Derek K. Jones¹, Tim Vivian-Griffiths¹, C John Evans¹, and Nicholas Lange^2
1CUBRIC, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Caerdydd, United Kingdom, ²Neurostatistics Laboratory,Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

This study performed serial structural MRI on a cohort of mothers in the early postpartum period. Compared to matched controls, there were both increases and decreases in brain volume in the new mothers over time - but not in the matched controls.

Lana Vasung¹, Laura Gui¹, Elda Fischi-Gomez^1,2, Cristina Borradori-Tolsa³, François Lazeyras^4,5, and Petra Susan Hüppi^1
1Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ²Signal Processing Laboratory 5(LTS5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland, ³Division of Development and Growth, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva and University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ⁴Department of Radiology, University of Geneva and University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ⁵Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland

The growing incidence of prematurely born children with or without intrauterine growth restriction and the improvement of survival rates has been associated with highly problematic long term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Brain structural alterations, associated with these mainly cognitive difficulties, most likely involve cortical organization. This study presents new ways of assessing structural organization of the cortex through thickness and surface measurements in children born prematurely with or without intrauterine growth restriction at the school age.

Zhijie Jian¹, Jie Gao¹, Jianghong Han¹, yumiao zhang¹, Bolang Yu¹, and Jian Yang^1
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University, xi'an, shann xi, China

The purpose of the present study was to half-quantitatively assess the myelination progression of subcortical white matter (WM) in normal infants and children from 6 months to 48 months by conventional T2-weighted image (T2WI). 54 infants and children without diseases potentially affecting white matter were retrospectively evaluated in this study. The myelination progression in WM of the frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital lobes and peritrigonal region were respectively graded according to regions with thread-like hypointensity in T2WIs. The total scores representing the maturity of cerebral myelination were acquired by summing the grade of above mentioned WM regions. The repeatability and reliability of this points-scoring system for assessing myelination progression were confirmed to be a very well by Bland-Altman statistical analysis. The positive correlation between the total scores of myelination and age with nolinear correlation coefficient of 0.843 (p<0.001) was found in this study. During the postnatal 10-16 months, the total scores of myelination varied very apparently with ages, which indicated the rapid maturation in subcortical WM in this period. Therefore, this half-quantitative points-scoring system for assessing myelination can reflect the dynamic development of white matter in infants and children and possess clinical application value.

Andreina Pauli¹, Juliane Schneider², Meritxell Bach Cuadra^1,3, Alessandra Griffa^1,3, Elda Fischi Gomez³, Reto Meuli¹, Jean-Philippe Thiran^1,3, Anita C. Truttmann², and Patric Hagmann^1,3
1Department of Radiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ²Clinic of Neonatology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ³Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Mapping the human connectome in neonates is a real technical challenge in many respects. We use high resolution MP2RAGE and a combination of freely available tools to segment and partition the cortex automatically. In combination with DTI tractography, the brain segmentation is used to map the neonatal connectome. Our connectome mapping pipeline is tailored for neonatal images and allows us to calculate a structural connectivity matrix, while exploiting the advantages of MP2RAGE sequence.

Gareth Ball¹, Paul Aljabar¹, Antonios Makropoulos¹, Tomoki Arichi¹, Nazakat Merchant¹, A. David Edwards¹, and Serena J. Counsell^1
1Centre for the Developing Brain, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

 

Devasuda Anblagan^1,2, Mark E. Bastin³, Lucy Kershaw¹, Susana Muñoz Maniega⁴, Jonathan D. Clayden⁵, Chinthika Piyasena⁶, Graham Wilkinson⁷, Neil Roberts¹, Scott I. Semple¹, Jane Norman², and James P. Boardman^2
1Clinical Research Imaging Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ²MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom,³Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁴Brain Research Imaging Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁵Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁶BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, ⁷NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Preterm birth is a significant environmental risk factor that can have a marked impact on early life cerebral development. Diffusion MRI and tractography may provide further insights into the cerebral microstructural changes that accompany preterm birth by supplying quantitative biomarkers of white matter integrity in specific tracts of interest. This pilot work describes the first application of an automatic single seed point tractography-based segmentation method, probabilistic neighborhood tractography, to the study of the neonatal brain.

Jiang Hao Xiang^1,2, Li Xian jun^3,4, Gao Jie³, Song Yang⁵, Zhang Zhe³, Zhang Zeng jun², and Yang Jian^6
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shan xi, China, ²Department of Radiology, The Xi¡¯an children's hospital, Xi¡¯an, Shan xi, China, ³Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University, Xi¡¯an, Shan xi, China, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shan xi, China, ⁵Child healthcare Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University, Xi¡¯an, Shan xi, China, ⁶Department of radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University.Xi¡¯an, Xi¡¯an, Shan xi, China

The aim of this study is to employ DTI with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and quantitative tractography to further evaluate the correlation between DTI metrics of motor and sensory tracts with gross motor function. 23 children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP) underwent T1WI, T2WI, and DTI were collected. We demonstrated that FA values in the most of white matter tracts show a significant negative correlation with levels of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), and the FA values and fiber count of corticospinal tract (CST) were strongly negative correlated with GMFCS levels. In addition, there were low negative correlations between DTI metrics of superior thalamic radiation (STR) and GMFCS levels, and between the FA values of posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and the GMFCS levels. The results demonstrated that the CST played a major role in the development of clinical motor and sensory function.

Jeong Hye Jin¹, Shim So-Yeon², Jeong Joon-Sup¹, Oh Se-Hong¹, Park Sung-Yeon¹, Kim Young-Bo¹, and Cho Zang-Hee^1
1Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon university, Namdong-gu, Incheon, Korea, ²Department of Pediatrics, Gachon University Gil Hospital, Namdong-gu, Incheon, Korea

Preterm infants are at significant risk for altered brain microstructure. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables the visualization and quantitative characterization of white matter in vivo. Especially tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) performed spatial normalization for group analysis in brain white matter. In this study, we performed analyses of white matter development between full-term infants and preterm infants at equivalent age using TBSS.

Laura Gui¹, François Lazeyras², Lana Vasung¹, Anita Truttmann³, Cristina Borradori-Tolsa¹, and Petra Susan Hüppi^4
1Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ²Radiology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ³Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁴Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

We used a novel automatic method to segment the cortical gray matter from MR images of a cohort of preterm and term-born neonates examined at term-equivalent age. Voxel-based morphometry analysis of the cortex reflected a deficit of cortical density for neonates of lower GA at birth in the gyrus rectus (primary olfactive area), and in the left calcarine fissure (primary visual area), suggesting an altered development of these areas associated with prematurity. Thus, such an approach may be used to identify structural markers of atypical neurodevelopment, allowing for early detection and intervention in the cases of infants at risk.

Bing Zhang¹, Chenchen Yan¹, Ming Li¹, Huiting Wang¹, Fei Chen¹, and Bin Zhu^1
1Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Evaluation of white matter development and small world anatomical networks in fetal brain by sBTFE sequence from MRI.

Claire E. Kelly^1,2, Jeannie L.Y. Cheong^1,3, Carly Molloy¹, Peter J. Anderson¹, Alan Connelly⁴, Lex W. Doyle^1,3, and Deanne K. Thompson^1,2
1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ²University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ³Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, ⁴Melbourne Brain Centre, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia

Abnormal optic radiation microstructure may underlie visual impairments in preterm adolescents. Optic radiations were tracked with Constrained Spherical Deconvolution and average fractional anisotropy and axial, radial and mean diffusivity were obtained in 196 extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight adolescents and 144 normal birth weight controls from the Victorian Infant Collaborative Studies (VICS). Preterm adolescents displayed higher axial, radial and mean diffusivity than controls. Abnormal diffusion measures were associated with impaired visual acuity in the preterm group. Results suggest that optic radiation microstructural abnormalities in preterm populations persist into adolescence and are important contributors to impaired visual function.

Zoe A. Englander¹, Anastasiya Batrachenko¹, Carolyn E. Pizoli^1,2, Christopher M. Petty¹, Jessica Sun^2,3, Mohamad A. Mikati², Joanne Kurtzberg^2,3, and Allen W. Song^1
1Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States, ²Department of Pediatrics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States, ³The Robertson Cell and Translational Therapy Center, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States

We performed a whole brain white matter connectivity analysis in 18 pediatric patients with bilateral Cerebral Palsy (CP) in order to examine patterns of global white matter deficit. The relationship between white matter connectivity deficit and clinical disease severity was assessed. It was found that long range connectivities were increasingly impaired with increasing CP severity. Of individuals who qualified for cognitive assessment, those with lower cognitive scores showed more severe decreases in long range connectivity than did individuals with higher cognitive scores, suggesting a possible mechanism for the developmental delay and cognitive deficits that accompany sensorimotor dysfunctions in CP.

Jiang Hao Xiang¹ and Yang Jian^2
1Department of radiology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shan xi, China, ²Department of radiology, Xi¡¯an Jiaotong University., Xi¡¯an, Shan xi, China

The aim of this study is to employ DTI with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and probabilistic tractography to investigate the WM microstructural changes in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP). 23 children with bilateral spastic CP and 23 healthy children with matched age and sex were collected. We demonstrated that decreased FA but increased MD, RD within extensive WM tracts in children with CP. Meanwhile, the volume and fibers loss of PTR and SCC was lower significantly in CP group. We inferred that in children with spastic CP, the PTR and SCC were more vulnerable since the injury of sensorimotor loops involving in CST.

Mark William DiFrancesco¹, Prasanna Karunanayaka², Sara Robertson³, and Scott K. Holland^3
1Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Consortium, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States, ²The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA, United States, ³Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States

We elucidate differences in language network function and intrinsic connectivity in infants, as measured by BOLD fMRI and independent component analysis (ICA), when sedated under two common clinical protocols; one using Nembutal and the other Propofol. BOLD response was measured for passive story-listening stimulation using an intermittent event-related imaging protocol with which temporal evolution of language processing was explored. Propofol and Nembutal were found to have distinct and complementary responses to story-listening with corroborative differences in auditory/language network connectivity by ICA. These may suggest a breakdown of top-down feedback for Propofol vs. the lack of bottom-up processing for Nembutal.

Fiona M. Baumer¹, Jae W. Song¹, Paul D. Michell¹, Rudolph Pienaar¹, Mustafa Sahin¹, Patricia Ellen Grant², and Emi Takahashi^1
1Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a multisystem congenital disorder often linked to one of two genetic mutations. Clinically, many patients with TSC have disabling neurologic conditions, including epilepsy, mental retardation or autism. Given that multiple factors are involved in the TSC pathology and the relationships among the factors in the TSC pathology is still under debate, cross-sectional studies can miss important predictors for TSC progression. The goal of this study was to provide exploratory data on the relationship between common pathologies in TSC and pattern of longitudinal diffusion changes in projection, association and commissural fibers using diffusion tractography.

Tetsu Niwa¹, Noriko Aida², Taro Takahara³, Tomohiro Yamashita¹, Noriharu Yanagimachi¹, Tomoaki Nagaoka⁴, and Yutaka Imai^1
1Radiology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan, ²Radiology, Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, ³Biomedical Engineering, Tokai University School of Engineering, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan, ⁴Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory, Applied Electromagnetic Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Koganei, Tokyo, Japan

We assessed the age-related changes of SWI and phase image at the subependymal nodules in infants and children with tuberous sclerosis. There was no signal loss on SWI and no phase shift on phase image at the subependymal nodules in neonates, those changed by aging. The occurrence of the phase shift at the subependymal nodules was identified around 1-year-old, while signal loss on SWI appeared after 2-year-old. The manifestation of the phase shift at the subependymal nodules seems to precede that of signal loss on SWI.

Lindsay Walker¹, Irene Piryatinsky¹, Jonathan O’Muircheartaigh², Douglas C. Dean III¹, Michelle Han¹, Katie Lehman¹, Nicole Waskiewicz¹, Beth A. Jerskey^1,3, Holly Dirks¹, and Sean C. L. Deoni^1
1Advanced Baby Imaging Lab, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States, ²King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom, ³Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

Delayed language acquisition in infants is an early clinical indicator of later language impairment. This delay may result from delayed or abnormal myelination in the language sub-serving brain networks. We measured myelin content using the mcDESPOT technique, and assessed language with the MacArthur-Bates Child Development Inventory Words and Gestures parent report in 9 toddlers aged 10-16 months. We found that language understanding was correlated with myelination in brain regions responsible for general understanding and learning; while language production was more specifically linked to Broca’s area. These results indicate that myelination may be implicated in language acquisition during key developmental stages.

Amanda Elton¹, Sarael Alcauter¹, and Wei Gao^1
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Resting-state fMRI was used to investigate alterations in functional connectivity within and between the dorsal attention and default network associated with dimensional and categorical measures of ADHD in 195 children with ADHD and 241 typically-developing children. Symptoms of inattention and impulsivity were associated with greater functional connectivity in the dorsal attention network. Symptoms of inattention were also associated with diminished functional competition between the two networks. Impulsive symptoms were associated with diminished functional competition between regions of the dorsal attention and default network in typically-developing children, but this brain-behavior relationship was disrupted in ADHD.

Mojdeh Zamyadi¹, Charles Raybaud¹, Carter Snead², Mary Lou Smith³, and Elysa Widjaja^1
1Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Division of Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ³Department of Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In this study functional connectivity (FC) within resting states networks (RSNs) was assessed using independent component analysis (ICA) in healthy controls and children with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). In addition, functional network connectivity (FNC) was evaluated across several RSNs by examining the time series of the components. Based on the statistical analysis of FC results, we identified 6 RSNs in both groups. We have also demonstrated both reduced and elevated FC within the RSNs and in FNC across the RSNs. The findings of this study provide evidence on the effect of localization-related epilepsy, in this case FLE, on several RSNs.

Elodie Boudes¹, Guillaume Gilbert², Christine Saint-Martin³, Ilana Ruth Leppert⁴, Bruce G. Pike⁴, and Pia Wintermark^1
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, ²MR Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Montreal, QC, Canada, ³Department of Radiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, ⁴Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) by magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to be useful for identifying asphyxiated newborns at risk of developing brain injury, whether or not hypothermia was administered. Our study compares two methods of ASL-PWI (i.e. PASL and pCASL) to assess brain perfusion in healthy newborns and in asphyxiated newborns treated with hypothermia. It demonstrates that both ASL methods are feasible and reproducible to assess brain perfusion in these newborns. However, pCASL might be a better choice, as pCASL perfusion maps were of better quality and permitted more detailed identification of the injured brain areas.

Rishma Vidyasagar¹, Laurence Abernethy², and Laura M. Parkes^1
1Biomedical Imaging Institute, School of Population Health, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, ²Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

Quantitative measures of ASL are dependent on many assumed values within the model such as T1 and arrival time. T1 has been shown to be strongly dependent on haematocrit levels, which is often assumed at a standard adult value. In neonates, haematocrit levels have been shown to vary significantly during the first few weeks, thus if not corrected can lead to incorrect quantification of CBF. Arrival time values are often measured at a single time point which could be incorrect in neonates. This study investigates these assumptions in a neonate population using a multiphase ASL sequence.

Rishma Vidyasagar¹, Laura M. Parkes¹, Shivaram Avula², Barry Pizer², and Laurence Abernethy^2
1Biomedical Imaging Institute, School of Population Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, ²Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom

DSC is a common technique used to ascertain measures of cerebral blood flow in a clinical setup. It is however an invasive technique and often restricts repeatable measures in an individual. The Look-Locker ASL sequence provides a non-invasive means of obtaining different measures of perfusion within the human brain at multiple timepoints. In this study we compare measures derived from DSC and ASL to investigate the feasibility of using a non-invasive ASL technique on patients with brain tumours.

Varsha Jain¹, Erin Buckley², Jennifer Lynch², Peter Schwab², Maryam Naim², Susan Nicolson², Lisa Montenegro², Daniel Licht², and Felix Wehrli^1
1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, ²Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Periventricular leukomalacia, a type of hypoxic ischemic injury, is the most common cerebral pathology observed in neonates with congenital heart defects. Measurement of hemodynamic and metabolic parameters in this population can provide additional insights into the mechanism of injury. In this study we utilized a previously described non-invasive Magnetic Resonance method that can measure global bi-hemispheric cerebral venous oxygen saturation and cerebral blood flow simultaneously and correlated the measurements with more clinically widespread optical measurements. Additionally, our results illustrate the potential of using preoperative hemodynamic measurements as predictors of postoperative injury.

Serge Vasylechko¹, Christina Malamateniou², Rita Nunes^2,3, Matthew J. Fox², Joanna M. Allsop², Mary A. Rutherford², Daniel Rueckert¹, and Joseph V. Hajnal^2
1Biomedical Image Analysis Group, Department of Computing, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, ²Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College, London, United Kingdom, ³Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

T2* relaxometry has been performed on the fetal brain for the first time. Due to high motion associated with the fetus, an approach was implemented using single shot multi-echo field echo EPI to obtain spatially aligned whole head images at multiple echo times. A non-linear fitting method was used to determine T2*. The method was tested on 5 fetuses. Region of interest measurements were obtained yielding T2* values consistent with published data from premature infants of similar age. This paves the way for studies of T2* during brain development and suggests use of longer echo times for fetal fMRI studies.

