Keywords: Head & Neck/ENT, Brain, Co-activation pattern

Motivation: Brain mechanisms for the pain of primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) patients pain remain unclear.

Goal(s): To investigate dynamic brain functional networks in women with PDM during pain-free periods and explore the relationship between brain functional networks and the psycho-emotional states.

Approach: Applied the CAP method to investigate the dynamic network connectivity characteristics of the brain in 59 PDM patients, as compared with 57 healthy controls.

Results: The dynamic interaction of rs-fMRI brain networks in PDM patients were abnormal. The pain of PDM patients may related to the abnormal brain dynamic interaction of brain networks.

Impact: This study provided new insights into the neural mechanisms underlying recurrent chronic pain. PDM patients exhibited atypical dynamic interactions within their brain networks during pain-free ovulation cycles, and these alterations corresponded to emotions related to pain.

Keywords: Gray Matter, Neuro, cognitive impairment

Motivation: Hemodialysis (HD) leads to cognitive impairment; however, the pathophysiology of maintenance HD remains unclear.

Goal(s): This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal alterations in gray matter volume (GMV), cerebral blood flow (CBF) and functional connectivity (FC) in patients on follow-up HD compared with baseline HD.

Approach:  All participants underwent high-resolution T1-weighted imaging, arterial spin labeling, and functional MR imaging to measure GMV, CBF, and FC.

Results: The right and left medial superior frontal gyrus (SFGmed.L) exhibited significantly lower GMV and CBF in patients on follow-up HD compared with baseline HD and lower FC between the SFGmed.L and left middle temporal gyrus.

Impact: Our findings provide unique insights into the pathological mechanisms of patients on maintenance HD with cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Gray Matter, Metabolism

Motivation: To examine the impact of 2-hour glucose infusion on neuronal activity, potentially advancing our understanding of diseases such as diabetes and their regulation of intake, thermogenesis, and the neuroendocrine system.

Goal(s): Determining whether prolonged glucose infusion affects neuronal activity as measured using rsfMRI at 7T.

Approach: High resolution resting-state (rsfMRI) were acquired before and directly after glucose infusion in 9 healthy adult subjects. Neuronal fluctuations were characterized using Fourier-based spectral analysis. 

Results: In grey matter, significant differences between pre- and post-glucose infusion were observed, with higher post-infusion rsfMRI amplitudes across various frequencies, especially in the 0-0.15Hz range associated with neuronal fluctuations.

Impact: Our results confirm that changing glucose levels modulate neuronal function. Extended glucose infusion increases mean signal power and induces increased signal variation in neuronal fluctuations. Future studies are needed to further understand the mechanisms behind this variance.

Keywords: Functional Connectivity, Perfusion, fMRI (resting state)

Motivation: Overactive Bladder (OAB) significantly impacts patients' quality of life. However, the brain-bladder control mechanism during the bladder filling was not known.

Goal(s): To investigate abnormality of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and functional connectivity (FC) during the bladder filling in OAB patients. 

Approach:  Arterial spin labeling (ASL) images were acquired with bladder filling volumes of 0, 50, 100, 200, 350 and 500mL.

Results: We observed medio-prefrontal cortex (mPFC) CBF and mPFC-PCC (posterior cingulate cortex) FC are compromised in OAB patients during bladder filling. 

Impact: We offered a new perspective for the role of ASL perfusion and functional connectivity in understanding brain mechanism that controls urinary continence.  ASL may be used to monitor treatment effects of OAB patients.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Quantitative Susceptibility mapping, Non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease, cognitive decline, neurovascular coupling, arterial spin labeling, functional magnetic resonance imaging

Motivation: The relationship between neurovascular coupling (NVC) dysfunction and cognitive decline in non-dialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease is unclear. 

Goal(s): Our goal was to explore the pattern of NVC changes in non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease and its relationship with cognitive decline.

Approach:  Analyzing neurovascular coupling patterns at the whole-brain and regional levels based on multimodal coupled neuroimaging.

Results: Neurovascular coupling dysfunction associated with cognitive decline in non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease.

Impact:  Neurovascular coupling may be a potential mechanism for cognitive decline in non-dialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease.

Keywords: Functional Connectivity, Brain Connectivity

Motivation: Coronary heart disease (CHD) confers a high risk of cognitive and mental impairments in patients. 

