation of the uncinate fasciculus was in accordance with the retrogenesis hypothesis. The parahippocampus and perirhinal cortex contribute mainly to context association memory while the entorhinal cortex, along with the uncinate fasciculus, contributes to content-related contextual memory. We proposed that context association and related memory structures are vulnerable in the SCD stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ling-Yun Fan
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Mei Lai
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Clinical Psychology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ta-Fu Chen
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pin-Yu Chen
- Graduate Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Zhou Huang
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Wen Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yi Isaac Tseng
- Graduate Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Mau-Sun Hua
- Department of Psychology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Fang Chen
- Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Jang Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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26
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Huang JY, Liu CM, Hwang TJ, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Hwu HG, Lin YT, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Chien YL, Tseng WYI. Shared and distinct alterations of white matter tracts in remitted and nonremitted patients with schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:2007-2019. [PMID: 29377322 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia do not usually achieve remission state even after adequate antipsychotics treatment. Previous studies found significant difference in white matter integrity between patients with good outcomes and those with poor outcomes, but difference is still unclear at individual tract level. This study aimed to use a systematic approach to identify the tracts that were associated with remission state in patients with schizophrenia. We evaluated 91 patients with schizophrenia (remitted, 50; nonremitted, 41) and 50 healthy controls through diffusion spectrum imaging. White matter tract integrity was assessed through an automatic tract-specific analysis method to determine the mean generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) values of the 76 white matter tract bundles in each participant. Analysis of covariance among the 3 groups revealed 12 tracts that were significantly different in GFA values. Post-hoc analysis showed that compared with the healthy controls, the nonremission group had reduced integrity in all 12 tracts, whereas the remission group had reduced integrity in only 4 tracts. Comparison between the remission and nonremission groups revealed 4 tracts with significant difference (i.e., the right fornix, bilateral uncinate fasciculi, and callosal fibers connecting the temporal poles) even after adjusting age, sex, education year, illness duration, and medication dose. Furthermore, all the 4 tracts were correlated with negative symptoms scores of the positive and negative syndrome scale. In conclusion, our study identified the tracts that were associated with remission state of schizophrenia. These tracts might be a potential prognostic marker for the symptomatic remission in patients with schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Ying Huang
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, Wei Gong Memorial Hospital, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Tin Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Hsien Hsieh
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Chung Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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27
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Chen YJ, Liu CM, Hsu YC, Lo YC, Hwang TJ, Hwu HG, Lin YT, Tseng WYI. Individualized prediction of schizophrenia based on the whole-brain pattern of altered white matter tract integrity. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:575-587. [PMID: 29080229 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2017] [Revised: 10/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A schizophrenia diagnosis relies on characteristic symptoms identified by trained physicians, and is thus prone to subjectivity. This study developed a procedure for the individualized prediction of schizophrenia based on whole-brain patterns of altered white matter tract integrity. METHODS The study comprised training (108 patients and 144 controls) and testing (60 patients and 60 controls) groups. Male and female participants were comparable in each group and were analyzed separately. All participants underwent diffusion spectrum imaging of the head, and the data were analyzed using the tract-based automatic analysis method to generate a standardized two-dimensional array of white matter tract integrity, called the connectogram. Unique patterns in the connectogram that most accurately identified schizophrenia were systematically reviewed in the training group. Then, the diagnostic performance of the patterns was individually verified in the testing group by using receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS The performance was high in men (accuracy = 0.85) and satisfactory in women (accuracy = 0.75). In men, the pattern was located in discrete fiber tracts, as has been consistently reported in the literature; by contrast, the pattern was widespread over all tracts in women. These distinct patterns suggest that there is a higher variability in the microstructural alterations in female patients than in male patients. CONCLUSIONS The individualized prediction of schizophrenia is feasible based on the different whole-brain patterns of tract integrity. The optimal masks and their corresponding regions in the fiber tracts could serve as potential imaging biomarkers for schizophrenia. Hum Brain Mapp 39:575-587, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute for Neural Regenerative Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Tin Lin