Sumit Narayan Niogi¹, Daniel Rosenbaum¹, Jeffrey Perlman², Linda Heier¹, and Arzu Kovanlikaya^1
1Radiology, NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, ²Pediatrics, NY Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, United States

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy causes significant disability in newborns and accounts for about 25% of children with cerebral palsy. As of yet, there is no reliable biomarker to predict which of these infants will have poor outcome. . However, DTI is sensitive to subtle microstructural changes overlooked by conventional imaging. As shown in this study, variations in white matter integrity in specific pathways (the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule and forceps major) can predict clinical outcome after treatment with therapeutic hypothermia.

Jessica L. Wisnowski^1,2, Stefan Bluml¹, Lisa Paquette³, Elizabeth Zelinski⁴, Marvin D. Nelson, Jr¹, Michael J. Painter⁵, Hanna Damasio², Floyd Gilles⁶, and Ashok Panigrahy^1,7
1Radiology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ³Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁴Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁵Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, ⁶Pathology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁷Radiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Glutamate excitotoxicity is hypothesized to be a key mechanism in the pathogenesis of white matter injury (WMI) in preterm infants; however, there has been no in vivo demonstration of glutamate excitotoxicity. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), we demonstrated a 29% increase in glutamine in the parietal WM of preterm infants with pWMLs but not in infants with DEHSI. This supports glutamate excitotoxicity in the pathogenesis of pWMLs, but not necessarily in DEHSI, and suggests that MRS provides a useful biomarker for determining the pathogenesis of white matter injury in preterm infants during a period when neuroprotective agents may be effective.

Nicolaas A. J. Puts^1,2, Taylor Koriakin³, Ericka L. Wodka³, Mark Tommerdahl⁴, Peter B. Barker^1,2, Stewart H. Mostofsky^3,5, and Richard Anthony Edward Edden^1,2
1The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ²FM Kirby Centre for functional neuroimaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ³Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ⁴Biomedical engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel hill, North Carolina, United States, ⁵School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

GABA-MRS was combined with behavioural tactile measures in typically developing children and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and showed a reduction in GABA concentration as well as a impairment in tactile processing in children with ASD.

Tai-Wei Wu¹, Ida Ashoori^2,3, Jessica L. Wisnowski², Marvin D. Nelson², Thomas G. Perkins⁴, Jonathan M. Chia⁴, Ashok Panigrahy⁵, and Stefan Blüml^2,3
1Neonatology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ²Radiology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ³Rudi Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States, ⁴Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁵Radiology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

This study uses non-invasive MR spectroscopy to measure regional brain temperatures during and after hypothermia therapy (HT) in newborns with suspicion for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The goal of the study was to determine whether HT is effective in lowering brain temperature, to explore regional differences, and to determine to what extent esophageal/rectal temperatures correlate with brain temperatures. The long-term goal is to use this information to tailer HT to the needs of individual patients.

Jean A. Tkach¹, Stephanie L. Merhar², Beth M. Kline-Fath¹, Ronald G. Pratt¹, Wolfgang Loew¹, Barret R. Daniels¹, Randy O. Giaquinto¹, Mantosh S. Rattan¹, Blaise V. Jones¹, Michael D. Taylor³, Janice M. Tiefermann¹, Lisa M. Tully¹, E. Colleen Murph-Eigel⁴, Rachel N. Wolf-Severs¹, Angela A. LaRuffa⁵, and Charles L. Dumoulin^6
1Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ²Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ³The Heart Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ⁴Translational Research Trials Office, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ⁵Newborn Intensive Care Unit, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, ⁶Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

We have successfully developed a small footprint 1.5T MR system for imaging neonates within our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The safety and image quality of the system were evaluated in this study. Standard clinical protocols were used to perform MRI exams of the brain, chest and abdomen in 15 neonates. Image quality was evaluated by two board certified radiologists. All exams were successfully completed. High quality diagnostic images were obtained at each anatomic location demonstrating the system’s feasibility, safety and potential benefit to neonatal medicine by providing state of the art MRI capabilities within the NICU.

Gareth Ball¹, Libuse Pazderova², Andrew Chew¹, Nazakat Merchant¹, Nora Tusor¹, Tomoki Arichi¹, Joanna M. Allsop¹, A. David Edwards¹, and Serena J. Counsell^1
1Centre for the Developing Brain, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, ²Dept of Paediatrics, Imperial College, London, London, United Kingdom

Our aim was to assess whether thalamo-cortical connectivity in the preterm brain at term equivalent age was correlated with cognitive performance in early childhood. We studied 50 children who were born preterm. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed at term equivalent age and thalamo-cortical connectivity was assessed using probabilistic tractography. Cognitive scores at 2 years were correlated with connectivity between thalamus and superior frontal, supplementary motor, superior parietal, right anterior temporal and right medial temporal lobes. Our approach to investigating thalamo-cortical connectivity may be an effective early imaging biomarker of subsequent neurodevelopmental performance in children who are born preterm.

Kai Yuan¹, Wei Qin¹, and Jie Tian^1,2
1School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, China, xi'an, Shaan xi, China, ²Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China

Our study revealed the association between reduced cortical thickness of the OFC and impaired cognitive control ability in adolescents with internet addiction disorder.

Daniel Barazany¹, Shani Ben Amitay¹, Ido Tavor¹, Galit Yovel^2,3, and Yaniv Assaf^1,3
1Neurobiology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ²School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ³Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

A basic hypothesis in neuroscience is that function and structure are inter-connected. In this study we set to explore the cortical architecture basis of the functional segregation of the visual system. Here we show how fMRI and cortical architecture measures can be combined. Using this approach we were able to investigate and reveal, for the first time, the anatomical basis of stimulation selectivity in the visual system.

Jeong Hye Jin¹, Lee Jong-Yeon², Lee Jong-Hwan², Choi Sang-Han¹, Kim Young-Bo¹, and Cho Zang-Hee^1
1Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University, Namdong-gu, Incheon, Korea, ²Department of Ophthalmology, Gachon University Gil Hospital, Namdong-gu, Incheon, Korea

Glaucoma is characterized by progressive degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). High resolution 7T MR image were able to show markedly improved images of the LGN. In this study, we were directly investigated height and volume changes in the LGN between the normal controls and glaucoma patients by using 7.0T MRI. All the height and volume measurements were corrected by the AC(anterior commissure)-PD(posterior commissure) line.

Elena Maria Tovar Martinez¹, Katharina Fuchs¹, Fabian Hezel¹, Matthias Alexander Dieringer^1,2, Jens Wuerfel^3,4, and Thoralf Niendorf^1,5
1Berlin Ultrahigh Field Facility (B.U.F.F.), Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany, ²Working Group on Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), Berlin, Germany, ³Institute of Neuroradiology, University Medicine Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany, ⁴NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ⁵Experimental and Clinical Research Center, a cooperation of the Charité Medical Faculty and the Max-Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany

This work demonstrates the feasibility of a high spatial resolution, fluid suppressed, susceptibility weighted FSE imaging at 7.0 T and its application for imaging of neuroinflammatory diseases. FLAIR SWI FSE depicts similar brain vasculature versus conventional GRE with the advantage of providing hyperintense MS lesions and suppressed CSF. Its applicability was examined in phantom, volunteer and MS patient studies at 7.0 Tesla.

Nikolaus Krebs^1,2, Christian Langkammer³, Thomas Ehammer¹, Karl-Olof Lövblad⁴, Gerlinde Komatz⁵, Stefan Ropele³, Franz Fazekas⁶, Kathrin Yen⁷, and Eva Scheurer^1,2
1Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Clinical-Forensic Imaging, Graz, Austria, ²Medical University, Graz, Austria, ³Department of Neurology, Medical University, Graz, Austria, ⁴Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Genève, Switzerland, ⁵CT/MR-Center Graz Geidorf, Graz, Austria, ⁶Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria, ⁷Institute of Legal and Traffic Medicine, University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany

Though globally spread in clinical routine the use of MRI in forensic brain injury assessment is yet not established at all. We compared MRI findings from blinded radiologic readings to macroscopic findings of corresponding brain slices of 17 deceased subjects. Radiologists detected almost twice the number of findings than brain slices revealed. Overall number of hemorrhages was nearly equal. Macroscopically five times more micro-bleedings were found than in MRI, meanwhile findings such as microangiopathy, MS lesions or lacuna were depicted only in MRI. MRI might add valuable information to forensic expertise and offers an interdisciplinary approach in brain tissue analysis.

Nicholas A. Bock¹, Eyesha Hashim¹, Norman B. Konyer², and Sharon Grad^3
1Medical Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, ²Imaging Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada, ³Physcial Medicine and Rehabilitation, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

We use 3D T1-weighted anatomical MRI at an isotropic resolution of 0.7 mm to see whether the strong myelination that delineates the primary motor and somatosensory cortex in humans is disrupted in amputees in the area representing a lost lower limb. We do not observe any gross differences in the pattern of cortical myelination between hemispheres in amputees, and the amputee cortex appears similar to that of controls. This suggests that either the axons representing the lost limb persist in the amputee cortex, or that new axons have replaced them over time.

Hamza Alshuft^1,2, Laura Condon¹, Jennifer Dixon^1,2, Robert Dineen¹, and Dorothee P. Auer^1,2
1Radiological and Imaging Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, ²Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Pain is a complex subjective experience not only involving sensory component but also cognitive and emotional dimensions. People differ in their capability in coping with pain. Pain catastrophizing defined as an exaggerated negative mental set may mediate this capability as it has been consistently found to be predictive of pain outcome leading to more emotional distress and intensified pain experience. As a psychological predictor pain catastrophizing has been extensively investigated over the past years yet its mechanism is still poorly understood. Here we investigate the MRI-based morphological brain correlates of pain catastrophizing in a group of patients with painful osteoarthritis.

Babak A. Ardekani^1
1Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, The Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York, United States

A number of studies have reported that, "relative to brain size," the mid-sagittal corpus callosum cross-sectional area (CCA) in females is on average larger than in males. However, others suggest that these may be spurious differences created in the CCA-to-brain-size ratio because brain size tends to be larger in males. To help resolve this controversy, we measured the CCA on structural MRI scans of normal young adults (n=74, 37 males, 18-29 years), matched closely for brain size, from the OASIS (Open Access Series of Imaging Studies) cross-sectional dataset. Females had a significantly larger CCA (P<0.0005).

Tsang-Wei Tu¹, L. Christine Turtzo¹, Jacob D. Lescher¹, Dana D. Dean¹, Tiziana T. Coppola¹, Rashida A. Williams¹, and Joseph A. Frank^1
1Radiology and Imaging Sciences, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Congenital hydrocephalus was accidentally found in the baseline scan of Wistar rats used in TBI study. MRI techniques were performed including: MRA, SWI, and DTI, to diagnose cerebral abnormalities including arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The existence of AVM nidus was confirmed by post-mortem micro-CT images. Compared to normal rats, AVM rats had significantly lower FA, higher MD, AD, and RD, suggesting the white matter integrity was congenitally different in hydrocephalic rats. Their abnormal diffusion patterns may result in a false interpretation of pseudo-increase of axonal integrity. Baseline scans are strongly suggested to prevent using these AVM rats in studying neurological diseases.

Alain Pitiot¹, Olivier E. Mougin², and Penelope A. Gowland^2
1School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, ²Sir Peter Mansfield MR Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Phase Sensitive Inversion Recovery (PSIR) is showing great potential in neuroimaging owing to the increased contrast it provides with respect to other T1 weighted approaches, such as standard MP-RAGE. While this offers intuitive advantages, the relative merits of MP-RAGE and PSIR have not been assessed systematically to date. In this study, we use brain tissue classification as a realistic framework to quantitatively compare the performances of both sequences. Results suggest that the enhanced contrast afforded by PSIR translates into better defined maps, less susceptible to B1 inhomogeneities and changes in myelin content.

Christine Lucas Tardif¹, Pierre-Louis Bazin¹, Andreas Schäfer¹, and Robert Turner^1
1Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany

Cortical thickness estimates typically derive from T1-weighted images at 1 mm isotropic resolution acquired at 1.5 or 3 Tesla. A recent study claims that cortical thickness is over-estimated using standard techniques at this spatial resolution, and that using higher resolution T1-weighted images improves measurement accuracy. We developed new tools to extract cortical boundaries and measure cortical thickness from high-resolution quantitative T1 maps. We measured cortical thickness for 12 subjects scanned using the MP2RAGE sequence at 0.9, 0.7 and 0.5 mm isotropic resolution. The results are stable across resolutions, and become more precise at 0.5 mm.

Pew-Thian Yap¹, Hongyu An¹, Yasheng Chen¹, and Dinggang Shen^1
1Department of Radiology and BRIC, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

This abstract presents a post-processing algorithm for effective resolution enhancement of diffusion-weighted images by leveraging local fiber continuity. This algorithms allows us to increase the image resolution from the typical (2mm)^3 to (1mm)^3 with great agreement with actual (1mm)^3 scans. Since the algorithm does not rely on any special hardware or acquisition sequences, it can be applied to all existing data for increasing structural visibility, making it a very valuable tool for aiding identification of abnormalities and in applications such as tractography, segmentation, and registration.

Demian Wassermann¹, Nikos Makris², Yogesh Rathi³, Martha E. Shenton³, Marek Kubicki³, Carl-Fredrik Westin¹, and Ron Kikinis^1
1Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hosptial & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hosptial & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

In this work, we present a new population-based atlas of white matter tracts based on High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI). In a population of 78 healthy subjects, we use a state of the art multi-tensor tractography algorithm to obtain a dense full-brain tractography and then we use dissect the major association, commissural and projection white matter tracts. Being able to trace axonal packages through areas of complex white matter anatomy, this approach enables us to consistently dissect tracts like the middle longitudinal fascicle (MdLF); the extreme capsule (EmC) ; the three subsections of the superior longitudinal fascicle (SLF); or the inferior ramifications of the cortico-spinal tract. Finally, we register all the tracts to MNI152 space and perform a statistical analysis to chart the shape and location of 29 white matter tracts: 11 association, 7 commissural and 12 projections ones.

Aviv Mezer¹, Jason Yeatman¹, Ariel Rokem¹, and Brian Wandell^1
1Stanford university, Stanford, CA, United States

We explore different sources of tissue variations along white matter tracts. Combining quantitative MRI maps (T1,PD) with diffusion-weighted imaging and tractography, we find that white matter lateralization in tractography-based fiber count and in FA can be explained by (a) variation in the location and proportion of crossing fibers along the length of the tract, and (b) differences in the physico-chemical environment between the hemispheres.

Frederick William Damen¹, Longchuan Li², and Xiaoping P. Hu^1,2
1Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States, ²Biomedical Imaging and Technology Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

In order to truly understand the network architecture of the human brain we must elucidate the connectivity networks of our primate ancestors. Analyzing the brain networks of chimpanzees, one of our closest living relatives, and macaques, an extensively studied primate, may shed light on the unique cognitive abilities of humans. Taking advantage of advanced group-wise registration algorithms and diffusion to anatomical co-registration techniques, we have developed a method to create unbiased anatomical and diffusion MRI templates for different primate brains. These templates can serve as a foundation to study the network architecture of several primate species on the population level.

Yongxia Zhou¹, Andrea S. Kierans¹, Damon Kenul¹, Yulin Ge¹, Joseph Rath², Joseph Reaume¹, Robert I. Grossman³, and Yvonne W. Lui^1
1Radiology and Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, ²Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States, ³Radiology and Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University, New York, NY, United States

The purpose of this study is to investigate longitudinal changes in regional brain volume patients after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) one year after injury and to correlate such changes with clinical and neurocognitive metrics. Automated segmentation of brain regions to compute regional gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes and validation with two advanced imaging techniques were done based on 3D T1-weighted imaging performed at 3T and correlated with clinical metrics. There are regions demonstrating measurable atrophy one year after MTBI, namely the WM in bilateral anterior cingulate and left isthmus of cingulate and precuneal GM.

Piotr Bogorodzki¹, Melissa Lopez-Larson^2,3, Jadwiga Rogowska⁴, and Deborah Yurgelun-Todd^2,3
1Institute of Radioelectronics, Warsaw Technical University, Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, ²Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, ³SLC VA MIRECC, Salt lake city, Utah, United States, ⁴University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UTah, United States

The objective of this study was to determine whether morphometric or BOLD fMRI features obtained from structural and functional MRI scans could discriminate between three groups of subjects including healthy controls, marijuana using adolescents without comorbid psychiatric illness, and marijuana using adolescents with comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. We found that the combination of morphological and functional features significantly improves classification accuracy and decreases diagnostic misclassification rate. Our findings indicate that diagnostic classification algorithms may be improved with the addition of both morphology and functional measures obtained in fMRI studies.