Goal(s): To explore the association of CHD with functional connectivity and topological properties of brain networks.

Approach: We collected rs-fMRI data to assess brain functional connectivity and topological properties in CHD patients. 

Results: Compared to HCs, CHD patients exhibited increased functional connectivity between the default mode network and visual network, as well as decreased functional connectivity between the left frontoparietal network and auditory network. Small-world network topology was identified in both CHD patients and HCs. Furthermore, the nodal local efficiency of left putamen was decreased in CHD patients.

Impact: Abnormal brain functional connectivity and topological properties in CHD patients might extend current understanding of CHD-related brain dysfunction from the perspective of functional network organization, which expanded the knowledge of the brain function changes and potential neurological mechanism of CHD.

Keywords: Functional Connectivity, fMRI (resting state)

Motivation: Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a common psychological condition in breast cancer patients.

Goal(s): To reveal the FCR neural mechanism on the whole-brain connectome network level.

Approach: We collected resting-state functional MRI from 43 breast cancer patients and 40 healthy controls (HCs).

Results: Graph theory analyses revealed a decreased clustering coefficient in breast cancer patients compared to healthy control subjects. Breast cancer patients showed lower FCS in hub regions of DMN and higher FCS in frontoparietal, DMN, dorsal attention and primary somatomotor networks. Among the hyperconnected regions, the left inferior frontal operculum (IFO) showed a significant positive correlation with FCRI-severity.

Impact: Our study indicated that breast cancer patients have a more random-like functional network. FCS in some specific brain regions of breast cancer patients such as left IFO was associated with FCR severity.

Keywords: Gray Matter, fMRI (resting state), chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Motivation: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is mainly characterized by persistent pain and discomfort in the pelvic region, which seriously affects the young and middle-aged men in China. 

Goal(s): Further exploration of the central mechanisms is essential to gain a deeper understanding of this chronic pain condition.

Approach: This study, based on multimodal MRI and combined with clinical questionnaires and scales, adopts a cross-sectional design to systematically analyze the changes in gray matter and resting-state functional connectivity abnormalities.

Results: The structure and function of the striatum are altered in CP/CPPS patients.

Impact: The study results provide objective evidence of cerebral abnormalities to further understand the central pathophysiological mechanisms of CP/CPPS. They also offer valuable neuroimaging-based insights for future clinical advancements in precise diagnosis and treatment of CP/CPPS.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Diabetes, Hippocampal subfields, Insulin resistance

Motivation: Insulin resistance (IR) is a common pathogenic mechanism for cognitive impairment and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but whether it acts independently in T2DM with mild cognitive impairment (T2DM-MCI) is unclear.

Goal(s): To explore the relationship between functional and structural alterations of hippocampal subfields and IR in T2DM-MCI patients.

Approach: Based on 3D-T1WI and rs-fMRI, we calculated structural and functional alterations of hippocampal subfields in patients with T2DM.

Results: This study demonstrates that T2DM-MCI-higherIR group has more severe structural and functional impairments and IR has a main effect on the volume changes of specific hippocampal subfields. 

Impact: These findings support the important role of IR in T2DM-MCI patients and the structural and functional impairment on specific hippocampal subfield might be potential neuroimaging biomarkers for early identification of brain impairment in T2DM-MCI patients.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Uterus

Motivation: Preoperative assessment of the histological type of EC based on multimodal functional MRI is expected to provide personalized treatment for patients and improve their prognosis.

Goal(s): To explore the application value of APT, IVIM and DCE techniques in distinguishing between Type I and Type II endometrial cancer.

Approach: The ROC curve were used to analyze and evaluate the predictive ability of the independent risk factor for the histological type of EC. 

Results: The APT value of the type II group were higher than the the type I group and the AUC value of APT was 0.682 for identifying the histological types of EC.

Impact: APT technique can be utilized for quantitative identification of type I and type II EC, and has broader clinical application prospects.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Bladder, pathological grade

Motivation: MpMRI has been extensively used for the local staging of bladder cancer (BCa), it is worth using mpMRI for the preoperative evaluation of the pathological grade.

Goal(s): We explored the added value of a radiomics based on quantitativeT2-mapping and conventional MRI to evaluate the histologic grade of BCa pre-operatively.

Approach: Pelvic MRI including T2-mapping and diffusion-weighted imaging before any treatment were analyzed. We constructed different prediction models using mean signal values and radiomic features from both T2-mapping and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. 