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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Chien YL, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF. Altered white-matter integrity in unaffected siblings of probands with autism spectrum disorders. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:6053-6067. [PMID: 28940697 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the evidence of altered white-matter tract property in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about their unaffected siblings. This study aimed to investigate white-matter integrity in unaffected siblings of ASD probands. Thirty-nine unaffected siblings (mean age 15.6 ± 6.0 years; 27 males, 69.2%) and 39 typically developing controls (TDC) (14.2 ± 5.6 years; 26 males, 66.7%) were assessed with diffusion spectrum images and neuropsychological tests. Using the tract-based automatic analysis and the threshold-free cluster weighted (TFCW) scores, we searched for the segments among 76 tracts with the largest difference over the entire brain compared to TDC. Tract integrity was quantified by calculating the mean generalized fractional anisotropy (mGFA) values of the segments with the largest difference in TFCW scores. Unaffected siblings showed reduced mGFA in the bilateral frontal aslant tracts, the right superior longitudinal fasciculus 2 (SLF2), the frontostriatal tracts from the right dorsolateral and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortices, the thalamic radiations of the left ventral and the right dorsal thalamus, the callosal fibers of the splenium, and the increased mGFA of the callosal fibers of the precuneus and the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Among these, reduced right SLF2 mGFA was associated with social awareness deficits; impaired frontostriatal tract was associated with internalizing problems, while right frontal aslant tract integrity was associated with visual memory deficits. In conclusion, unaffected siblings showed the aberrant integrity of several white-matter tracts, which were correlated with clinical symptoms and neurocognitive dysfunction. The altered tract integrity could be further examined in the probands with ASD. Hum Brain Mapp 38:6053-6067, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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29
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Lo YC, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Tseng WYI, Gau SSF. Reduced tract integrity of the model for social communication is a neural substrate of social communication deficits in autism spectrum disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:576-585. [PMID: 27677901 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with social communication deficits as one of the core symptoms. Recently, a five-level model for the social communication has been proposed in which white matter tracts corresponding to each level of the model are identified. Given that the model for social communication subserves social language functions, we hypothesized that the tract integrity of the model for social communication may be reduced in ASD, and the reduction may be related to social communication deficits. METHODS Sixty-two right-handed boys with ASD and 55 typically developing (TD) boys received clinical evaluations, intelligence tests, the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and MRI scans. Generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) was measured by diffusion spectrum imaging to indicate the microstructural integrity of the tracts for each level of the social communication model. Group difference in the tract integrity and its relationship with the SCQ subscales of social communication and social interaction were investigated. RESULTS We found that the GFA values of the superior longitudinal fasciculus III (SLF III, level 1) and the frontal aslant tracts (FAT, level 2) were decreased in ASD compared to TD. Moreover, the GFA values of the SLF III and the FAT were associated with the social interaction subscale in ASD. CONCLUSIONS The tract integrity of the model for social communication is reduced in ASD, and the reduction is associated with impaired social interaction. Our results support that reduced tract integrity of the model for social communication might be a neural substrate of social communication deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,The Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
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30
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Wu CH, Hwang TJ, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Lo YC, Liu CM, Hwu HG, Liu CC, Hsieh MH, Chien YL, Chen CM, Isaac Tseng WY. Primary and secondary alterations of white matter connectivity in schizophrenia: A study on first-episode and chronic patients using whole-brain tractography-based analysis. Schizophr Res 2015; 169:54-61. [PMID: 26443482 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.09.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2015] [Revised: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that is associated with an impaired connection of cerebral white matter. Studies on patients with chronic and first-episode schizophrenia have found widespread white matter abnormalities. However, it is unclear whether the altered connections are inherent in or secondary to the disease. Here, we sought to identify white matter tracts with altered connections and to distinguish primary or secondary alterations among 74 fiber tracts across the whole brain using an automatic tractography-based analysis method. Thirty-one chronic, 25 first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls were recruited to receive diffusion spectrum magnetic resonance imaging at 3T. Seven tracts were found to exhibit significant differences between the groups; they included the right arcuate fasciculus, bilateral fornices, left superior longitudinal fasciculus I, and fibers of the corpus callosum to the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), bilateral temporal poles, and bilateral hippocampi. Post-hoc between-group analyses revealed that the connection of the callosal fibers to the bilateral DLPFC was significantly decreased in chronic patients but not in first-episode patients. In a stepwise regression analysis, the decline of the tract connection was significantly predicted by the duration of illness. In contrast, the remaining six tracts showed significant alterations in both first-episode and chronic patients and did not associate with clinical variables. In conclusion, reduced white matter connectivity of the callosal fibers to the bilateral DLPFC may be a secondary change that degrades progressively in the chronic stage, whereas alterations in the other six tracts may be inherent in the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Hao Wu
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Chen-Chung Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming H Hsieh