Yasuhiro OIkawa¹, Yawara Eguchi¹, Seiji Ohtori¹, Sumihisa Orita¹, Kazuyo Yamauchi¹, Miyako Suzuki¹, Yoshihiro Sakuma¹, Go Kubota¹, Kazuhide Inage¹, Takeshi Saino¹, HIrotaka Sato², Hiroki Ando², Masatoshi Kojima², Kenichiro Okumura², Yoshitada Masuda², Atsuya Watanabe³, and Kazuhisa Takahashi^1
1Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba, Japan, ²Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Chiba, Japan, ³Orthopaedic Surgery, Teikyou University Chiba Medical Center, Ichihara, Chiba, Japan

DTI and DTT have been reported as novel imaging tools for a quantitative nerve evaluation. The purpose of this study was to visualize and evaluate the lumbar nerve root quantitatively using DTI and DTT. Thirty-four patients were evaluate with DTI. This study demonstrates that tractography shows nerve roots and spinal nerve roots clearly in asymptomatic nerves, and shows abnormal findings in lumbar spinal degenerative disease. DTI may offer not only morphological evaluation but also quantitative evaluation. We believe that DTI is a potential tool for the diagnosis of lumbar spinal degenerative disease.

Dirk Ernst Cleppien^1,2, Lei Zheng³, Claudia Falfan-Melgoza¹, Barbara Vollmayr^2,4, Gabriele Ende⁵, Wolfgang Weber-Fahr^1,5, and Alexander Sartorius^1,2
1RG Translational Imaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/ Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany, ²Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/ Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany, ³Experimental Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany, ⁴Research Group Animal Models in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/ Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany, ⁵NeuroImaging, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/ Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

One idea to measure possible neuroplastic effects of the brain is magnetic resonance imaging by using techniques like voxel-based morphometry (VBM). One possible drawback could be sensitivity to reversible changes of the brain structure as measurable by regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV). Therefore, our hypothesis was that rCBV partially explains the variance of VBM changes, which we tested by analyzing region-based correlations between rCBV and VBM in rat brain. For large brain regions rCBV correlates significantly with gray matter probability maps, whereas white matter probability maps correlate negatively with rCBV.

Qiang Shen¹, Fang Du¹, and Timothy O. Duong^2
1Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States, ²Research Imaging Institute, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States

Cerebral blood flow is an important physiological parameter. The majority of CBF studies in rat brain are ~500x500x2000 microns using single shot EPI. In this study, we targeted the spatial resolution of 50μm x 38μm x 1mm to map the layer specific CBF of rat cortex. This approach was also used to image CBF of stroke rat brain at different time points. This study sets the stage for investigating CBF dysfunction for neurological diseases at very high spatial resolution.

Lindsay S. Cahill¹, Patrick Steadman¹, Christine L. Laliberté¹, Patrick Macos¹, Jun Dazai¹, Jason P. Lerch^1,2, Bojana Stefanovic^2,3, and John G. Sled^1,2
1Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ³Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The purpose of this study is to map, using high-resolution MR imaging in combination with deformation-based morphometry, the macroscopic changes in brain structure that occur in healthy mice that undergo voluntary exercise. In comparison to the control group, the hippocampus and stratum granulosum of the dentate gyrus showed volume increases in the exercise group and showed a positive correlation with exercise performance. Volume changes were also observed in specific regions of the cerebellum. In addition, mean cortical thickness in the exercise group was found to have a positive correlation with performance.

Shuxia Wang¹, Dai Shan¹, Xuxia Wang¹, Yong Fan², Yuanye Ma³, and Hao Lei^1
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China, ²National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China, ³Laboratory of Primate Neurosciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Tree shrews are special relatives of primates from evolution. They are visually oriented animals with well-developed visual system and also possess developed limbic brain structures. For years, they were used as animal models in studies of visual system and social tress. However, few previous studies have used magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain of tree shrew. As an important step to achieve automated/parametric analysis of tree shrew brain imaging data, we built a set of brain tissue probability maps (grey matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid) of Tupaia belangeri chinensis and used for semi-automated volumetric measurements of limbic brain structures.

Ross W. Mair^1,2, Martin Reuter^2,3, André J. W. van der Kouwe², Bruce Fischl^2,4, and Randy Buckner^1,2
1Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States, ²Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States, ⁴Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States

The multi-echo MPRAGE (MEMPRAGE) sequence was implemented to reduce signal distortion by acquiring at a higher bandwidth and averaging multiple echoes to recover SNR while providing additional T2* information that can enhance cortical segmentation. Here, we validate the morphometric results obtained from a rapid 2-minute MEMPRAGE scan with four-fold acceleration by comparison to those from a 6-minute, 1 mm isotropic, two-fold accelerated MEMPRAGE scan acquired in the same session. The results indicate that the rapid 2-minute MEMPRAGE protocol can be used in place of the longer, higher-resolution MEMPRAGE scan without degradation of the quantitative morphometric results obtained.

Meritxell Bach Cuadra^1,2, Sebastien Gelin^2,3, Alexis Roche^1,4, Oscar Esteban^2,5, Tobias Kober⁴, José P. Marques⁶, Cristina Granziera⁷, and Gunnar Krüger^4,8
1Radiology Department, University Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ²Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS5), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ³Bern University, Bern, Bern, Switzerland, ⁴Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Siemens Healthcare Sector IM&WS S, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁵Biomedical Image Technologies (BIT), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Madrid, Spain, ⁶CIBM-Animal Imaging and Technology core, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁷Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland, ⁸CIBM-AIT, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland

Existing brain tissue segmentation methods are optimized for conventional T1-weighted images such as MPRAGE. However, recent clinical research has highlighted the benefits of other image acquisition techniques such as MP2RAGE. In this work, we study the ability of three state-of-the-art algorithms to automatically segment WM, GM and CSF in MP2RAGE imaging. We quantify the differences between MPRAGE and MP2RAGE-based brain tissue probability maps through statistical voxel-based analysis. Results on a group of 19 healthy subjects show significant statistical differences between GM probability maps in the central nuclei and the cerebellum, for each of the three tested methods.

Shlomi Lifshits¹, Daniel Barazany², Saharon Rosset¹, and Yaniv Assaf^2
1Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, ²Department of Neurobiology, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel

We train a classification model for prediction of the cortical layer based on inversion recovery data. We show how partial volume artifact can be minimized by enhancing the resolution using the generated probability maps.

Kyoko Fujimoto¹, Lawrence L. Wald^2,3, and Jonathan R. Polimeni^2
1Department of Neurology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States, ²Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³3Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States

Automatic cortical surface reconstructions enable quantitative morphometric analyses of brain anatomy. Most reconstructions are derived from T₁-weighted data, however changes to the acquisition protocol or imaging hardware can induce changes to image contrast or geometry. Therefore, quantitative parameter maps may provide more robust quantification. Here we demonstrate cortical surface reconstructions computed directly from the T₁ map produced using the MP2RAGE method. We compare these reconstructions to those from a T₁-weighted MP2RAGE and a multi-echo MPRAGE and find that the T₁ map may provide a more accurate or robust segmentation of the white matter than the MP2RAGE T₁-weighted data alone.

Jian Lin¹, Mingyi Li¹, Katherine A. Koenig¹, Mark J. Lowe¹, and Micheal Phillips^1
1Radiology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

In the abstract, we compare the two most popular and full automated methods of identifying hippocampus from T1 weighted whole-brain images (T1W), FSL/first and FreeSurfer, to a third candidate, a template registration method developed by our group based on Advanced Normalizaiton Tools and symmetric image normalization method(ANTS/SyN). After quantative matching analysis and qualitative visual inspection, we conclude that the ANTS method produced ROIs that are closest to the hand traced hippocampal.

Frank Thiele^1,2, Lukas Scheef², Fabian Wenzel³, Carsten Meyer³, Henning Boecker², Michael Wagner⁴, Hans H. Schild², and Frank Jessen^4
1Philips Research, Aachen, Germany, ²Radiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, ³Philips Research, Hamburg, Germany, ⁴Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Automatic segmentation of amygdala volumes would present an important tool for neuroscience studies in cognition and psychiatry, and a potential diagnostic marker. In this work, a shape model is applied to T1-weighted MRI for fully automatic segmentation of the amygdala in 70 elderly normals. Segmentation is compared to manual tracing as well as a state-of-the-art atlas-based approach. The shape model is found to be a promising approach for reproducible and observer-independent analysis of the amygdala.

Anna I. Blazejewska¹, Stefan T. Schwarz², Samuel J. Wharton¹, Richard W. Bowtell¹, Dorothee P. Auer², and Penelope A. Gowland^1
1SPMMRC, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Notts, United Kingdom, ²Division of Radiological and Imaging Sciences, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, Notts, United Kingdom

Nigrosomes are substructures of the substantia nigra (SN) that are clinically important due to their high vulnerability to the dopaminergic cell loss in the Parkinon’s disease (PD). The largest nigrosome (N1) can be detected in vivo using high resolution T2*w images obtained at 7T and has shown potential to become a marker of PD. This study compared different 3T scans in terms of their ability to visualise nigrosome 1 and found that it can be detected in clinically useful imaging times using an FFE or PRESTO scan.

Julien Sein¹, Bharathi D. Jagadeesan^2,3, Andrew W. Grande^3,4, Julian Tokarev⁵, Michael Salmella², Kamil Ugurbil¹, and Pierre-Francois Van de Moortele^1
1CMRR, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ²Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ³Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ⁴Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ⁵Medical School TC, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a disorder whose exact pathophysiological mechanism remains unknown although in most cases by neurovascular compression along the trigeminal nerve by a neighboring vessel. It is critical for diagnosis and preoperative planning to understand the relationships between the neurovascular entities involved in this compression. We show that high-resolution images acquired on a 7T MRI scanner using different contrast modalities (T1, T2, T2*) clearly depict these neurovascular structures. Therefore high resolution imaging of the Trigeminal Nerve at 7 Tesla has the potential to further our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder.

Osamu Togao^1,2, Takashi Yoshiura², Jochen Keupp³, Akio Hiwatashi², Koji Yamashita², Kazufumi Kikuchi², Yuriko Suzuki⁴, Mariya Doneva³, Koji Sagiyama⁵, Masaya Takahashi⁵, and Hiroshi Honda^2
1Molecular Imaging and Diagnosis, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, ²Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan,³Philips Research Europe, Hamburg, Germany, ⁴Philips Electronics Japan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan, ⁵Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging employs the exchange between protons of free tissue water and the amide groups (-NH) of endogenous mobile proteins and peptides, imaged by a chemical exchange saturation transfer technique. APT imaging is expected to be a non-invasive method to measure proteins and peptides level in active tumors. In this study, we demonstrated the ability of APT imaging for prediction of histopathological grades of diffuse gliomas in a large patient population with histopathological evaluations.

Haonan Wang¹, Matthias C. Schabel², Alex Schabel³, Karen Salzman³, Neal K. Bangerter¹, and Edward V.R. DiBella^4
1Electrical & Computer Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States, ²Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States, ³Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, ⁴Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States

3D DCE MRI utilizes rapid T1-weighted acquisitions to record the uptake of an injected contrast agent. In the brain, recent developments in pharmacokinetic modeling have enabled the separation of flow and permeability components in these T1-weighted acquisitions, providing a potential alternative to conventional T2*-weighted perfusion MRI. The ability to obtain rapid, high-resolution whole-brain coverage is desirable for a variety of diseases, requiring acceleration factors of 3-4 relative to current state-of-the-art data acquisition schemes. Here, we demonstrate whole brain 3D DCE MRI acquired at 2 mm isotropic resolution and 4.3 sec temporal resolution using a weighted pseudo-random undersampling scheme.

Peter S. LaViolette¹, Mitchell Daun², Alexander D. Cohen³, Jennifer Connelley², and Kathleen M. Schmainda^1
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Recently a new biomarker of brain tumor vascularity has been described. Independent component analysis is applied to DSC perfusion imaging to separate arterial and venous components. The overlap of these components (i.e. arterio-venous overlap, or AVOL) occurs preferentially in enhancing neoplastic vasculature. This study finds that a preload of contrast agent is necessary to measure AVOL by comparing the amount of AVOL within tumor contrast enhancement derived from both the preload and second dose of contrast agent. T1 Leakage effects confound AVOL measurements during the first dose.

Wen-Zhen Zhu¹, Wei Xiong², He Wang³, and Yuan-Yuan Qin^1
1Tongji hospital, Tongji medical college, Huazhong university of science and technology, wuhan, hubei, China, ²Mr modality, GE healthcare, wuhan, hubei, China, ³MR Research China, GE healthcare, Pudong District, Shanghai, China

Using DWI based on streched-exponential model, we could separate different grades of human astrocytoma and predict the preoperative activity of the tumors.

Alexander D. Cohen¹, Pete S. LaViolette², Melissa A. Prah², and Kathleen M. Schmainda^1,2
1Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Functional diffusion maps (fDMs) use temporal changes in ADC to monitor brain tumor progression and treatment response. Traditional fDMs, calculated with b=0,1000 s/mm2, are confounded by perfusion effects. This study used flow compensated fDMs, calculated with b=500,1000 s/mm2, to evaluate the effects of perfusion changes on longitudinal diffusion differences. Voxels classified differently on flow compensated fDMs vs. traditional fDMs had significant perfusion changes. This indicates flow compensated fDMs are less sensitive to perfusion effects as voxels classified as changing ADC on the traditional fDM solely due to perfusion effects are classified as not changing ADC on the flow compensated fDM.

Adam Elkhaled¹, Joanna J. Phillips², Susan M. Chang³, Soonmee Cha¹, and Sarah J. Nelson^1,4
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ²Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ³Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ⁴Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

Although Gd-based contrast agents can help interrogate tumor margins in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by exploiting permeable vasculature, the full extent of infiltrative disease remains difficult to assess. This study sought to analyze the metabolic profiles of non-enhancing image-guided tissue samples from patients with GBM using the NMR technique of 1H HR-MAS spectroscopy. Results indicated that while NE tumor was as cellular as contrast-enhancing tumor, it nevertheless demonstrated an altered metabolic profile indicating that infiltrative tumor resembles grade III glioma, which lacks the vascularity and necrosis of GBM. This information may assist in defining surgical margins and residual tumor.

Grzegorz L. Chadzynski^1,2, Sotirios Bisdas³, Gisela E. Hagberg^1,2, Rolf Pohmann², Gunamony Shajan², Rupert Kolb³, Uwe Klose³, and Klaus Scheffler^1,2
1Dept. Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, ²Dept. High-Field Magnetic Resonance, Max Planc Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany, ³Dept. Neuroradiology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

Recent studies have shown that in-vivo 1H CSI at ultra-high magnetic field may benefit from the gain in signal to noise ratio and spectral resolution. This could be of interest when assessing the physiopathology of brain tumors, where detection of 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) with 1H CSI at a field strength of 3 T has recently been reported. This particular compound is associated with mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenasis (IDH) frequently occurring in gliomas. The aim of this study was to verify whether proton CSI at a field strength of 9.4 T can facilitate the diagnosis of human brain tumors.

Lawrence Kenning¹, Martin Lowry¹, Ralph Noeske², and Lindsay W. Turnbull^1
1Centre for MR Investigations, Hull York Medical School at University of Hull, Hull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom, ²EMEA Research and Collaboration, Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, 10587 Berlin, Germany

Lactate concentration in gliomas is a potential biomarker for tumour behaviour and treatment response. To investigate this we implemented a PRESS MRSI editing sequence with BASING pulses and interleaved frequency offsets to reduce motion effects. Broadband refocusing pulses reduced chemical-shift displacement thus improving editing efficiency. Semi-automated processing generated separate singlet and edited spectra that were processed using LCModel. In 16 patients we observed lactate in 5 of 7 high-grade lesions, where it accounted for 33-60% of the resonance at 1.3ppm with concentrations of 1.7-6.0mM. The sequence will allow investigation of relationships between lactate concentration, tumour heterogeneity and treatment response.

Ge Zhang¹, Xianlong Wang¹, Shilong Lu¹, Zhibo Wen¹, and Jinyuan Zhou^2
1Department of Radiology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, ²Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

We explored the imaging features of malignant, brain metastasis, and different grades of glioma using Amide Proton Transfer MR Imaging at 3 Tesla. Results showed that The average APT signal intensities of the viable tumor cores in each tissue groups were significantly higher than those of peritumoral edema or normal-appearing white matter. Metastases had not significantly different APT signal intensities than those of malignant, low-grade and high-grade glioma. APT imaging provides additional diagnostic information to characterize brain metastases non-invasively.

Slim Fellah¹, Olivier Chinot², Nadine Girard^1,3, Maxime Guye¹, and Virginie Callot^4
1Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale (CRMBM), CNRS / Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France, ²Service de Neurochirurgie, Hôpital de la Timone, AP-HM, Marseille, France, ³Service de Neuroradiologie, Hôpital de la Timone, AP-HM, Marseille, France, ⁴Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale (CRMBM), Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

In this study, we performed longitudinal MR follow-up of GBM treated with anti-angiogenics using a multimodal MR protocol. The investigations particularly involved arterial spin-labeling (ASL) and susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). Both sequences provide vascular information that may be particularly appropriated to evaluate the anti-angiogenic response, in complement to RANO criteria.