Results: Radiomics could provide more information than direct evaluation of T2 and ADC values in differentiating histological grades of BCa. 

Impact: Our observation of significantly improved performance using the radiomics model suggests that it incorporates tumor appearance, margin, and texture features, making it more representative of tumor characteristics. The incorporation of this model provides valuable additional information for BCa management.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, fMRI (resting state)

Motivation: Premature ejaculation (PE) is a major component of male sexual disfunction. The brain's recovery process following erotic stimulation in PE patients remains unclear.

Goal(s): In this study, we aimed to explore the brain network hierarchies by brain gradient and the dynamic gradient stability modified by erotic stimulation.

Approach: We explored the brain network hierarchies by brain gradient in PE and NC group across pre- and post-task resting-state and brain dynamic BOLD phase-locking functional gradient stability.

Results: The PE patients have decreased dynamic functional gradient stability of visual network and increased stability of the default mode network.

Impact: The dynamic functional gradient stability of visual network and the default mode network were altered in lifelong PE compared to normal controls. These findings revealed that brain spontaneous activity in PE patients can hardly recovery as soon as normal control.

Keywords: fMRI Acquisition, Kidney, arterial spin labeling ,chronic kidney disease , blood oxygen level-dependent

Motivation: Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI)  provides the potential for a more comprehensive noninvasive assessment of organ structure and function .however few studies have combined arterial spin labelling (ASL) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) to assess the kidney. 

Goal(s): To detect early kidney injury in chronic kidney disease(CKD) by ASL and BOLD  MRI.

Approach: This study assessed CKD patients and healthy volunteers by combining ASL and BOLD imaging.

Results: mpMRI distinguishes well between healthy people and patients with CKD patients, especially ASL.
 

Impact: Our study found that ASL and BOLD are potentially useful in identifying CKD patients who require renal biopsy. Additionally, these noninvasive techniques show promise in detecting underlying pathological injuries in early-stage CKD patients.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Pediatric, Autism

Motivation: The combination of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) can provide a new imaging perspective for understanding the neural mechanism of gut microbiota in ASD.

Goal(s): This study is to evaluate the functional alterations and investigate the potential mechanisms of FMT treatment in ASD.

Approach: Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) based on rs-fMRI are useful methods to characterize brain function and activity.

Results: After FMT treatments, the higher ALFF and ReHo values in the left angular gyrus and bilateral lingual gyrus, which could become the underlying mechanism of improvements.

Impact: FMT can improve the symptoms of ASD and influence the brain functional activity.  Combining FMT and MRI can provide a new imaging perspective for understanding the neural mechanism and assist clinical follow-up of ASD.

Keywords: fMRI Analysis, Uterus

Motivation: To explore the feasibility of differentiating pathological types of cervical adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma by radiomics models based on DTI and DWI sequences.

Goal(s): To explore the value of radiomics models based on DTI and DWI sequences in differentiating pathological types of cervical adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Approach: Based on the DTI and DWI sequence images of cervical cancer patients , this study quantitatively analyzed the differences in the radiomics feature parameters of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Results: The radiomics models based on DTI and DWI sequences are valuable in differentiating the pathological types of cervical adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Impact: Radiomics can transform images into data that can be mining, providing a non-invasive and effective auxiliary method for determining tumor heterogeneity before clinical treatment of cervical cancer, guiding clinical practice, and enabling patients to achieve personalized diagnosis and treatment.

Motivation: Accumulating evidence indicates that renal tubular injury, as a prime mover, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease.

Goal(s): We aimed to explore the tubular function in an alloxan-induced type 1 diabetic mellitus (DM) rabbit model using asymmetric spin echo (ASE), BOLD and ASL MRI with the furosemide diuretic test.

Approach: We performed pairs of multiparametric MRIs (before and after furosemide injection) at baseline and 3/7 days post-DM, and scored pathological kidney injury.

Results: We found that the pathological tubular injury scores in DM groups significantly correlated with medullary ΔR2* (post-furosemide – pre-furosemide difference) and oxygen extraction fraction (ΔOEF).

Impact: The medullary ∆R2* and ∆OEF were closely related with pathological tubular injury. Our study demonstrated that the renal tubular dysfunction in early diabetes could be detected by the combination of asymmetric spin echo (ASE), BOLD and ASL MRI.