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Ming Chen
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Medical Device and Imaging, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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31
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Hsu YC, Lo YC, Chen YJ, Wedeen VJ, Isaac Tseng WY. NTU-DSI-122: A diffusion spectrum imaging template with high anatomical matching to the ICBM-152 space. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3528-41. [PMID: 26095830 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Revised: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A diffusion-weighted (DW) template in a standard coordinate system is often necessary for the analysis of white matter (WM) structures using DW images. Although several DW templates have been constructed in the ICBM-152 space, a template for diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) is still lacking. In this study, we developed a DSI template in the ICBM-152 space from 122 healthy adults. This high quality template, NTU-DSI-122, was built through incorporating the macroscopic anatomical information using high-resolution T1 -weighted images and the microscopic structural information obtained from DSI datasets. Two evaluations were conducted to examine the quality of NTU-DSI-122. The first evaluation examined the anatomical consistency of NTU-DSI-122 in matching to the ICBM-152 coordinate system. The results showed that this template matched to the ICBM-152 templates very well across the whole brain, not only in the deep white matter regions as other DW templates but also in the superficial white matter regions. In the second evaluation, a large number of independent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) datasets were registered to the DTI template derived from NTU-DSI-122. The examination was performed by quantifying the anatomical consistency among the registered DTI datasets. The results showed that using NTU-DSI-122 as the registration template the registered DTI datasets can achieve high anatomical alignment. Both evaluations demonstrate that NTU-DSI-122 is a useful high quality DW template. Therefore, NTU-DSI-122 can serve as a representative DSI dataset for a healthy adult population, and will be of potential value for brain research and clinical applications. The NTU-DSI-122 template is available at http://www.nitrc.org/projects/ntu-dsi-122/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yung-Chin Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Medical Devices and Imaging System, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Graduate Institute of Medical Devices and Imaging System, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Graduate Institute of Medical Devices and Imaging System, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Van Jay Wedeen
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School and the MGH/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Athinoula a. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Graduate Institute of Medical Devices and Imaging System, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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32
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Chen YJ, Lo YC, Hsu YC, Fan CC, Hwang TJ, Liu CM, Chien YL, Hsieh MH, Liu CC, Hwu HG, Tseng WYI. Automatic whole brain tract-based analysis using predefined tracts in a diffusion spectrum imaging template and an accurate registration strategy. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:3441-58. [PMID: 26046781 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2014] [Revised: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Automated tract-based analysis of diffusion MRI is an important tool for investigating tract integrity of the cerebral white matter. Current template-based automatic analyses still lack a comprehensive list of tract atlas and an accurate registration method. In this study, tract-based automatic analysis (TBAA) was developed to meet the demands. Seventy-six major white matter tracts were reconstructed on a high-quality diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) template, and an advanced two-step registration strategy was proposed by incorporating anatomical information of the gray matter from T1-weighted images in addition to microstructural information of the white matter from diffusion-weighted images. The automatic analysis was achieved by establishing a transformation between the DSI template and DSI dataset of the subject derived from the registration strategy. The tract coordinates in the template were transformed to native space in the individual's DSI dataset, and the microstructural properties of major tract bundles were sampled stepwise along the tract coordinates of the subject's DSI dataset. In a validation study of eight well-known tracts, our results showed that TBAA had high geometric agreement with manual tracts in both deep and superficial parts but significantly smaller measurement variability than manual method in functional difference. Additionally, the feasibility of the method was demonstrated by showing tracts with altered microstructural properties in patients with schizophrenia. Fifteen major tract bundles were found to have significant differences after controlling the family-wise error rate. In conclusion, the proposed TBAA method is potentially useful in brain-wise investigations of white matter tracts, particularly for a large cohort study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Jen Chen
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Chieh Fan
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ling Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ming H Hsieh
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chen-Chung Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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33