Hyeon-Man Baek¹, Yun-Ju Lee¹, Eun-Hee Kim¹, Chaejoon Cheong¹, and Seung-Ho Yang^2
1Division of Magnetic Resonance, Korea Basic Science Institute, Ochang, Chungbuk, Korea, ²Neurosurgery St. Vincent's Hospital, Catholic University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

This study represents, to our knowledge, the first in vitro measurements of absolute quantification of 2HG levels in IDH1/2 mutated tumors using high resolution 1H-900MHz (21.1 Tesla) NMR spectroscopy. The levels of 2HG in this work had a range of 0.29 - 5.79 µmol/g from seven glioma samples with IDH1/2 mutation (e.g., 4 WHO grade II and 3 WHO grade III). In addition, Glu levels were found to be lower in IDH1/2 mutant tumors compared to IDH1/2 wild type tumors. This result may reflect that IDH mutations cause a decrease in Glu and/or -ketoglutarate production and an increase in 2HG.

A.A.J. De Rotte¹, A.G. Van der Kolk¹, D.R. Rutgers¹, P.M.J. Zelissen², Fredy Visser^1,3, Peter R. Luijten¹, and Jeroen Hendrikse^1
1Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ²Internal Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ³Philips Healthcare, Best, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

For diagnosing small pituitary gland lesions, a high spatial resolution is necessary. Due to its superior soft tissue contrast, MRI is the technique of choice for diagnosis of these lesions. Since a higher fieldstrength enables higher spatial resolutions, a dedicated pituitary gland protocol was developed at 7.0T, consisting of a T1-weighted Magnetization-Preparation Inversion Recovery TSE sequence and a T2-weighted TSE sequence, both with 0.8mm isotropic voxels. Highly detailed visualization of the pituitary gland was possible in 10 healthy volunteers and 2 patients, with high image quality and -contrast. This dedicated 7.0T protocol could have additional value in the clinical setting.

Martina Campanella¹, Tamara Ius², Miran Skrap², and Luciano Fadiga^1,3
1RBCS, Italian Institute of Technology, Genova, Genova, Italy, ²Department of Neurosurgery, Az. Ospedaliero-Universitaria Santa Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Udine, Italy, ³Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Structural Magnetic Resonance(MRI) technique does not provide exhaustive information about the integrity of the surrounding/embedded white matter(WM). In this study we used Diffusion-Weighted MRI tractography to explore tumor-induced alterations of WM architecture without any a priori knowledge about the fiber paths under consideration. We analyzed by deterministic multi-fiber tractography 16 cases of histologically classified brain tumors. Tractography results showed different degrees of severity in WM involvement, which strongly correlated with the histopathological features of the lesion, suggesting the application of the proposed method as a diagnostic tool in those critical cases where the lesion does not involve major/known WM paths.

Sanjeev Chawla¹, Sumei Wang¹, Sungheon Kim², Sulaiman Sheriff³, Ramesh Rengan⁴, Alexander Lin⁴, Elias R. Melhem¹, Andrew Maudsley³, and Harish Poptani^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Radiology, New York University, New York, NY, United States, ³Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States, ⁴Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

To assess the extent of damage to normal brain in patients irradiated with whole brain radiation therapy, patients with brain metastases (n=4) and small-lung cancers undergoing prophylactic cranial irradiation (n=3) underwent whole brain echoplanar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Significantly increase in mean diffusivity (MD), Cho/Cr and trend towards decrease in NAA/Cr were observed from right hippocampus post-irradiation. Significant decrease in FA from right centrum-semiovale and significant increase in MD and Cho/Cr from genu of corpus-callosum were also observed post-irradiation. These promising findings suggest the potential of EPSI and DTI in assessing radiation toxicity in normal brain.

Li Wei¹, Scott N. Hwang², Andrew H. Miller³, Ying Guo⁴, Daniel Brat^5,6, Chad A. Holder², Xiaoping P. Hu¹, Jeffrey J. Olson⁷, and Hyunsuk Shim^2,6
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ²Department Radiology and Imaging Science, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ³Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁴Department of Biostatistics, school of public health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁵Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁶Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁷Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

Epigenetic modifications are now recognized as a frequent development in the early phases of tumorigenesis, however, they may be readily reversible by “epigenetic drugs’’ such as inhibitors of histone deacetylases. In this study, we detected metabolites changes in GBM tumor to SAHA treatment by magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). The result shows increased NAA, mI and Cre and decreased Cho and Lac/lipids around the tumor area only in responders. This suggests that MRSI can distinguish responders (normalization/restoration of tumor metabolites towards normal brain-like metabolism) from non-responders.

Nigel Paul Davies^1,2, Simrandip Gill^2,3, Lesley MacPherson³, Theodoros N. Arvanitis⁴, and Andrew C. Peet^2,3
1Imaging & Medical Physics, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ²Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ³Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ⁴School of Electronic, Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom

MRS metabolite profiles are useful for characterising brain tumours. Clinical, histopathological and genetic features vary between brain tumours at different ages in children and adults. However, it is not known whether these differences manifest as variations in tumour metabolite levels with age. This study investigates metabolite level differences and correlations with age across a cohort of childhood brain tumours (N=243). The only significant correlation after Bonferroni correction was between choline and age for medulloblastomas (N=42). This finding could not be explained by differences in maturation, metastatic status, gender or histopathological subtype; hence the potential association with genetic subtype should be investigated.

Peter S. LaViolette¹, Mitchell Daun², Melissa A. Prah¹, Kourosh Jafari-Khouzani³, Pavlina Polaskova³, Elizabeth R. Gerstner⁴, Steven M. Stufflebeam³, and Kathleen M. Schmainda^1
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, ⁴Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

A new biomarker of brain tumor vasculature derived from independent component analysis (ICA) applied to DSC MRI data has been recently described. It has been shown to occur preferentially in tumor, and is predictive of response to bevacizumab. This study varies the number of ICA components modeled to determine what number is most appropriate for modeling AVOL. The study was done in 27 patients with two scans days apart prior to therapy. We also compared simultaneously acquired SE and GE data. We find that modeling 4 or 5 components results in highly repeatable GE maps, while SE maps of AVOL are less repeatable.

Tsukasa Wada¹, Toshiyuki Murakami¹, Takamasa Nanba¹, Kohsuke Kudo², Makoto Sasaki², and Kuniaki Ogasawara^1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan, ²Division of Ultrahigh Field MRI, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan

The aim of this study was to investigate whether time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography with 7 Tesla MR scanner can display the anterior choroidal artery (AchA) in patients with sella and parasella tumors. 7T-MRA demonstrated at least one AchA in all seven patients. In two of 3 patients who underwent microsurgery through craniotomy, although two AchAs were intraoperatively identified, 7T-MRA displayed only one AchA.

Jing Guo¹, Martin Simon², Sebastian Papazoglou³, Christian Erdmann⁴, Uwe Melchert², Matteo Bonsanto⁴, Juergen Braun⁵, Dirk Petersen², Ingolf Sack³, and Jens Wuerfel^6
1Department of Radiology, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ²neuroradiology, University Luebeck, Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, ³Department of Radiology, Charite- University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ⁴neuroradiology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein - Campus Luebeck, Luebeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, ⁵Department of Medical Informatics, Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ⁶neuroradiology, University Medicine Goettingen, Goettingen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Tumor MRE characterizes and differentiates individual tumor entities indistinguishable by conventional MRI. MRE may thus provide a predictive marker for tumor malignancy and therewith contribute to an early noninvasive clinical assessment of suspicious cerebral lesions.

Janine M. Lupo¹, Caroline A. Racine², Angela Jakary¹, Sarah J. Nelson^1,3, Susan M. Chang⁴, and Nicholas Butowski^2
1Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States,³Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States, ⁴Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

The current frameworks for understanding neurocognitive changes over time in patients with glioma are still limited, and would benefit from correlation with imaging in order to gain insight into the pathogenesis of treatment-related brain injury. We performed a pilot study that aimed to identify quantitative physiological parameters obtained from diffusion-weighted, perfusion-weighted, and spectroscopic MR imaging prior to surgery and subsequent therapy that can relate to measured neurocognitive impairment before, during, and after the course of standard treatment regimes. Perfusion parameters were most often associated with cognitive measures in general, with normal-appearing brain regions driving associations at later time points.

Lawrence Kenning¹, Martin Lowry¹, and Lindsay W. Turnbull^1
1Centre for MR Investigations, Hull York Medical School at University of Hull, Hull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Treatment response can be difficult to assess in MRI data acquired with varying modalities and obliquities. We addressed this issue in multi-parametric MR data acquired from glioma patients using image registration. Data were obtained prior to therapy and again shortly after completion of radiotherapy. Anatomical and functional (DTI, DCE, DSC) images were acquired at each exam. Motion correction within series, along with inter, and intra exam registration allowed creation of single, multiparametric 4D volumes containing FLAIR T2, post-contrast T1, ADC, FA, R1, Ktrans, ve, vb, and rCBV data. These multiparametric datasets enable facile assessment of response to therapeutic interventions.

Martin Lowry¹, Lawrence Kenning¹, Christopher Rowland-Hill², Sanjay Dixit³, Shailendra Achawal⁴, Chittoor Rajaraman⁴, and Lindsay Turnbull^1
1Centre for MR Investigations, Hull York Medical School, Hull, UK, United Kingdom, ²Department of Radiology, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, Hull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom, ³Department of Oncology, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, Hull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom, ⁴Department of Neurosurgery, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust, Hull, East Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Parametric response maps are proving useful in the search for methods capable of assessing the response to treatment in a variety of tumours. We have compared the efficacy of parameter maps generated from diffusion weighted, dynamic contrast-enhanced and dynamic susceptibility contrast imaging in the early phase of chemoradiotherapy of high grade gliomas following surgery. In this scenario only the parameters Ktrans and ve were significantly able to differentiate between the responders and non responders. Lack of efficacy of ADC and rCBV may be a combined consequence of extensive tissue remodelling and non-zero values in the various brain tissue states.

Peter S. LaViolette¹, Elizabeth Cochran², Alexander D. Cohen³, Mona Al-Gizawiy¹, Jennifer Connelley⁴, Scott D. Rand¹, Mark G. Malkin⁴, and Kathleen M. Schmainda^1
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States,⁴Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Recent conflicting reports show that regions of bevacizumab induced restricted diffusion, as measured with DWI MRI contain neoplastic hypercellularity or atypical necrosis. In this study we look at one sample from a glioblastoma patient ex-vivo. We find that regions of dark ADC contain both hypercellularity and necrosis. Regions of necrosis had more restricted diffusion than regions of hypercallularity. rCBV was also decreased in necrotic regions compared to hypercellularity.

Moran Artzi^1,2, Orna Aizenstein¹, Deborah T. Blumenthal³, Felix Bokstein³, Benjamin W. Corn^2,4, and Dafna Ben Bashat^1
1The Functional Brain Center, The Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, ²Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel, ³Neuro-Oncology Service, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, ⁴Institute of Radiotherapy, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

Following bevacizumab(BVZ) therapy in patients with glioblastoma (GB), a pattern of non-enhancing tumor progression was reported, characterized by areas with hyperintense T2-weighted signal. This study aimed to differentiate between the vasogenic and tumor components in these areas, based on diffusion and perfusion MRI. Thirteen GB patients were scanned before and during BVZ therapy (total 37 scans). Unsupervised segmentation was performed on the non-enhancing hyperintense FLAIR areas, clustering into: vasogenic edema, intermediate and active tumor. A decrease in vasogenic edema, along with a trend of increased tumor-related components was detected, supporting the concept of infiltrative tumor progression pattern following BVZ therapy.

Matthew Grech-Sollars¹, Dawn E. Saunders², Kim P. Phipps³, Ramneek Kaur¹, Jonathan D. Clayden¹, and Christopher A. Clark^1
1UCL Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, London, United Kingdom, ²Department of Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, London, United Kingdom, ³Department of Neuro-oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, London, United Kingdom

The functional diffusion map (fDM) has been suggested as a tool for early detection of tumour treatment efficacy. In higher grade tumours, it has been shown that a decrease in ADC is indicative of increased cellularity and poor treatment response. However, due to the relatively high ADC, and lower cellularity, of lower grade tumours, we expect a decrease in ADC to be indicative of positive treatment response. We therefore hypothesize that fDM changes need to be interpreted in accordance with tumour grade and show this in paediatric brain tumours of different grades.

Ben Babourina-Brooks¹, Martin Wilson^1,2, Theodoros N. Arvanitis^2,3, Andrew C. Peet^1,2, and Nigel Paul Davies^1,4
1School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ²Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ³School of Electronic, Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom, ⁴Imaging & Medical Physics, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in micro-environment factors relating to temperature, exchange effects and ionic strength between childhood brain tumour types using the water proton resonant frequency (PRF) shift relative to metabolite peaks (methyl creatine and tCho) determined by MRS. PRF shift averaging using amplitude weighted methods were also investigated. 1.5T Siemans Symphony data from 19 cancer patients (8 Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour (PNET) and 11 Gliomas) and 20 apparently normal child brain spectra were analysed. Results showed significant differences in PRF shifts between PNET and Glioma tumour types as well as tumour against apparently healthy spectra.

Günther Grabner¹, Sabine Goed¹, Christine Marosi², Stefan Wolfsberger³, Aygül Mert³, Georg Widhalm³, Siegfried Trattnig¹, and Matthias Preusser^2
1Department of Radiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, ²Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, ³Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

This study shows that the local image variance based on Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) at 7 Tesla can be used to facilitate the differentiation between cerebral lymphomas and high grade brain gliomas.

Jared Narvid¹, Suchandrima Banerjee², Jason Talbott¹, Michel Kliot³, and Cynthia Chin^1
1Neuroradiology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Global Applied Sciences, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States, ³Neurosurgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States

Non-invasive imaging methods that can visualize axons in peripheral nerves may be useful in helping to distinguish axonontmetic nerve injuries which can recover through axonal regeneration from neurotmetic injuries which cannot either due to physical discontinuity in the nerve or intraneural fibrosis which impedes nerve fibers from regenerating. It would also be useful to visualize the spatial relationship of axons to tumors arising from nerves to help determine the surgical resectablility of such masses when clinically appropriate. We have successfully applied rFOV DTI to visualize nerve fibers in the clinical setting of traumatic nerve injuries and peripheral nerve tumors.

Jack T. Skinner^1,2, Adrienne N. Dula^1,2, Lori R. Arlinghaus², Jason Williams², Megan Strother¹, Paul Moots³, and Christopher C. Quarles^1,2
1Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Neurology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States

Clinical approaches for monitoring treatment response in brain tumors often rely on imaging tumor size, which may be insufficient based on early changes in tumor physiology. Interpretation of the effectiveness of anti-angiogenic therapies can be confounded by changes in standard of care images. Quantitative MRI methods assessing blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), cellularity and permeability were applied in a recurrent glioma patient receiving bevacizumab. A decrease in BF, BV, K^trans and ADC was observed two weeks post-treatment. Correlation of these changes with tumor size and survival time may help establish these imaging biomarkers as predictors of early treatment response.

Huarui Du¹, Bing Fan², Ya Cao³, Xiaoying Wang^2,3, Jue Zhang^1,3, and Jing Fang^1,3
1College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China, ²Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China, ³Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability of Volume Transfer Coefficient (Ktrans) and Interstitial Space Volume Fraction (ve) derived from Reference Tissue (RR) model to differentiate intraaxial brain masses such as low-grade glioma, high-grade glioma, cerebral metastases and meningiomas. The results demonstrated that Ktrans and ve derived from RR model are promising noninvasive imaging modality that could be used for distinguishing intraaxial brain masses.

Haiyan Lou¹, Rui Zhang¹, Jingfeng Zhang¹, Qidong Wang¹, Ying Tong², Shunliang Xu¹, and He Wang^3
1Radiology Department, Medical School of Zhejiang University, hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, ²Neurosurgery Department, Medical School of Zhejiang University, hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, ³MR research China,GE healthcare, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

the use of 3T HR suscepibility weighted imaging will accurate quanliative diagnosis hemangioblastomas and hemangiopericytomas from meningiomas based on the intralesional susceptibility effects

A.J. Idema¹, Jannie P. Wijnen², and Arend Heerschap^3
1Neurosurgery, UMC St Radboud, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ²UMC Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ³Radiology, UMC St Radboud, Nijmegen, Netherlands

With 1H MR Spectroscopy brain tumor infiltration can be assessed beyond that with conventional MRI. Our aim was to explore the potential hereto of additional metabolites observable at short echo times. We analyzed 23 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with a glioma brain tumor with 3D MRSI. From the healthy volunteers the 1% and 99% percentiles were determined for the different metabolite ratios. Voxels with ratios outside the 1%-99% were included in tumor imaging. Deviating Cho/NAA was found in the whole tumor, while Gln/Glu was more pronounced in active parts of the tumor and mI/NAA in the infiltrative part.

J. Gabe Heredia¹, John K. Hald², Pat A. Turski³, Cheng Guan Koay¹, and Mary Elizabeth Meyerand^4
1Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ²Neuroradiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, ³Department of Radiology, University of Wisonsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States, ⁴Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI, United States

Masahiro Ida¹, Toshiki Wakayama², and Katsutoshi Murata^3
1Department of Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Oota-ku, Tokyo, Japan, ²Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Oota-ku, Tokyo, Japan, ³Research and Collaboration, Siemens Japan, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan

We evaluate whether amide proton transfer (APT) imaging can provide additional information in differentiating malignant brain tumors (WHO grade III & IV) from benign tumors (grade II) and chemotherapy-induced pseudoprogression and irradiation necrosis. APT imaging was performed at 3-tesla using a gradient-echo sequence for CEST (W.I.P) with thirteen frequency offsets (4.5ppm). Increased APT signal was observed in tumor tissues in grade III and IV. However, no elevation of APT signal was recognized in grade II tumors, chemoradiation-indueced pseudoprogression and necrosis. APT imaging can provide adjunct information utilized for differentiating malignant brain tumors from benign tumors and post-therapeutic necrosis.

Jeremy Moreau¹, Arturo Cardenas-Blanco², Santanu Chakraborty², Mark E. Schweitzer², Carole Scherling³, Joyce Mackenzie⁴, Barbara Collins⁵, and Andra Smith^1
1School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, ²Diagnostic Imaging, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, ³Memory and aging center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States, ⁴The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, ⁵Neuropsychology, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Chemotherapy used in the treatment of breast cancer has been associated with damage to myelin. Hence investigating white matter changes in breast cancer patients following chemotherapy could aid in the understanding of chemotherapy related cognitive impairment. this study we assesses FA in a group of breast cancer patients prior to and at two time points following chemotherapy treatment. The results suggests: i) Quantitative DTI biomarkers are sensitive to detect structural changes induced by chemotherapy ii) chemotherapy impacts white matter in important areas of the brain. iii) Alterations, detected as changes in FA, recover 1 year post-chemotherapy to near pre-chemotherapy levels.

Harm J. van de Haar¹, Saartje Burgmans¹, Thijs van Osch², Jacobus Jansen³, Frank C.G. van Bussel¹, Cecile RLPN Jeukens³, Mark A. van Buchem², Paul A.M. Hofman³, Frans RJ Verhey¹, and Walter H. Backes^3
1Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands, ²Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands, ³Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands

A potential underlying mechanism for dementia through Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) could be that microscopic vascular abnormalities cause leakage of the blood brain barrier prior to neuronal damage. The primary aim of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility of detecting this damage in terms of the pharmacokinetic parameters fractional blood volume (vb) and leakage (Ki), in brains suffering from (preclinical) AD with a dual-temporal resolution DCE-MRI sequence. Also, the minimally required scan duration was investigated.

Helen Beaumont¹, Geoff J. M. Parker¹, Roland Zahn², and Laura M. Parkes^1
1Centre for Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Imaging Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, GMC, United Kingdom, ²Divisions of Psychology & Psychiatry, University of Manchester, Manchester, GMC, United Kingdom

Perfusion was greater in right occipital regions and cerebellum in patients compared to controls and was lower in right frontal and temporal regions. Arrival time showed more bilateral differences, being longer in insular, occipital and medial temporal regions in patients compared to controls and shorter in the caudate, amygdala and temporal regions.

Jonathan D. Thiessen^1,2, Kerrie Hayes³, and Melanie Martin^2,4
1Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, ²Physics & Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, ³Biology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, ⁴Physics, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

T₁ and T₂ relaxation, diffusion tensor imaging, and quantitative magnetization transfer imaging was applied to ex vivo APP and PS1 mice, with a focus on the hippocampal formation. Structures in the hippocampal formation were visible in diffusion anisotropy maps, allowing regions of interest to be defined and measured for all of the quantitative MRI measurements. This work represents a first step towards multimodal MRI measurements in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.

Andreana Benitez¹, Els Fieremans², Jens H. Jensen¹, Maria F. Falangola¹, Ali Tabesh¹, Rachael L. Deardorff¹, James S. Babb², Dmitry S. Novikov², and Joseph A. Helpern^1
1Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States, ²Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, New York University, New York, New York, United States

We applied DKI-based white matter tract integrity metrics to the study of Alzheimer’s disease within the framework of retrogenesis; late-myelinating (LM) tracts are more susceptible to aging and AD, and are therefore hypothesized to decline more so than early-myelinating (EM) tracts, which remain comparatively stable. In our sample (N=41) of matched normal controls, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and AD subjects, using atlas-based ROI analyses we found that in the course of AD, axonal density loss and myelin breakdown occur in LM tracts, but largely not in EM tracts, and that myelin breakdown in LM tracts correlates with poorer verbal fluency.

Valerie C. Anderson¹, James T. Obayashi¹, Dean Peterson¹, Louis P. Riccelli², Jeffrey A. Kaye³, Joseph F. Quinn³, and William D. Rooney^4
1Neurological Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States, ²Neuroradiology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States, ³Neurology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States, ⁴Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, United States

The intravascular water volume fraction (p_b) of periventricular and deep white matter hyperintensities (WMH) was quantified in 15 elderly subjects (70  6 yrs). Full volume ¹H₂O R₁ maps were prepared at 7T before and at four times after gadoteridol administration. P_b maps were obtained by voxelwise fitting of tissue and blood R₁ values to an equation for two-site (transendothelial) water exchange. WMHs were identified by semi-automatic segmentation of FLAIR images. Significantly increased p_b in periventricular (2.6  0.6%) compared to deep (2.1  0.5%) lesions was observed, suggesting that the etiology of periventricular and deep WMHs may be different.

Richard Watts¹, Trevor Andrews^1,2, Scott Hipko¹, Jay Gonyea¹, and Christopher G. Filippi^1,3
1Department of Radiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, United States, ²Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States, ³Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States

T₁ is sensitive to the macromolecular content of biological tissue. Quantitative whole-brain T₁ maps were obtained from 41 control subjects aged 18-76 using a fluid attenuated 3D turbo spin echo technique. T₁from cortical grey matter showed a negative correlation with age (r=-0.599, p<0.001) major white matter tracts showed a positive correlation (r=0.527, p<0.001), and juxtacortical white matter showed no significant correlation (r=0.035, p=0.830). This study presents the first systematic study of T₁ in normal aging, and provides normative data for future studies of disease pathology.

Wang Zhan¹, Kristy A. Nielson^2,3, Piero Antuono³, Jeri-Anne Lyons⁴, and J. Carson Smith^3,5
1Maryland Neuroimaging Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States, ²Department of Psychology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ³Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ⁴Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ⁵Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States

Physical exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, however, it is unknown if exercise training alters the cerebral white matter (WM) structure associated with the functional activations during memory retrieval. A longitudinal DTI study was performed to compare the fractional anisotropy (FA) alterations introduced by walk exercise interventions in 12 weeks for both MCI patients (N=15) and matched normal controls (N=17). Unexpectedly, our data indicate that both groups exhibited FA reductions in WM after the exercise intervention, and that the MCI patients show greater extent and greater spread of FA reductions compared to the controls.

Audrunas Gruslys¹, Julio Acosta-Cabronero², Peter J. Nestor³, Guy B. Williams⁴, and Richard E. Ansorge^1
1Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom, ²Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom, ³German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany, ⁴Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

Our goal was to develop a fully-automated algorithm capable of detecting and quantifying the progression of brain atrophy in single dementia patients using sequential clinical scans. We used our non-linear image registration program “Ezys” to measure longitudinal local volume changes between each two scans of the same subject and used regression to estimate yearly volume atrophy at each voxel. We tested our method on 19 subjects: controls (6), Alzheimer's disease (6) and semantic dementia (7). The results were consistent with prior knowledge about each disease progression. Each condition could be visually identified by looking to detected atrophy maps only.

Aikaterini Kotrotsou¹, David A. Bennett², Julie A. Schneider², Tom Golak¹, and Konstantinos Arfanakis^1,2
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, United States, ²Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States

The aims of this work were to: 1) longitudinally assess the volume of various gray matter regions measured with ex-vivo MRI, and 2) investigate the relationship between volumetric measurements performed in-vivo and ex-vivo on the same subjects. No significant change was detected in the volume of gray matter structures over time postmortem. A statistically significant linear relationship was detected between the volumes of brain regions measured ex-vivo and in-vivo on the same subjects. Combination of ex-vivo MR volumetry and histopathology may become an effective tool for the assessment of the neuropathologic correlates of macrostructural brain abnormalities observed in-vivo.

Lukas Pirpamer¹, Christian Langkammer¹, Stephan Seiler¹, Christian Enzinger¹, Franz Fazekas¹, Reinhold Schmidt¹, and Stefan Ropele^1
1Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Styria, Austria

R2* has been recently validated as a measure for brain iron. This study investigated the relationship between serum levels of iron and R2* in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and deep gray matter structures. R2* mapping was done in 275 normal ageing subjects. R2* in deep gray matter was not related to serum level of iron or WMH severity. However, subjects suffering from hypertension and a high WMH score showed a significant correlation between lesional R2* and iron concentration in the serum thus underlining the role of microangiopathy in the development of WMH.

Giovanni Giulietti¹, Michael Dayan¹, Laura Serra¹, Elisa Tuzzi¹, Barbara Spano'¹, Mara Cercignani², Carlo Caltagirone^3,4, and Marco Bozzali^1
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, ²Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom, ³Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, ⁴Departement of Neuroscience, "Tor Vergata" University, Rome, Italy

In the current study, we investigated the classification between healthy subjects and patients with Alzheimer’s disease, using structural (T1) and diffusion (DWI) MR data as input to Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers. SVM based on T1 features had higher discrimination capability relative to SVM based on DWI, but the best classification performance (92.6% of accuracy) was obtained combining them. We achieved satisfactory result despite the utilization of a small number of features, considering that it is not uncommon to use hundreds features to improve the classification performance. This evidence make our approach suitable to be adopted into clinical practice.

Daniel-Paolo Streitbürger¹, Karsten Mueller¹, André Pampel¹, Jöran Lepsien¹, Matthias L. Schroeter^1,2, and Harald E. Möller^1
1Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Unit, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany, ²Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

Recent research indicates an influence from image acquisition on the results of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Six T1-weighted datasets were acquired from 36 subjects using different head coils (12 and 32-channel), sequences (MP-RAGE and MP2RAGE) and isotropic resolutions (0.8 mm and 1.0 mm). Substantial modulations of VBM results, probably due to differences in SNR/CNR obtained with different imaging sequences, were obtained in acquisitions with the 12-channel coil, with which the MP-RAGE sequence yielded more wide-spread aging effects. MP2RAGE seemed less prone to false positive results from combining data acquired with different hardware.

Babak A. Ardekani^1
1Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, The Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York, United States

Structural images from the OASIS brain MRI database were used to study the corpus callosum size, characterized by its mid-sagittal cross-sectional area (CCA), and shape, characterized by its circularity (CIR) in early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The CCA and CIR were compared in 98 normal controls subjects, 70 patients with very mild AD, and 28 patients with mild AD. The CIR was significantly different between the two patients groups, while CCA differences were not statistically significant. The results suggest that CIR may be a more sensitive marker than CCA for monitoring the progression of AD.

Jesper Hagemeier¹, Michael G. Dwyer¹, Niels P. Bergsland¹, Ferdinand Schweser², Christopher R. Magnano¹, Mari Heininen-Brown¹, Deepa P. Ramasamy¹, Ellen Carl¹, Cheryl Kennedy¹, Mariya Cherneva¹, Rebecca Melia¹, Paul Polak¹, Andreas Deistung³, Jürgen R. Reichenbach², and Robert Zivadinov^1
1Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Department of Neurology, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States, ²Medical Physics Group, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology I, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany, ³Medical Physics Group, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany

Brain iron levels have been shown to increase with age, and to be higher in age-related neurodegenerative disorders. To fully understand the pathology of increased iron concentration in neurodegenerative disorders, it is important to take a step back and investigate aging in healthy individuals. In the present work, we show strong associations between deep gray matter mean phase measures acquired using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI), indicative of increased iron levels, and age in healthy individuals. This relationship is non-linear, with the highest overall iron concentrations observed in middle-age, after which levels rebound. Iron content of tissues with very high iron levels is linearly related to age. A strong association is also observed with brain atrophy.

Giorgia Grisot¹, Debra A. Fleischman², Anil K. Vasireddi¹, Christopher M. Bart¹, Lisa L. Barnes², David A. Bennett², and Kostantinos Arfanakis^1,2
1Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, United States, ²Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States

The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis that, high levels of systemic inflammation in a community sample of non-demented elderly individuals are associated with altered diffusion characteristics of brain white matter. C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were measured in serum from 97 non-demented elderly subjects (age = 85.3 ± 5.7 years). All subjects were imaged with diffusion tensor MRI. Significant negative correlations between FA and systemic inflammation, and significant positive correlations between trace and inflammation, were detected in several white matter structures, primarily driven by higher radial diffusivity for higher inflammation levels.

Lihua Qiu^1,2, Yong He³, Yi Zhou³, Hehan Tang¹, Qiuju Huang¹, Ling Zou¹, Lanlan Wang³, and Qiyong Gong^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, ²Radiology, The second people's hospital of Yibin, Yibin, Sichuan, China, ³Department of Laboratory Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Alzheimer¡¯s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is highly heritable. In the present study, we investigate the FA change in nondemented subjects with AD risk gene of C allele in clusterin (CLU). We found nondemented healthy carriers of the CLU gene risk variant showed both increased and decreased FA in risk CC genotype group which may relate with some abnormal function and increase vulnerability to developing AD later in life.

Mohammad Haris¹, Kavindra Nath², Kejia Cai¹, Anup Singh¹, Rachelle Crescenzi¹, Feliks Kogan¹, Gaurav Verma², Sanjana Reddy¹, Hari Hariharan¹, Elias R. Melhem³, and Ravinder Reddy^1
1CMROI, Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, ²Molecular Imaging, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, ³Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Glutamate (Glu) is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in brain and has been shown to decrease in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using glutamate amine exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) method, we imaged the change in [Glu] in APP-PS1 transgenic mouse model of AD at high spatial resolution. Compared to wild-type controls, AD mice exhibited notable reduction of GluCEST contrast (~30%). A positive correlation was observed between GluCEST contrast and 1HMRS measured Glu/total creatine ratio. This method potentially provides a novel noninvasive biomarker for diagnosing the disease in preclinical stages and enables the development of disease modifying therapies for AD.

Rachelle Crescenzi^1,2, Catherine DeBrosse^1,2, Amy Thomas², Mohammed Haris², Hari Hariharan², Virginia M. Y. Lee³, Arijitt Borthakur², and Ravinder Reddy^2
1Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Center for Magnetic Resonance and Optical Imaging, Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Pathogenic tau protein aggregates in the synapses of neurons and disrupts neurotransmitter function. Glutamate is a wide-spread neurotransmitter, and has been shown by 1H MRS to decrease in the hippocampus of Alzheimer’s disease patients with tau pathology. In this study, we measured the concentration of glutamate by MRS and by chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) in healthy mice and transgenic mice with tau pathology. Mice with tau pathology have decreased concentrations of glutamate and n-acetyl-aspartate in their hippocampus. High resolution maps of glutamate concentration acquired with the novel GluCEST technique measured decreased glutamate across the entire brain of tauopathy mice.

Bing Zhang¹, Fei Chen², Ming Li¹, Xin Zhang¹, Huiting Wang¹, Yun Xu², Bin Zhu¹, and Weibo Chen^3
1Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, ²Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, ³Philips Healthcare, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

The pattern of metabolic heterogeneity in the hippocampus by 3T multi-voxel proton spectroscopy in Alzheimer's disease.

Dai Shan¹, Shuxia Wang¹, Yong Fan², Fuchun Lin¹, and Hao Lei^1
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China, ²National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

The effect of enriched housing of Alzheimer's disease (AD) transgenic mice is still in dispute. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether enriched environment treatment will cause macrostructural changes in the brain of APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice. Deformation-based morphormetry (DBM) was used to analyze the anatomical magnetic resonance imaging data.

Peipeng Liang¹, Zhihao Li², Gopikrishna Deshpande³, Zhiqun Wang¹, Xiaoping P. Hu², and Kuncheng Li^1
1Dept. of Radiology, Xuan wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, ²Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States

The present study applied correlation-purged Granger causality analysis (CPGC) to investigate the effective connectivity of four basic networks in 16 aMCI patients and 16 matched healthy controls ¨C default mode network (DMN), hippocampal cortical memory network (HCMN), dorsal attention network (DAN) and fronto-parietal control network (FPCN). It was found that, as contrast to healthy controls, aMCI exhibited significantly reduced within-FPCN (anterior-posterior) and hippocampus centered causal connectivity, together with enhanced within-DMN and within right frontal cortex causal connectivity. The current study demonstrated the coexistence of causal disconnection and compensation in aMCI patients, and might provide insights into biological mechanism of the disease.

Philip A. Cook¹, Brian B. Avants¹, Corey T. McMillan², John Powers², Jonathan E. Peelle³, James C. Gee¹, and Murray Grossman^2
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, United States

Language deficits are widely reported in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We hypothesize that these deficits are due to disruption of a large-scale neural network involving both language and executive resources. We use multi-modal MRI and sparse statistical methods to evaluate whether imaging of white matter enhances prediction of language deficits when combined with imaging of cortex. We apply Eigenanatomy, a novel technique for data-driven parcellation of brain images, to find areas of the brain correlated with language performance. Both gray and white matter contribute to efficient models of verbal fluency and naming performance.