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Chien HY, Gau SSF, Hsu YC, Chen YJ, Lo YC, Shih YC, Tseng WYI. Altered Cortical Thickness and Tract Integrity of the Mirror Neuron System and Associated Social Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2015; 8:694-708. [PMID: 25820746 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Accepted: 02/28/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies using neural activity recording and neuroimaging techniques have reported functional deficits in the mirror neuron system (MNS) for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, a few studies focusing on gray and white matter structures of the MNS have yielded inconsistent results. The current study recruited adolescents and young adults with ASD (aged 15-26 years) and age-matched typically developing (TD) controls (aged 14-25 years). The cortical thickness (CT) and microstructural integrity of the tracts connecting the regions forming the classical MNS were investigated. High-resolution T1-weighted imaging and diffusion spectrum imaging were performed to quantify the CT and tract integrity, respectively. The structural covariance of the CT of the MNS regions revealed a weaker coordination of the MNS network in ASD. A strong correlation was found between the integrity of the right frontoparietal tracts and the social communication subscores measured by the Chinese version of the Social Communication Questionnaire. The results showed that there were no significant mean differences in the CTs and tract integrity between the ASD and TD groups, but revealed a moderate or even reverse age effect on the frontal MNS structures in ASD. In conclusion, aberrant structural coordination may be an underlying factor affecting the function of the MNS in ASD patients. The association between the right frontoparietal tracts and social communication performance implies a neural correlate of communication processing in the autistic brain. This study provides evidence of abnormal MNS structures and their influence on social communication in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiang-Yun Chien
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Susan Shur-Fen Gau
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Jen Chen
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lo
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Chia Shih
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Center for Optoelectronic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Molecular Imaging Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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34
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Wu CH, Hwang TJ, Chen PJ, Chou TL, Hsu YC, Liu CM, Wang HL, Chen CM, Hua MS, Hwu HG, Tseng WYI. Reduced structural integrity and functional lateralization of the dorsal language pathway correlate with hallucinations in schizophrenia: a combined diffusion spectrum imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Psychiatry Res 2014; 224:303-10. [PMID: 25241043 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2014.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2013] [Revised: 06/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/15/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that structural and functional alterations of the language network are associated with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in schizophrenia. However, the ways in which the underlying structure and function of the network are altered and how these alterations are related to each other remain unclear. To elucidate this, we used diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) to reconstruct the dorsal and ventral pathways and employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a semantic task to obtain information about the functional activation in the corresponding regions in 18 patients with schizophrenia and 18 matched controls. The results demonstrated decreased structural integrity in the left ventral, right ventral and right dorsal tracts, and decreased functional lateralization of the dorsal pathway in schizophrenia. There was a positive correlation between the microstructural integrity of the right dorsal pathway and the functional lateralization of the dorsal pathway in patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, both functional lateralization of the dorsal pathway and microstructural integrity of the right dorsal pathway were negatively correlated with the scores of the delusion/hallucination symptom dimension. Our results suggest that impaired structural integrity of the right dorsal pathway is related to the reduction of functional lateralization of the dorsal pathway, and these alterations may aggravate AVHs in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Hao Wu
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tzung-Jeng Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Pin-Jane Chen
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tai-Li Chou
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Yung-Chin Hsu
- Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Min Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsiao-Lan Wang
- Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Ming Chen
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Mau-Sun Hua
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hai-Gwo Hwu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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35
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Hsu YC, Hsu CH, Tseng WYI. Correction for susceptibility-induced distortion in echo-planar imaging using field maps and model-based point spread function. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 2009; 28:1850-1857. [PMID: 19605319 DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2009.2026474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Susceptibility-induced distortion is one of the major artifacts in echo-planar imaging (EPI), and many solutions have been proposed for the problem, including the Fourier method and the point spread function (PSF) method. In this paper, a framework unifying both methods is presented. Under this framework, a model-based PSF method is proposed in which the PSF of the source object is modeled along with a single field map measured by TE-offset reference scans. EPI images of a phantom and a healthy human subject were acquired, and the results of distortion correction by the Fourier method, linear interpolation method, and the model-based PSF method were compared. The results showed that the model-based PSF method could correct for geometric distortion and signal intensity distortion satisfactorily, avoiding the rippling artifact shown in the Fourier method. In conclusion, the proposed framework gave us an overall picture of how different correction methods work. The model-based PSF method, which required fewer reference scans and less computational load, was more clinically feasible than other methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yung-Chin Hsu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsin-Chu 300, Taiwan.