Adam Bernstein¹, Sumana Veeravelli¹, Alexander Alvarez¹, Megan Fitzhugh¹, Eriko Yoshimaru¹, Michael Valdez¹, John Totenhagen¹, Kewei Chen², James Moeller³, Paul Coleman⁴, Kenneth Mitchell⁵, Matt Huentelman⁶, Carol Barnes¹, Gene Alexander¹, and Theodore Trouard^1
1University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States, ²Banner Alzheimer's Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ³Columbia University, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ, United States, ⁵Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States, ⁶Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States

Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), high-resolution anatomical imaging and cognitive performance tests were carried out on a transgenic rat model of hypertension (HTN). After 6 weeks of HTN, significant differences between hypertensive and normotensive animals were seen in learning and memory function as well as in fractional anisotropy and patterns of gray matter volume.

Weiqi Liao^1,2, Xiaojing Long^1,2, Chunxiang Jiang^1,2, Yanping Chen³, and Lijuan Zhang^1,2
1Paul C Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, ²Shenzhen Key Laboratory for MRI, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, ³Industry Development Department, Shenzhen National High-tech Industrial Innovation Center, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

This study tried to find objective evidences for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects reverted to normal cognitive status during the follow-up visits in ADNI cohort. Bilateral hippocampal volumes, atrophy rate of bilateral temporal lobe, concentration of T-tau and A¦Â1-42 in cerebrospinal fluid and MMSE scores were selected as biomarkers. The changes of all biomarkers except MMSE scores during the reversion in 12 month were statistically insignificant. Longer follow-up with greater sample size can better characterize the dynamic of MCI reversion, which can provide vital information for possible treatment and disease management.

Michael Dayan¹, Giusy Olivito^2,3, Marco Molinari², Marco Bozzali¹, and Maria Leggio^2,3
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Lazio, Italy, ²Ataxia Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Lazio, Italy, ³Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy

The cerebellum has major afferent and efferent fibers through the medial (MCP) and superior cerebellar peduncles (SCP) respectively. We examined the impact of cerebellar grey matter (GM) atrophy on both the cortical GM and the MCP and SCP. This was done with both conventional and diffusion MRI (dMRI) by comparing patients with cerebellar atrophy (ATR) and normal controls (NC). We found bilateral atrophy of the caudate nucleus, cingulate gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex, all known to be implicated with the cerebellum. The VBM analysis of dMRI metrics showed voxels with significantly different values in NC in bilateral regions of the MCP and SCP. These voxels were also correlated with mean cerebellar GM density. Correlations between dMRI metrics and ataxia clinical scores demonstrated further the usefulness of dMRI for clinical investigation of cerebellar atrophy.

Qiuli Zhang¹, Cuiping Mao¹, Ming Zhang¹, Jingxia Dang², and Jiaoting Jin^2
1Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medcine College of Xi'an JiaoTong University, Xi'An, ShaanXi, China, ²Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medcine College of Xi'an JiaoTong University, Xi'An, ShaanXi, China

The underlying mechanisms of degeneration process in ALS are still unclear. This study use FSL-VBM in order to detect potential spread characteristics of upper motor neurons, through the topography of gray matter changes.

Giovanni Giulietti¹, Barbara Spano'¹, Valentina Battistoni¹, Laura Serra¹, Carlo Caltagirone^2,3, Marco Bozzali¹, and Mara Cercignani^4
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, ²Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, ³Departement of Neuroscience, "Tor Vergata" University, Rome, Italy,⁴Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton & Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom

Magnetization-transfer imaging (MTI) has previously shown, in patients with Miotonic Dystrophy type-1 (MD1) and no (or minimal) white matter (WM) lesions, lower cortical MT-ratios (MTRs) and cortical atrophy. No significant MTR changes were observed in patients’ normal-appearing WM. Using “Quantitative-MTI’’(qMTI), a technique providing a more complete characterization of the MT phenomenon, we investigated here a similar group of MD1 patients. Our findings confirm previous MTI results and produce, by additional qMT parameters, a better characterization of the brain damage. Overall, we suggest that neocortical pathology, unrelated to WM lesion formation, occurs in MD1 patients’ brain tissue and is clinically relevant.

Sanjay Kalra¹, Peter Seres¹, and Changho Choi^2
1University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, ²University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

Single voxel spectroscopy of glutamate and GABA was performed at 3T in the motor cortex in patients with ALS. Glutamate was decreased 13%. GABA was unchanged, however correlations with clinical indices were present for both glutamate and GABA.

Nazem Atassi¹, Christina Triantanfyllou², Boris Keil², Robert Lawson¹, Lindsay Kaplan¹, Christina Dheel¹, Alyssa Murphy¹, James Berry¹, Nouha Salibi³, Ravi T. Seethamraju⁴, Bruce Rosen², Merit Cudkowicz¹, and Eva-Maria Ratai^2
1Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, ²Radiology, MGH/HST Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States, ³Siemens Healthcare, MR R&D, Siemens, Auburn, AL, United States, ⁴Siemens Healthcare, MR R&D, Siemens, Charlestown, MA, United States

High field (7T) MR spectroscopy, specifically ultra short TE STEAM with VAPOR water suppression was used to study brain metabolite concentrations in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). N-acetylaspartate/creatine was decreased in ALS in the motor cortex indicating neuronal injury or loss. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, glutamate was decreased in the ALS group without significant changes in glutamine. Interestingly, myo-Inositol/creatine was increased in the ALS group suggesting increased glial proliferation and inflammation in the motor cortex. Furthermore, the increase in myo-Inositol/creatine strongly correlated with pathological reflexes, a clinical marker of upper motor neuron degeneration.

Issel Anne L. Lim^1,2, Xu Li^1,2, Jiri M.G. van Bergen³, Paul G. Unschuld⁴, Craig K. Jones^1,2, Russell L. Margolis^4,5, Christopher A. Ross^4,5, and Peter C.M. van Zijl^1,2
1Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ²F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ³Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands, ⁴Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ⁵Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Advanced stages of Huntington's Disease show increased brain iron concentration in the basal ganglia. However, neuropathology is not well characterized in prodromal subjects, who carry the huntingtin mutation but do not yet have sufficient signs or symptoms for clinical diagnosis. Qualitative Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) can correlate magnetic susceptibility with iron concentration in gray matter (GM) structures. Using QSM atlas-based coregistration for automated efficient delineation of deep GM regions, we demonstrated increased paramagnetic signal in prodromal subjects compared to controls, possibly indicating an increase in iron concentration prior to the onset of overt Huntington's Disease.

Yue Zhang¹, Jing Liu², Jing Wang¹, Minyi Du³, Wenxue Fang³, Dongxin Wang³, Xiaoping P. Hu⁴, Xuexiang Jiang², Jing Fang¹, Xiaoying Wang², and Jue Zhang^1
1Peking University, Beijing, Beijing, China, ²Department of Radiology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China, ³Department of Anesthesiology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China,⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology / Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Understanding the effect of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) pain on brain activity is important for clinic strategies. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to relate PHN pain to small-world properties of brain functional networks. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to construct brain functional networks during the resting state. Thirteen patients with PHN pain and thirteen age-matched controls were analyzed (7 males, 6 females for both groups). A tendency shift towards random networks for PHN in comparison with the healthy controls was found. Moreover, regional nodal efficiency was found to be profoundly affected for PHN.

Jonathan P. Dyke¹, Dolan Sondhi², Henning Voss¹, Dikoma C. Shungu¹, Xiangling Mao¹, Kaleb Yohay³, Stefan Worgall³, Neil Hackett², Charleen Hollmann², Mary Yeotsas², Annie Jeong², Benjamin van de Graaf², Ida Cao², Stephen Kaminsky², Linda Heier¹, Kyle Rudser⁴, Mark Souweidane⁵, Michael Kaplitt⁵, Barry Kosofsky³, Ronald Crystal², and Douglas Ballon^1
1Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY, United States, ²Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY, United States, ³Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY, United States, ⁴Division of Biostatistics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States, ⁵Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, NY, United States

A quantitative noninvasive MR imaging– based disease severity score for late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis has been presented. The metric combines data from brain-water apparent diffusion coefficients, the volume percentage of CSF, and N-acetylaspartate-to-creatine metabolite ratios. The methods used used can be adapted to run on multiple scanner platforms in a straightforward manner.

Frank C.G. van Bussel¹, Walter H. Backes¹, Paul A.M. Hofman¹, Harm J. van de Haar¹, Martin P.J. van Boxtel², Miranda T. Schram³, Coen D.A. Stehouwer³, Joachim E. Wildberger¹, and Jacobus F.A. Jansen^1
1Radiology, MUMC+, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, MUMC+, Maastricht, Netherlands, ³Internal Medicine, MUMC+, Maastricht, Netherlands

Diabetes Mellitus Type II (T2DM) is associated with accelerated cognitive decline. A prominently affected cognitive domain is memory, for which the hippocampus plays an essential role. DTI might be a good candidate for identification of early biomarkers of memory decline in T2DM. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to use DTI to study microstructural properties of the hippocampus in T2DM patients with memory impairment, compared to healthy controls. This preliminary study showed that in the left hippocampus, a high MD was associated with poor memory performance, which suggests that injured hippocampal microstructure might underlie memory problems.

X. Li¹, V Lai¹, Queenie Chan², R.S.K. Chang³, Henry Ka Fung Mak¹, and W. Mak^3
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, ²Philips Healthcare, Hong Kong, China, ³Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China

In this study, we aim to test the feasibility of T1rho imaging in lateralization of epileptogenic zone in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. 7 patients with unilateral MR-positive MTLE and 7 normal subjects were recruited. T1rho imaging, T2 relaxometry and high resolution structural imaging were performed for all subjects. Four substructures of MTL, including hippocampal head/body/tail, and amygdala, were extracted and analyzed. Asymmetric ratios of corresponding substructures from both sides were calculated. Preliminary results demonstrated that T1rho imaging is a more sensitive and effective marker in lateralization of epileptogenic zone.

Xiaobo Shen¹, Thanh D. Nguyen², Susan A. Gauthier³, and Ashish Raj^3
1Cornell university, Ithaca, New York, United States, ²Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, United States, ³Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States

A novel multi-voxel algorithm to produce better MWF map by introducing "edge-preserving" prior to impose spatial consistency and smoothness constraints.

Kihwan Han¹, Christine L. Mac Donald¹, and David L. Brody^1
1Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States

A longitudinal, morphological study on U.S. military personnel following concussive blast-related TBI was performed to identify subtle structural changes of these patients over time. 27 active duty U.S. military personnel (18 controls and 9 concussive TBI patients) with blast exposures were analyzed. The initial scans were acquired within 1-90 days after the blast exposures, and the follow-up scans after 6-12 months from the initial scans. Greater longitudinal changes in cortical thickness, metric distortion and pial surface of the TBI patients relative to the controls were observed. Further studies with more subjects are required to validate these findings.

Teodora Stoica¹, Jiachen Zhuo¹, Steven Roys¹, Chandler Sours^1,2, Kathirkama Shanmuganathan³, and Rao P. Gullapalli^1,2
1Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University Of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ²Program of Neuroscience, University Of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University Of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

The aim of this study is to investigate regional CBF changes (measured by pASL) at three time points up to six months following mild TBI, and their relationship to tissue microstructure changes measured by DKI and patient’s cognitive functioning. 18 mTBI patients and 34 control individuals were included. Significant temporal CBF changes in the thalamus were observed that corresponded with FA changes indicating that disrupted tissue microstructure may be responsible for the increased perfusion. The findings validate arterial spin labeling and diffusion kurtosis imaging as a viable diagnostic method and reliable marker for the therapeutic management of mTBI patients.

Daniel García-Lorenzo^1,2, Clarisse Longo Dos Santos^3,4, Cecile Gallea^1,2, Claire Ewenczyk^2,5, Habib Benali⁶, Cyril Poupon^3,4, Smaranda Leu-Semenescu^2,7, Isabelle Arnulf^2,7, Marie Vidailhet^2,5, and Stéphane Lehéricy^1,2
1CENIR, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière - ICM, Paris, France, ²Université Pierre Marie Curie, UMR-S975; Inserm U975; CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France, ³NeuroSpin, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ⁴IFR49, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ⁵Fédération de Neurologie, Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France, ⁶Université Pierre Marie Curie, Inserm U678, Paris, France, ⁷Service des pathologies du sommeil, Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorders (RBD) are early symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex plays a major role in controlling atonia during REM sleep. Using neuromelanin-sensitive images, we studied the relation of the locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex and RBD in a cohort of 41 PD patients. The intensity of locus coeruleus/subcoeruleus complex was automatically measured. We found significant difference in intensity between RBD and non-RBD patients. We also found a correlation between the intensity and the percentage of atonia during REM sleep. Our technique may be used as a biomarker for the evolution of PD.

Hongmei Cao¹, Rong Wang², Xue Luo^2,3, Zhe Zhang², Xianjun Li², Ed X Wu⁴, Qiumin Qu¹, and Jian Yang^2
1Neurology department, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College,Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, ²Radiology department, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College,Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology,Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xian, Shaanxi, China, ⁴Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Essential tremor (ET) is common neurological movement disorders and may be related to cerebella dysregulation. The variation of grey matter (GM) in ET patients has remained uncertain from previous MRI studies, especially in mild type of essential arms tremor (a-ET). In this MRI study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method was used to detect the morphological changes of GM in 8 young patients with mild a-ET with respect to 8 healthy subjects. The mild a-ET patients exhibited the decrease of GM density in bilateral parietal lobe and the increase in GM density in bilateral cerebellum, occipital lobe and temporal occipital fusiform cortex. These findings may be associated with the network changes of cerebelo-thalamo-cortical loop in mild a-ET. The atrophy of GM in bilateral parietal lobe might represent the diminished capacity of spatial erientation and proprioceptive sensibility in a-ET patients. Moreover, mild a-ET shows a relative expansion of GM areas involved in higher order visuospatial processing, which might represent the adaptive reorganizational compensating through the increased demand on the visuospatial control of skilled movements in the early stage of a-ET. These morphological changes may help to assess early stage and distinguish subtype of ET.

Jian-Li Wang¹, Xiaoyu Sun¹, Zachary Mosher¹, Jonathan Chu¹, Megha Patel¹, Sarah Ryan¹, Jeffrey Vesek¹, Qing X. Yang^1,2, Sangam Kanekar¹, and Thyagaragian Subramanian^3
1Radiology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States, ²Neurosurgery, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States, ³Neurology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States

Parkinson’s disease is always asymmetric in onset and this asymmetry can last for a few years before the motor symptoms appear on the other side of body. The underlying mechanism for this asymmetry is not clear. In this study, we used quantitative evaluation of transverse relaxation parameters to detect this asymmetry. Our results support our hypotheses that in the early stage of PD the pathological developments are different in the hemispheres corresponding to the clinically affected side and the clinically unaffected side, and this difference can be detected by transverse relaxation parametric mapping.

Massimo Filippi¹, Federica Agosta¹, Francesca Caso¹, Alberto Inuggi¹, Aleksandra Tomic², Iva Stankovic², Elisa Canu¹, Igor Petrovic², and Vladimir S. Kostic^2
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, MI, Italy, ²Clinic of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

We investigated the integrity of resting-state Default Mode Network (DMN) connectivity in patients with early Parkinson’s disease (PD) and no cognitive impairment. We observed in PD patients an increased connectivity within the DMN structures including the superior and middle temporal gyri, hippocampi, parahippocampal cortex, precuneus, posterior, middle and anterior cingulate cortices compared to healthy controls bilaterally. This pattern could represent a compensatory mechanism or it could be due to a reduced thalamic outflow to the prefrontal cortex with the impairment of input/output information flows from and to this area and other DMN cortices

Bo Hou¹, Han Wang², Hui You¹, Bo Jiang¹, and Feng Feng^1
1Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China, ²Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, Beijing, China

For a MSA-P group and a control group, VBM, VBM regression with disease duration, and voxel-based analysis of DTI were performed, to compare the differences between the three methods in revealing the brain changes of the MSA patients.Finally,the results showed that DTI is more sensitive to brain changes in MSA-P, and could reveal larger area of abnormality. Also, DTI changes matched well with GM and WM lost revealed by VBM and VBM regression with duration,which meant that DTI could predict early brain changes in MSA-P.

Peiyu Huang¹, Quanquan Gu¹, Min Xuan¹, Yong Zhang², and Minming Zhang^1
1Department of Radiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, ²Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

Parkinson¡¯s disease (PD) is frequently accompanied by depression, with a prevalence much higher than that in other chronic diseases. As yet, the neural basis for depression in PD still remains unclear. In the present study£¬we investigated the integrity of brain fibers in depressed PD patients and found widespread degenerations. Besides, our results have a similar pattern as those in previous studies on general major depressive disorder patients. These damages might share some common mechanism with the overall fiber deficits in PD patients and explain the tight connection between PD and depression.