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36
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Cheng PL, Choi SH, Hsu YC. Hoffa fracture: should precautions be taken during fixation and rehabilitation? Hong Kong Med J 2009; 15:385-387. [PMID: 19801698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
A coronal fracture of a femoral condyle (Hoffa fracture) is an unusual injury and there are only a handful of reports discussing it. We report a case of a 52-year-old worker who fell from a height, suffering lower limb injuries, including a Hoffa fracture with comminution, and had problems with malunion during the postoperative period. Clinicians should be aware that rehabilitation programmes need to be tailored to the method of fixation used to manage this uncommon fracture pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- P L Cheng
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Laichikok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
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37
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Hsu YC, Cheng YJ. Upper and lower extremity regional haemoglobin oxygen saturation in spinal anaesthesia. Anaesthesia 2009; 64:456-7. [PMID: 19317727 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2044.2009.05909.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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38
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Wang CC, Hsu YC, Su FC, Lu SC, Lee TM. Effects of passivation treatments on titanium alloy with nanometric scale roughness and induced changes in fibroblast initial adhesion evaluated by a cytodetacher. J Biomed Mater Res A 2009; 88:370-83. [PMID: 18306287 DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.31604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Passivation treatments of titanium alloy alter not only its nanosurface characteristics of oxides and ion release but also surface roughness (Ra), and wettability as well, where nanosurface characteristics of oxides include chemistries of oxides, amphoteric-OH groups adsorbed on oxides, and oxide thickness. Consequently, the passivation treatment affects the alloy's cyto-comparability. In this study, we polish specimens to achieve nanometric scale roughness. In addition, treatment effects are evaluated for surface topology, roughness, wettability, and responses of fibroblasts consisting of MTT assay, initial adhesion strength, and morphology. The initial adhesion strength is measured using a cyto-detacher that achieves nano-Newton resolution. Results reveal that (1) the treatment effects on the percentage of Ti--OH basic groups and wettability are nearly collinear; (2) the Ra of passivated Ti-6Al-4V ranges from 1.9 to 7.4 nm; (3) the initial adhesion strength of fibroblast ranges from 58 to 143 nN, and it is negatively correlated to the Ra; (4) the passivation results in distinguishable morphologies, which further substantiate the negative correlation between cell initial adhesion force and Ra; and (5) our results fall short of confirming previous reports that found positively charged functional groups promoting fibroblast attachment and spread. Potential causes of the inconsistency are addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C-C Wang
- Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
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Wang CC, Hsu YC, Hsieh MC, Yang SP, Su FC, Lee TM. Effects of nano-surface properties on initial osteoblast adhesion and Ca/P adsorption ability for titanium alloys. Nanotechnology 2008; 19:335709. [PMID: 21730635 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/33/335709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Titanium alloys (Ti6Al4V), while subjected to high temperature surface treatment, experience altered nano-surface characteristics. The effects of such surface treatments are examined, including the initial adhesion force experienced by osteoblasts, the Ca/P adsorption capability, and the nano-surface properties, including the amounts of amphoteric Ti-OH groups, surface topography, and surface roughness. The initial adhesion force is considered a quantitative indicator of cyto-compatibility in vitro. Previously, a cyto-detacher was applied in a pioneer attempt measuring the initial adhesion force of fibroblasts on a metal surface. Presently, the cyto-detacher is further applied to evaluate the initial adhesion force of osteoblasts. Results reveal that (1) titanium alloys subjected to heat treatment could promote the adsorption capability of Ca and P; (2) titanium alloys subjected to heat treatment could have higher initial osteoblast adhesion forces; (3) the adhesion strength of osteoblasts, ranging from 38.5 to 58.9 nN (nanonewtons), appears stronger for rougher surfaces. It is concluded that the heat treatment could have impacted the biocompatibility in terms of the initial osteoblast adhesion force and Ca/P adsorption capability.
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Affiliation(s)
- C C Wang
- Institute of Manufacturing Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
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Hsu YC, Cheng HC, Ng TP, Chiu KY. Antibiotic-loaded cement articulating spacer for 2-stage reimplantation in infected total knee arthroplasty: a simple and economic method. J Arthroplasty 2007; 22:1060-6. [PMID: 17920482 DOI: 10.1016/j.arth.2007.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2007] [Accepted: 04/26/2007] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
We presented a simple and economic method of preparing articulating antibiotic-loaded cement spacers for treatment of infection after total knee arthroplasty. From 1996 to 2004, 28 infected total knee arthroplasties were treated with 2-stage reimplantation. Static spacers were used in 7 knees, and articulating spacers were used in 21 knees. A minimum of 2 years' follow-up after final treatment was evaluated. In the static group, 1 (14%) knee had recurrence of infection. In the articulating group, 2 (9%) knees had recurrence of infection with the original organism. Patients receiving articulating spacer had better range of motion, better knee score, and less bone loss than patients with static spacer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Hsu
- Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, United Christian Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Abstract
1. Free radicals mediate cerebral ischaemic injury associated with heatstroke. Magnolol, an active component of Magnolia officinalis, is 1000-fold more potent than alpha-tocopherol in inhibiting lipid peroxidation in rat mitochondria. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether magnolol attenuated cerebral ischaemic injury and free radical formation associated with heatstroke. 2. Urethane-anaesthetized rats were exposed to heat stress (ambient temperature 42 degrees C) to induce heatstroke. Controlled rats were exposed to 24 degrees C. Mean arterial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure and cerebral blood flow after the onset of heatstroke were all significantly lower than in control rats. However, colonic temperature, intracranial pressure, heart rate, cerebral free radicals, lipid peroxidation and the neuronal damage score were greater after the onset of heatstroke. 3. Magnolol (20 or 40 mg/kg, i.v.) significantly attenuated the heatstroke-induced hyperthermia, arterial hypotension, intracranial hypertension, cerebral ischaemia and neuronal damage and increased free radical formation and lipid peroxidation in the brain. The extracellular concentrations of ischaemic (e.g. glutamate and lactate/pyruvate ratio) and damage (e.g. glycerol) markers in the corpus striatum were increased after the onset of heatstroke. Magnolol significantly attenuated the increase in striatal ischaemia and damage markers associated with heatstroke. 4. Thus, it appears that magnolol has impressive effects against heatstroke reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C P Chang
- Institute of Physiology, National Yang-Ming University, School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Abstract
The effects of the consumption of flea faeces and non-viable eggs on larval development in the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) were investigated. Only 13.3% of larvae developed into adults when fed a diet of male or female flea faeces alone; however, 90% of larvae developed into adults when fed on flea faeces supplemented with non-viable flea eggs. When fed with non-viable eggs alone, larvae did not develop into adults. Nevertheless, non-viable eggs may provide critical supplemental nutrients, lacking in flea faeces and required for larval development. None of the larvae fed on flea faeces or non-viable eggs alone formed a cocoon. A diet of flea faeces alone significantly extended the second as well as third larval stadia compared to larvae fed on diets containing non-viable eggs. It is suggested that the cannibalism of fertile eggs may limit population growth in the cat flea.
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Affiliation(s)
- M H Hsu
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Peng CA, Hsu YC. Fluoroalkylated polyethylene glycol as potential surfactant for perfluorocarbon emulsion. Artif Cells Blood Substit Immobil Biotechnol 2001; 29:483-92. [PMID: 11795633 DOI: 10.1081/bio-100108552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
So far, perfluorocarbon (PFC) emulsions have been manufactured based mainly on two surfactants, Pluronic F-68 and egg yolk phospholipids (EYP) for clinical use. However, they have been documented to induce inflammatory or allergic responses when PFC emulsions were injected into human bloodstream. The cause of these side effects is associated with the phagocytosis of emulsified PFC microparticles by cells such as macrophages. In order to lessen the side effects, it is logic to develop surfactants, which are more phagocytosis-resistant and biocompatible. In this study, a perfluoroalkylated polyethylene glycol (R(F)-PEG) surfactant was synthesized by reacting perfluorooctanoyl chloride (C7F15COCl) with PEG of molecular weigh 8000. Both R(F)-PEG 8000 and EYP were used to make PFC emulsions separately by an ultrasonic homogenizer. Individual PFC emulsions were then incubated with mouse macrophage J774A.1 cells to examine the degree of phagocytosis. From microscopic observation of cell morphology, our results showed that the process of phagocytosis was retarded to a large extend using the R(F)-PEG surfactant. We also harnessed 19F-NMR to quantitatively detect the amount of PFC emulsions phagocytosed by J774A.1 cells. 19F-NMR result was consistent with the qualitative microscopic observation aforementioned.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Peng
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089-1211, USA.