Xiaojun Xu¹, Qidong Wang², and Minming Zhang^1
1No.2 Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, ²No.1 Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

We found that increased iron deposition would cause a decrease in the estimated diffusivity and an increase in the estimated anisotropy. This finding indicates that iron deposition influences significantly the measurement of water diffusion tensor in the human brain. Caution is needed in use of DTI metrics for diagnosis of various neurological diseases involving abnormal iron or other paramagnetic substances deposition, particularly at higher fields.

Dionyssios Mintzopoulos¹, Timothy E. Gillis¹, Holly R. Robertson², Guoping Feng², Scott L. Rauch¹, and Marc J. Kaufman^1
1McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, United States, ²Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA, United States

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) lifetime prevalence is ~2% yet OCD etiology is poorly understood. The SAPAP3 knockout mouse was developed as a model of OCD. Knockout mice have striatal abnormalities and exhibit compulsive grooming behavior leading to skin lesions. We used 9.4T MRI to quantify ventricular and total brain volumes (TBV) in knockout mice. TBV was normal but ventricular volumes averaged >50% larger in knockout mice, and in most cases enlargement preceded lesion development, suggesting that brain changes occur before the behavioral phenotype becomes severe. Thus, the SAPAP3 knockout model may help elucidate neurodevelopmental phenomena leading to compulsive behaviors.

Galit Saar¹, Ning Cheng², Leonardo Belluscio², and Alan P. Koretsky^1
1LFMI/NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States, ²DNPU/NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States

MEMRI was used to detect specific laminar changes in olfactory bulb (OB) to follow the progression of APP-induced neuronal pathology and its recovery in a reversible olfactory-based AD mouse model. OB volume and manganese enhancement of the glumerular layer in OB were decreased dramatically in mutant mice. Turning off APP overexpression with doxycycline, resulted in an increase in manganese enhancement of the glomerular layer after only 1 week, with farther recovery after 3 weeks. Moreover, APP antibody treatment showed an increase enhancement in the treated OB and demonstrate the potential of MRI in this mouse model to assess neuroprotective strategies.

Jie Jiang^1,2, Tayeb Ahmad Rahim¹, Chunxia Li^1,3, Yumei Yan^1,3, Xiaodong Zhang^1,3, Hui Mao^4,5, and Anthony W.S Chan^1,2
1Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Disease, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ²Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States, ³Yerkes Imaging Center,Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁴Department of Radiology, Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA, United States, ⁵Center for Systems Imaging, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

Huntington Disease (HD) is devastating neurodegenerative disorder that, to date remains incurable. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) studies have demonstrated decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in both presymptomatic and early stage HD individuals. Our group has developed the HD transgenic group consisted of 4 males generated through a lentiviral-mediated protocol, using four age-matched wild-type monkeys as control. We report here the first longitudinal DTI measurement in HD monkeys and the potential clinical application of DTI for monitoring HD progression. The purpose of the current study is to examine longitudinal changes of brian white matter using DTI in the transgenic HD monkeys.

Kai H. Barck¹, Kimberly Malesky¹, Vineela Gandham¹, Maj Hedehus¹, Sara Dominguez², William J. Meilandt², Claire E. Le Pichon², Oded Foreman³, Kimberly Scearce-Levie², and Richard A. D. Carano^1
1Biomedical Imaging, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Neurobiology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States, ³Pathology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States

We have developed and validated a fully automated method of evaluating local differences in the brain structure by diffeomorphic coregistration of in-vivo mouse brain MRI data, and applied it to characterize brain morphology and T2 properties in transgenic mouse models of human Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Four genotype groups of mice were imaged: PS2/APP transgenic, tauP301L transgenic, PS2/APP/TauP301L transgenic, and wild type. The analysis identified significant regional volume differences in these mouse models that are consistent with known pathologies of AD. The presented method provides a valuable tool for preclinical research and drug development of neurodegenerative diseases.

Alejandra Sierra¹, Tuukka Miettinen¹, Teemu Laitinen¹, Asla Pitkänen^1,2, and Olli Gröhn^3
1Department of Neurobiology, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland, ²Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland,³Department of Neurobiology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland

In the present study, we tested a hypothesis that in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can detect and follow progression of microstructural changes in several hippocampal subfields in animal models of epilepsy. Rats were scanned using high resolution DTI before, and 10, 20, 34 and 79 days after status epilepticus induced by kainic acid or pilocarpine. We found robust and progressive changes in fractional anisotropy and in principal diffusion direction in the dentate gyrus and CA3bc. The value of these changes as potential predictive biomarkers for epilepsy has to be tested in the future.

Tsang-Wei Tu¹, Yong Wang², Chia-Wen Chiang³, Ying-Jr Chen⁴, Tsen-Hsuen Lin⁵, Anne H. Cross⁶, and Sheng-Kwei Song^2
1Radiology and Imaging Sciences, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States, ²Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, ³Department of Chemistry, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, ⁴Department of Chemistry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, ⁵Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, ⁶Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States

In the classical diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) paper, Basser and Pierpaoli proposed the use DTI derived parameters to generate physiological and pathological “stains”. Early studies applying DTI on various animal models indeed suggested that DTI derived directional diffusivity correctly reflect white matter (WM) pathologies in vivo. However, there has not been an established MRI derived immunohistochemistry (IHC) equivalent “stains” since the publication of the paper. In the present study, we demonstrate that the recently developed novel diffusion basis spectrum imaging (DBSI) is capable of generating diffusion metrics to derive the long-sought diffusion MRI equivalent of IHC “stains” for WM pathology. Our results applying DBSI to the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice followed by IHC suggest that DBSI derived IHC equivalent “stains” are good markers of WM integrity.

Hunter R. Underhill¹ and Robert C. Rostomily^1
1Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

We present a method for quantitatively measuring the voxel-based blood-brain barrier permeability associated with glioblastoma multiforme in the in vivo rat brain at 3.0 T using a continuous infusion of gadolinium. The technique is based on a simplification of the Brix method and yields k^trans-maps after accounting for pixel-based variations in R₁ and B₁.

Jacob Ellegood¹, R Mark Henkelman^1,2, and Jason P. Lerch^1,2
1Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

This work takes an expansive approach in order to identify the similarities and differences in neuroanatomy across the autistic spectrum. To this end, we examined 20+ mouse models of ASD candidate genes using high resolution structural MRI.

Kimberly Malesky¹, Joan Greve¹, Han Lin², Claire E. Le Pichon², Kimberly Scearce-Levie², and Richard A. D. Carano^1
1Biomedical Imaging Department, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States, ²Neurobiology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA, United States

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological disease characterized by motor neuron loss eventually leading to paralysis and death. In this study, we define the relationship between T2 values and motor neuron density longitudinally in the SOD1G93A transgenic mouse line. We demonstrated that T2 values obtained for the facial nucleus, nucleus trigeminus and nucleus hypoglossus are significantly inversely correlated with motor neuron count in these nuclei. This longitudinal characterization will further validate T2 MRI as a valuable tool to characterize neuronal loss and facilitate the use of T2 MRI as a preclinical readout of potential therapies for neurodegenerative disease.

Robert Westphal¹, Camilla Simmons¹, Michel B. Mesquita¹, Tobias C. Wood¹, William R. Crum¹, Denise Duricki¹, Anthony Vernon², Steve C.R. Williams¹, and Diana Cash^1
1Neuroimaging, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom, ²Psychosis Studies, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom

Animal models such as 6-OHDA lesioning in rats are crucial for our understanding of Parkinson’s disease and serve as an ideal test-bed for therapeutic interventions. In an attempt to further characterize the 6-OHDA rat, we employed pharmacological MRI and structural MRI, revealing new features such as thalamic & cortical functional impairments and structural changes in the brain stem and the frontal cortex. These results give new insights into the mechanisms of pathology in this model, which may broaden its application for novel therapeutic treatments.

Yanping Sun¹, Matthew C. Dunn¹, Saadallah Ramadan², Kristen L. Jones¹, Adam Green³, Keith Ligon⁴, and Andrew L. Kung^1,5
1Lurie Family Imaging Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²School of Health Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia, ³Pediatric Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ⁴Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ⁵Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States

There is an unmet need for improved therapies for brain tumors. Drug development for brain tumors requires a clinically faithful animal model. We developed an orthotopic primary xenograft tumor model and used bioluminescence imaging to monitor tumor growth and MRI/ MRS to evaluate the tumor metabolic profile. Tumors had significantly higher T1, T2 and diffusion values. MRS showed significant reduction of NAA and GABA, and significant elevation of Cho, Myo, and Glx in tumor compared to normal brain. These features recapitulate the findings in human patients with glioblastoma multiforme, demonstrating the clinical relevance of primary xenografts for modelling human disease.

Gregory H. Turner¹, Qingwei Liu¹, Shannon L. Olfers², Garilyn M. Jentarra³, Sampathkumar Rangasamy², and Vinodh Narayanan^2
1Neuroimaging Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ²Developmental Neurogenetics Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ³Biochemistry, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, United States

Mutations of the gene MeCP2 have been shown to cause Rett syndrome and are associated with other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and X-linked mental retardation. These mutations result in altered dendrite pathology and abnormal fine dendrite structure. DTI was used to measure alterations in FA in cortical gray matter in WT and MeCP2-A140V mutant mice and to evaluate its potential as a non-invasive biomarker of dendritic branching complexity.

Manoj Kumar¹, Jeffrey T. Duda¹, Ranjit Ittyerah¹, Adler Daniel¹, Stephen B. Pickup¹, Edward S. Brodkin², Ted Abel³, James C. Gee¹, and Harish Poptani^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Ex-vivo high resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and behavioral tests were performed at 3 different time points on NL-3 (n=41) and wild-type littermates (n=42) to assess microstructural brain abnormalities in NL-3 mice. DTI data was processed and brain was segmented in to 40 different gray and white matter regions including ventricles. Along with DTI indices, volumetric measurement was performed in different segmented regions of the brain. We did not observe any significant differences in DTI indices in segmented gray or white matter regions in NL-3 compared to wild type mice. However, we observed significantly reduced volume in 16 different gray and white matter regions out of 40 segmented brain regions in NL-3 compared to wild type mice. The volume changes in different white matter regions suggests that changes in volume in these regions are not due to abnormal myelination or breakdown of the white matter microstructure but may be because of immature or smaller number of axons in these regions due to abnormal neurodevelopment in this mouse model.

Nicolas Coquery^1,2, Vasile Stupar^2,3, Régine Farion^2,3, Séverine Maunoir-Regimbal⁴, Emmanuel Luc Barbier^2,5, Chantal Rémy^1,2, and Florence Fauvelle^4
1U836, INSERM, Grenoble, France, ²Université Joseph Fourier, grenoble, France, ³Grenoble MRI Facility IRMaGe, Grenoble, France, ⁴IRBA-CRSSA, La Tronche, France, ⁵INSERM U836, Grenoble, France

Magnetic Resonance-based spectroscopy (MRS) is a powerful method to investigate the metabolic consequences of cancer disease. In vivo MRS provides information regarding tumor growth and response to treatment. These information can be refined with ex vivo High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HRMAS) MRS. With these two approaches a huge amount of information can thus be gathered that might render the analysis difficult in clinic. We propose here to use statistical tools such as PLS-DA to discriminate tumoral tissue from normal tissue. PLS-DA analysis is also able to show a clear separation between three glioma models in rat and to highlight the metabolites that contribute to this separation despite inter-individual variability.

Yuki Mori¹, Masaaki Murakami², Yasunobu Arima², Dasong Zhu¹, and Yoshichika Yoshioka^1
1Biofunctional Imaging, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan, ²Developmental Immunology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Graduate School of Medicine, and WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan

This study explored the temporal and spatial profiles monitored by T2WI and DWI at the lumber code of EAE mice.

Jessica Steventon^1,2, David Harrison², Rebecca Trueman^2,3, Simon Brooks², Anne Rosser², and Derek K. Jones^1
1CUBRIC, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, ²School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, ³School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by brain atrophy and motor deficits. We carried out intensive ‘brain training’ with HD mice and control mice aiming to replicate previously found functional benefits of cognitive training. Uniquely, we applied in vivo MRI (diffusion MRI and T2 RARE) to assess whether training induced structural changes. This is the first study to both apply in vivo diffusion MRI and tractography based on HARDI algorithms in a mouse model of HD, and demonstrate that tract-specific measurements provide sensitivity to detect microstructural changes as an effect of training, alongside macrostructural changes and functional gain.

Nabeela Nathoo¹, Dayae Jeong², Tad Foniok³, Michael B. Keough⁴, V. Wee Yong⁴, and Jeffrey F. Dunn^1,5
1Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ²Rice University, Houston, Texas, United States, ³National Research Council Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ⁴Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ⁵Experimental Imaging Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) visualize white matter tracts and use scalar values to inform on tissue integrity. Using a demyelinating animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), the lysolecithin model, we observed that DTT enabled visual differentiation between demyelination and remyelination in a lesion in the spinal cord. Scalar values (FA, ADC, AD, RD, MD) were all found to be significantly different from a control area at the time of demyelination (p<0.01 for all), but not during remyelination. For the first time, we show that DTT can be used to assess demyelination/remyelination in the lysolecithin model.

Hsiao-Fang Liang¹, Jennifer Mei², Dan Xu¹, Wei-Xing Shi¹, and Shu-Wei Sun^1,2
1Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States, ²University of California, Loma Linda, CA, United States

Intracerebroventricular injection of Amyloid Beta (Aβ) induced white matter damage in external capsule and optic tracts in mice. The damage was associated with an increased axial diffusivity in the external capsule and a decreased axial diffusivity in optic tract as detected by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Our data suggested that axial diffusivity may serve as a marker for white matter damage in Alzheimer’s disease, capable of differentiating underlying pathological mechanisms.

Christian Bigot¹, Greetje Vanhoutte¹, Marleen Verhoye¹, Christine Van Broeckhoven¹, and Annemie Van Der Linden^1
1biomedical science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

The detection of amyloid plaques is clinically relevant for diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we used magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) imaging in APP/PS1 and BRI mice, two AD mice models developing amyloid plaques in the entire forebrain. The two models differ however in their amyloid plaque composition. APP/PS1 mice develop large compact amyloid plaques, while more diffuse and small compact plaques are present in the brain of BRI mice. An MT effect was detected in APP/PS1 but not in BRI mice, suggesting that large compact amyloid plaques elicit a larger MT-effect.

Manoj Kumar¹, Gaurav Verma¹, Ranjit Ittyerah¹, Stephen B. Pickup¹, Edward S. Brodkin², Ted Abel³, and Harish Poptani^1
1Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

In-vivo spectroscopy was performed after 3 hours of sleep deprivation in the less social BALB/cJ and more social C57BL/6J mice. Significantly increased glutamate was noted in sleep deprived BALB/cJ as compared to control non-sleep deprived animals. The more social C57BL/6J mice did not exhibit this behavior. An abnormal increase in electrical activity resulting from excessive glutamate signaling causes prolonged alterations in behavior, as commonly seen in autism. Abnormalities in glutamatergic neurotransmitter system may partially underpin the pathophysiology of autistic spectrum disorders and hence glutamate and its regulatory molecules are considered as potential targets for these disorders.Non-invasive MRS methods may be useful in assessing these metabolic alterations.

Bhanu Prakash KN¹, Sanjay K. Verma¹, Sankar Seramani¹, Enci Mary Kan², Graham S.³, C. Childs⁴, Jia Lu², and Sendhil S. Velan^1
1Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Singapore, Singapore, ²Combat Protection and Performance Lab, Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore, Singapore, ³Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, ⁴Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Longitudinal MR based ipsilateral and contralateral hippocampus volume quantification and cognitive assessment was performed in traumatic brain injury rats. Fluid percussion induced sham, mild and severe brain injury rat models were studied. ITK – Snap was used for segmentation of hippocampus volume. Rotarod performance test was carried out for cognitive assessment. Amyloid precursor protein and Fluro-jade staining were done to check the protein deposition and degeneration of neurons. Study demonstrated good correlation of results obtained by MR image based analysis of hippocampal volume, histopathology and cognitive assessment. Also, rate of change and total volume of hippocampus due to neuro-degeneration and the neurogenesis, depends on the type of injury.

Michael Douglas Boska¹, Adrian A. Epstein², Prasanta K. Dash², Nathan A. Smith², Prabagaran Narayanasamy², Harris A. Gelbard³, Larisa Y. Poluektova², and Howard E. Gendelman^2
1Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States, ²Pharmacology and Experimental Neurosciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States, ³Neurology/Center for Neural Development and Disease, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, United States

Immunodeficient mice engrafted with human stem cells develop a functional human immune system. After infection with human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1) these mice develop an encephalopathy reflective of human disease. The brain metabolome was elucidated at four week intervals by volume localized 1H MRS or at study end by ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. NAA, creatine, choline brain levels were altered and changes were congruent for all methods. MRS-detected brain metabolites predicted brain pathologies in HIV-1 infected humanized mice. The studies are of translational value in predicting disease course or response to therapy in an infected human host.