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Hsu YC, Hamaguchi N, Chang YJ, Lin SW. The distinct roles that Gln-192 and Glu-217 of factor IX play in selectivity for macromolecular substrates and inhibitors. Biochemistry 2001; 40:11261-9. [PMID: 11551226 DOI: 10.1021/bi010262t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we report functional characterization of positions 192 and 217 (chymotrypsinogen numbering system) in human factor IX and discuss the distinction and similarity of these two sites among the blood coagulation factors. Recombinant factor IXQ192E (residue glutamine at position 192 replaced by glutamic acid), IXQ192K, IXE217D, and IXE217R proteins exhibited 11%, 46%, 39%, and 2% of the wild-type factor IX's clotting activity, respectively. Binding of these variants to factor VIIIa (FVIIIa) was inefficient compared to that of wild-type factor IX, and the dissociation constants doubled for IXQ192E, 3-fold higher for IXQ192K and 4-fold higher for both IXE217D and IXE217R. In the presence of FVIIIa, all variant factor IX hydrolyzed factor X at the catalytic efficiencies correlating with respective clotting activities. However, FVIIIa greatly enhanced the catalytic efficiency of both IXE217 variants to a greater extent (approximately 7 x 10(4)-fold) as compared to its effect on the wild-type factor IXa and the other two IXQ192 variants [by a factor of (1-2) x 10(4)]. Moreover, while both IXQ192 variants demonstrated small substrate selectivity similar to that of wild-type factor IXa, the selectivity of both IXE217 variants was greatly altered. Mutations at position 192 disturbed the interaction of factor IXa with physiological inhibitors. Although all variants formed an SDS-stable complex with antithrombin III (ATIII) equally well in the presence of heparin and were readily inhibited by ATIII in the absence of heparin, activated IXQ192K exhibited a slower stable complex formation with ATIII without heparin. On the other hand, only IXQ192E showed decreased interaction with TFPI. Our results demonstrate that positions 192 and 217 play different roles unique to factor IX in specifying the interaction of factor IX with substrates and inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Hsu
- Graduate Institute of Medical Technology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
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Chiu HC, Mau LW, Hsu YC, Chang JK. Postoperative 6-month and 1-year evaluation of health-related quality of life in total hip replacement patients. J Formos Med Assoc 2001; 100:461-5. [PMID: 11579611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE During the last decade, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been recognized as a principal outcome measure for total hip replacement (THR). However, most THR outcome studies in Taiwan have limited their assessments to the areas of pain relief and physical function. This study examined the effects of THR on quality of life. METHODS A longitudinal prospective study design was adopted. A total of 76 THR patients were enrolled. Disease specific (Harris Hip Score) and generic measures (SF-36) were determined before and after surgery. Postoperative evaluations were completed at 6 months and 1 year. Patient characteristics and related medical information were derived from chart data. RESULTS Significant improvement was found in HRQOL. This improvement was maintained at both 6-month and 1-year follow-up. Specifically, the mean Harris Hip Score improved from 44.7 to 88.9 at the 6-month postoperative evaluation, and further improved to 91.3 at the 1-year evaluation. In the SF-36, each domain of health status showed a significant improvement at 6-month and 1-year evaluations (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The results of the Harris Hip Score and the SF-36 showed that THR not only relieved physical pain but also enhanced all aspects of quality of life. In addition to pain relief and improved physical function, improvements in role limitations due to physical or emotional problems were also significant. These findings indicate that a general health survey should be combined with a disease-specific scoring system to assess THR outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- H C Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Public Health, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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Yang TC, Hsu YC, Wang SF. Phonological studies of the new gas-induced agitated reactor using computational fluid dynamics. Environ Technol 2001; 22:647-651. [PMID: 11482384 DOI: 10.1080/09593332208618245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
An ozone-induced agitated reactor has been found to be very effective in degrading industrial wastewater. However, the cost of the ozone generation as well as its short residence time in reactors has restricted its application in a commercial scale. An innovated gas-induced draft tube installed inside a conventional agitated reactor was proved to effectively retain the ozone in a reactor. The setup was demonstrated to significantly promote the ozone utilization rate up to 96% from the conventional rate of 60% above the onset speed. This work investigates the mixing mechanism of an innovated gas-induced reactor for the future scale-up design by using the technique of computational fluid dynamics. A three-dimensional flow model was proposed to compute the liquid-gas free surface as well as the flow patterns inside the reactor. The turbulent effects generated by two 45 degrees pitch-blade turbines were considered and the two phases mixing phenomena were also manipulated by the Eulerian-Eulerian techniques. The consistency of the free surface profiles and the fluid flow patterns proved a good agreement between computational results and the experimental observation.
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Affiliation(s)
- T C Yang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan
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Abstract
In the present study, the effectiveness of sheng-ji-san (SJS) in promoting the healing of pressure ulcers was evaluated. Thirty-two patients with pressure ulcers were divided into two groups. The treated group received routine medical care combined with SJS treatment and the control group received only routine medical care. After three weeks, the treated group showed a significant reduction in both surface area and depth grade, while the control group showed no significant change. The reduction ratio of the surface area of the ulcer and the effectiveness ratio for the treated group were significantly higher than for the control group. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis revealed that only the SJS treatment was significantly associated with the reduction of surface area and that the use of SJS could independently explain the observed high effectiveness ratio and a relatively high Odds Ratio of 9.539. These results indicate that SJS is effective in promoting the healing of pressure ulcers and should be considered as an adjuvant to routine therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Hsu
- Chi-Mei Foundation Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
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48
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Abstract
Perfluorocarbon emulsions have been considered as potential blood substitutes for years due to their high capacity of dissolving respiratory oxygen and carbon dioxide. However, they have been reported to associate with side effects (e.g., flu-like syndrome) after being injected into animal's bloodstream. The cause of these side effects is related to the phagocytosis of perfluorocarbon emulsions by cells (e.g., macrophages). Inspired by the approach of using polyethylene glycol (PEG) to camouflage liposomes, we synthesized a perfluoroalkylated PEG (R(F)-PEG) surfactant to provide steric hindrance for decreasing phagocytosis of perfluorocarbon emulsions. The R(F)-PEG surfactant along with Pluronic F-68 and egg yolk phospholipid mediated perfluorocarbon emulsions were incubated individually with J774A.1 macrophages to examine the degree of phagocytosis. 19F NMR studies were used to quantitatively determine the amount of perfluorocarbon emulsions phagocytosed by macrophages. Results showed that the degree of phagocytosis was diminished to a large extent for perfluorocarbon microparticles emulsified by the R(F)-PEG surfactant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y C Hsu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1211, USA
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Abstract
This study was designed to determine whether nutritional folate depletion exerts hepatic oxidative stress in relation to elevated plasma homocysteine. To mimic various extents of folate depletion status in vivo, male Wistar rats were fed an amino acid-defined diet containing either 8 (control), 2, 0.5, or 0 mg folic acid/kg diet. After a 4-wk feeding period, the plasma and hepatic folate concentrations of the rats decreased significantly with each decrement of dietary folate. Folate depletion did not significantly affect two major liver antioxidants: reduced glutathione and alpha-tocopherol. Conversely, folate depletion decreased Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities, but had no effect on catalase activity in liver homogenates. Lipid peroxidation products, as measured by thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, were significantly higher in livers of folate-depleted rats than in those of the controls. This occurrence of hepatic oxidative stress in folate-depleted rats was confirmed by demonstrating an increased susceptibility of livers of folate-depleted rats to lipid peroxidation induced by additional H2O2 or Fe(2+) treatments compared with the controls. Decreasing dietary folate intake resulted in graded increases in plasma homocysteine concentrations of folate-depleted rats. Elevated plasma homocysteine and decreased plasma and hepatic folate concentrations in folate-depleted rats were all strongly and significantly correlated with increased liver lipid peroxidation (/r/ > or = 0.58, P < 0.0003). These data demonstrate that folate depletion and elevated plasma homocysteine promote oxidative stress in rat livers.
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Affiliation(s)
- R F Huang
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Fu-Jen University, Hsin-Chuang, Taiwan, Republic of China.
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Chang SF, Netter HJ, Hildt E, Schuster R, Schaefer S, Hsu YC, Rang A, Will H. Duck hepatitis B virus expresses a regulatory HBx-like protein from a hidden open reading frame. J Virol 2001; 75:161-70. [PMID: 11119585 PMCID: PMC113909 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.75.1.161-170.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Duck hepatitis B viruses (DHBV), unlike mammalian hepadnaviruses, are thought to lack X genes, which encode transcription-regulatory proteins believed to contribute to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. A lack of association of chronic DHBV infection with hepatocellular carcinoma development supports this belief. Here, we demonstrate that DHBV genomes have a hidden open reading frame from which a transcription-regulatory protein, designated DHBx, is expressed both in vitro and in vivo. We show that DHBx enhances neither viral protein expression, intracellular DNA synthesis, nor virion production when assayed in the full-length genome context in LMH cells. However, similar to mammalian hepadnavirus X proteins, DHBx activates cellular and viral promoters via the Raf-mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and localizes primarily in the cytoplasm. The functional similarities as well as the weak sequence homologies of DHBx and the X proteins of mammalian hepadnaviruses strongly suggest a common ancestry of ortho- and avihepadnavirus X genes. In addition, our data disclose similar intracellular localization and transcription regulatory functions of the corresponding proteins, raise new questions as to their presumed role in hepatocarcinogenesis, and imply unique opportunities for deciphering of their still-enigmatic in vivo functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S F Chang
- Heinrich-Pette-Institut für experimentelle Virologie und Immunologie an der Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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