Kathryn L. West¹ and Mark D. Does^1,2
1Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, ²Vanderbilt.University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Using calculations of the Cramer-Rao Lower Bounds of variance, we determined the tradeoffs of B₀ and added contrast agent in Myelin Water Imaging (MWI) of excised rat brain. While image SNR increases with B0 and SNR efficiency increases with [Gd], decreases in T₂ make myelin water signals statistically more difficult to fit. Results show a net increase in MWI SNR at 15.2T compared to 7T, but no advantage in loading tissue with Gd.

Evan Calabrese¹, Cory Riccio², G. Allan Johnson¹, and Joseph B. Long^2
1Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States, ²Blast-Induced Neurotrauma Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States

An estimated 15-20% of United States military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered some form of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI). Unfortunately, bTBI produces a heterogeneous injury that is often not grossly visible on CT or MRI, which makes diagnosis and treatment difficult. A substantial need exists for a robust, quantifiable animal model of bTBI to study its effects and to help evaluate interventions. Currently, models of bTBI are assessed with histology, making quantification difficult. In this study, we report quantitative changes in DTI tissue microstructural metrics in a rat model of primary bTBI.

Mathieu David Santin¹, Antoine Joseph^2,3, Stéphane Lehéricy^1,4, Renata Kozyraki^2,3, and Olivier Cases^2,3
1Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche – CENIR, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière – ICM, Paris, France, ²Institut de la Vision, INSERM U968, UPMC UMR_S968, Paris, France, ³Centre Hospitalier National d’Ophtalmologie des Quinze-Vingts, INSERM-DHOS CIC 503, CNRS, UMR_7210, Paris, France, ⁴UMR-S975; Inserm, U975; CNRS, UMR 7225, CRICM, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

This work shows the hability of Gadolinium-enhanced MRI to evaluate phenotypes of mouse model of myopia using high-resolution imaging in vivo.

Carmen Kut¹, Vadappuram Chacko², Betty Tyler³, Arvind Pathak², Zaver M. Bhujwalla⁴, Xingde Li¹, Elliot R. McVeigh¹, Daniel A. Herzka⁵, and Stuart A. Grossman^6
1Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Radiology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, 21205, United States, ⁴Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁶Oncology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States

In most systemic cancers, tumor cells are passively disseminated via flow to lymph nodes. Although the brain does not contain lymphatics, glioma dissemination in the brain may be a function of extracellular fluid along white matter tracts (WMT). Malignant brain tumors are characterized by a disrupted blood-brain-barrier that results in albumin leaking from blood vessels, which osmotically pulls water into brain. Our animal study (n = 19) shows that high albumin concentrations are positively correlated with high flow rates and MRI results are promising and provides a non-invasive method to trace WMT flow rates in patients.

Chun-Xia Li¹, Amelia Komery², James G. Herndon², Francis J. Novembre³, and Xiaodong Zhang^1,2
1Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ²Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States, ³Divisions of Microbiology and Immunology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

Magnetization transfer (MT) imaging has been demonstrated to be a robust approach to characterize brain injury in HIV patients. In the present study, MT ratio (MTR) was used to detect longitudinal changes in the monkey brains after Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection. It is found that MTR decreased progressively in the cortical and subcortical regions during SIV infection, and the significant reduction in the cortical region was observed in the late study period in this pilot study. The results validate the MRI findings in HIV patients that MT imaging is a robust means to access the brain abnormities due to HIV infection.

Jasper Chen^1,2, Melina Jones³, Miroslaw Janowski^2,4, Jiadi Xu⁵, Michael Levy³, Jeff W.M. Bulte^1,2, and Piotr Walczak^1,2
1Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Division of MR Research, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Cell Imaging Section, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴NeuroRepair Department, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland, ⁵F. M. Kirby Research Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States

Rodent models of multiple sclerosis (MS) are characterized by brainstem and spinal cord lesions contrary to cerebral lesions in clinical MS. Disseminated lesions complicate evaluation of therapeutic strategies. We report a new model with reduced variability, temporal control of lesion initiation, and stereotaxic targeting of cerebral white matter. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection effectively opened the blood brain barrier (BBB), initiating lesion formation in rats immunized against myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. BBB permeabilization, inflammation, and demyelination were monitored by MRI and verified histologically, demonstrating a focal lesion that resolved 2 weeks after initiation.

Nabeela Nathoo¹, Smriti Agrawal², V. Wee Yong³, and Jeffrey F. Dunn^1,4
1Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ²Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, ³Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada,⁴Experimental Imaging Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) detects lesions in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS). SWI lesions in EAE are due to deoxyhemoglobin (vascular) or iron deposition/demyelination (parenchymal). We hypothesized that changing the percent of inspired oxygen would differentiate vascular lesions from parenchymal lesions in vivo. Some lesions disappeared upon changing the inspired gas from 30% O₂ to 100% O₂; others became hyperintense. Parenchymal lesions remained with 100% O₂. Altering the percent of inspired oxygen can differentiate lesions that are vascular in origin from those that are not, helping us better understand MS pathophysiology detected with SWI.

Paola Porcari^1,2, Monika E. Hegi³, Virginie Clément-Schatlo⁴, Marie-France Hamou³, Irene Vassallo³, Denis Marino⁴, Silvia Capuani^5,6, Rolf Gruetter^7,8, and Vladimír Mlynárik^1
1Center for Biomedical Imaging, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, ²Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, ³Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁴Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, ⁵Physics Department, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, ⁶CNR-IPCF UOS Roma Sapienza, Physics Department, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, ⁷Center for Biomedical Imaging, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, ⁸Departments of Radiology, Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland

Diffuse tumors growing from glioma cell xenografts in brain of immunodeficient mice are difficult to study by standard MRI techniques. We aimed to investigate feasibility of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for early detection of these tumors. We also compared diffusion properties of tumors grown in two different glioma models. In contrast to T2-weighted images, the tumors were visible in diffusion-weighted images and diffusion maps. Two studied tumor models showed different diffusion parameters in DWI and DTI.

Michael Valdez¹, Eriko Yoshimaru¹, Pier Ingram², John Totenhagen¹, Aaron Forbes³, Stephen K. Moore¹, Paul Helquist⁴, Terry O. Matsunaga⁵, Russell Witte¹, Lars R. Furenlid⁶, Zhonglin Liu², Robert P. Erickson⁷, and Theodore Trouard^1
1Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States, ²Radiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States, ³Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, North Carolina, United States, ⁴Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States, ⁵Radiology, University of Arizona, Tuscon, Arizona, United States, ⁶Radiology and Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States, ⁷Pediatrics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States

Recent and novel techniques that use focused ultrasound (FUS) with microbubble agents have been developed that reversibly open up the BBB and have been demonstrated in animal models, including mice. BBB opening is verifiable with MRI using gadolinium contrast agents, but this does not provide information about delivery of the actual drug to the brain. Our studies address this by combining FUS-mediated BBB opening with high-resolution single-photon computed tomography of ¹²³I-radiolabeled beta-cyclodextrin (BCD) in Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPCD) model mice. When delivered to the brain, BCD is a promising treatment for NPCD, which is genetic, fatal, and affects children.

Emi Takahashi¹, Glenn D. Rosen², Allison C.R. Scott³, Veronica J. Peschansky², Natsuko Fujisaki², Guangping Dai⁴, Patricia Ellen Grant⁵, and Albert M. Galaburda^2
1Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States, ³Columbia University, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, ⁵Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

The goal of this study is to use non-invasive diffusion weighted imaging and tractography to develop a quantifiable and verifiable biomarker of neuronal migration disorder. Our results suggest that the number and volume of identified tractography pathways were significant predictors of neuronal migration disorders in callosum and intra-hemispheric pathways. The length of tractogrpahy pathways was also a significant predictor of the disorders in the total and intra-hemispheric pathways. These experiments clearly support the notion that there are profound changes in the nature of connectivity associated with disruption of neuronal migration.

Jordan C. Bell¹, Qingwei Liu², Qiang Zhao³, Yong-Jun Wang⁴, Fu-Dong Shi¹, and Gregory H. Turner^2
1Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ²Neuroimaging Research, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States, ³Neurology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin, China,⁴Neurology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO), an inflammatory demyelinating disease with poor prognosis, predominantly affects optic nerves and spinal cord. Differential diagnosis between NMO and multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly at the early stage of disease, constitutes a clinical dilemma due to the similarity between NMO and optic-spinal MS. TCR transgenic mice (2D2) have potential as a valuable model of NMO. Correlation of contrast-enhanced MRI with immunohistological staining revealed the extent of inflammatory infiltrates as well as demyelination that mirrored sites of MRI lesions. This characterization leads us to believe that the 2D2 TCR transgenic mouse would be a helpful model for NMO research

Kurt Hermann Bockhorst¹, Robert Garcia², Samson Kujit Gaddam², Claudia S. Robertson², and Ponnada A. Narayana^1
1DII, University of Texas, Houston, TX, United States, ²Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States

mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) affects millions of people each year. A treatment is unknown. He we present a potential therapeutic agent, eryrhropoietin, which has been shown to be beneficial in other brain injuries as TBI or global ischemia. We used MRI, especially DTI, to quantify the effects of erythropoietin on mTBI.

Sankar Seramani¹, Sanjay K. Verma¹, Kian Chye Ng², Enci Mary Kan², Bhanu Prakash K.N.¹, Tan Mui Hong², Jia Lu², and Sendhil S. Velan^1,3
1Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Singapore, Singapore, ²Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore, Singapore, ³Clinical Imaging Research Centre, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore

Mechanisms underlying secondary cell death due to Traumatic brain injury (TBI) are poorly understood. Recent advances in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) allow us to observe highly resolved metabolic changes in the brain after the injury. MRS offers a unique window to identify the severity of the injury, outcome of the injury and secondary insult. Here in this work animal injury of the blast model is conducted and we are also seeing a similar trend which shows significant reduction in NAA/(total Choline ) concentration. Our histochemistry results are also confirming the damage of neural nucleus at 72 hrs after the injury.

Tabassum Majid^1,2, Yousuf Ali³, Ming-Kuei Jang⁴, Hui-Chen Lu^5,6, and Robia G. Pautler^2,7
1Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States, ²Interdepartmental Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States, ³Pediatrics-Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine Cain Foundation Laboratories, Houston, TX, United States, ⁴Institute for Applied Cancer Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States, ⁵Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine Cain Foundation Laboratories, Houston, TX, United States, ⁶Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States, ⁷Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States

In vivo axonal transport deficits have been reported prior to plaque pathology in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. However, there are limited in vivo measurements of axonal transport in models of other neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia (FTDP-17). In the r(tta)Tg4510 mouse model, the P301L tau mutation is conditionally expressed throughout the forebrain. In this study, we characterized 10 month old r(tta)Tg4510 mice and found significant deficits in axonal transport in olfactory neurons. This study provides a basis to characterize earlier time points in the r(tta)Tg4510 mouse model in order to investigate therapeutic interventions in this mouse model.

A. Elizabeth de Guzman^1,2, Lisa M. Gazdzinski¹, Jonathan Bishop¹, and Brian J. Nieman^1,2
1Mouse Imaging Centre, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ²Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The development of neurocognitive late effects due to therapeutic cranial irradiation in children has been linked to a reduction in white matter volume many years following treatment. This study used magnetization transfer imaging as a method to detect differences in white matter pathology of adult mice that were treated with cranial irradiation during infancy. Voxel based analysis was able to identify differences in both subparts and entire volumes of major white matter structures in the brain. Further application of this tool for the investigation of the cellular mechanisms behind neurocognitive late effects will quantify WM differences between different neuroprotected strains of mice.

Tsang-Wei Tu¹, L. Christine Turtzo¹, Jacob D. Lescher¹, Dana D. Dean¹, Tiziana T. Coppola¹, Rashida A. Williams¹, and Joseph A. Frank^1
1Radiology and Imaging Sciences, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

DTI and MTI have been used to detect white matter (WM) abnormalities in TBI. Considering different mechanisms of signal detections, DTI and MTI may provide useful complementary information of WM integrity. In this study, DTI axial diffusivity (AD) and MTI magnetic transfer ratio (MTR) both showed significant changes in WM of a close head TBI. However, MTR demonstrated increased sensitivity when detecting the lesion. While AD has been suggested to reflect axonal integrity, it is proposed that MTR correlates with the temporary increase of membrane permeability, of both axon and myelin, and blood-brain barrier when reflecting WM injury in TBI.

Sanjay K. Verma¹, Sankar Seramani¹, Bhanu Prakash KN¹, Enci Mary Kan², Kian Chye Ng², Mui Hong Tan², Jia Lu², and Sendhil S. Velan^1,3
1Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Singapore, Singapore, ²Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore, Singapore, ³Clinical Imaging Research Centre, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to blasts by improvised explosive devices is increasing, creating various neuropsychological dysfunctions in both animals and humans. We investigated the effect of open field blast injuries on rat brain using multi-echo susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). Multi-echo SWI provided phase and R2* with better SNR and CNR, making it a sensitive technique to image blast induced TBI. In addition, the visibility of veins was enhanced with multi-echo SWI. In our study, the decrease in signal from veins after blast due to increase in deoxyhomoglobin was observed in acute injury phase, which subsided in the recovery phase. Multi-echo SWI helps to detect and classify the types and patterns of blast induced TBI.

Dominik Maria Reisinger^1,2, Jiangyang Zhang³, Joel Marx¹, Michael Porambo¹, Michael V. Johnston¹, and Seyed Ali Fatemi^1,2
1Neuroscience, Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Despite the preventable nature of bilirubin encephalopathy, classically known as Kernicterus, cases continue to occur and remain a significant problem in newborns. A mutant rat model, referred to as the Gunn rat, features an enzyme deficiency resembling Crigler-Najjar syndrome of the human. Sulfadimethoxine will be used to exaggerate bilirubin encephalopathy. This way we tried to resemble Kernicterus in the newborn and further evaluated the model through acquiring high-resolution images of T2-weighted sequences as well as in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the Gunn rat.

Wei Huang¹, Ziyu Cao¹, Liqing Yang¹, Shuxia Wang¹, Lifeng Gao¹, and Hao Lei^1
1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease characterized as insulin deficiency and the resultant metabolic disturbances.It often accompanied with many complications, including diabetic encephalopathy.In this study, we measured volumetric changes in the brain of STZ-induced diabetic rats at 12 and 20 weeks using VBM. Progressive atrophy of STZ-induced diabetic brain was assessed.

Heather L. Gray-Edwards¹, Nouha Salibi², Diane Wilson¹, Ashley Randle¹, Ronald J. Beyers³, Thomas Stewart Denney³, Ravi T. Seethamraju², Shumin Wang³, Xiaotong Sun³, Allison M. Bradbury⁴, Victoria J. McCurdy⁴, Aime K. Johnson⁵, Nancy Cox¹, and Douglas R. Martin^1,4
1Scott-Ritchey Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States, ²MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, United States, ³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn Univeristy, Auburn, AL, United States, ⁴Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States, ⁵Clinical Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States

Sandhoff disease (SD) is a form of GM2 gangliosidosis in humans that is untreatable and fatal by 5 years of age. Thee feline SD model has the same subunit mutation as Sandhoff patients. AAV2/rh8 vectors expressing feline hexosaminidase subunits were injected bilaterally into the thalamus and deep cerebellar nuclei of SD cats. MR images and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) data were acquired on a 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Verio scanner. Untreated SD cat shows gray:white matter inversion and elevations of brain metabolites. Gene replacement in the feline SD model results in restoration of both brain architecture and metabolites.

Heather L. Gray-Edwards¹, Nouha Salibi², Diane Wilson¹, Ashley Randle¹, Ronald J. Beyers³, Thomas Stewart Denney³, Ravi T. Seethamraju², Shumin Wang³, Xiaotong Sun³, Allison M. Bradbury⁴, Victoria J. McCurdy⁴, Aime K. Johnson⁵, Nancy Cox¹, and Douglas R. Martin^4
1Scott-Ritchey Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States, ²MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, United States, ³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn Univeristy, Auburn, AL, United States, ⁴Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States, ⁵Clinical Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States

GM1 gangliosidosis is a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disease caused by an enzyme deficiency in beta-galactosidase that results in buildup of GM1 ganglioside throughout the nervous system, and is fatal often by age five. The feline GM1 gangliosidosis model is a replica of the juvenile form of human GM1 gangliosidosis. AAV2/rh8 vector expressing subunits were injected bilaterally into the thalamus and deep cerebellar nuclei of GM1 cats. MR images and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) data were acquired on a 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Verio scanner. Untreated GM1 cat shows gray:white matter inversion and elevations of brain metabolites. Gene replacement in the feline GM1 model results in restoration of both brain architecture and metabolites.

Heather L. Gray-Edwards¹, Nouha Salibi², Diane Wilson¹, Ashley Randle¹, Ronald J. Beyers³, Thomas Stewart Denney³, Ravi T. Seethamraju², Shumin Wang³, Xiaotong Sun³, Allison M. Bradbury⁴, Victoria J. McCurdy⁴, Nancy Cox¹, and Douglas R. Martin^4
1Scott-Ritchey Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States, ²MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare, Malvern, PA, United States, ³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn Univeristy, Auburn, AL, United States, ⁴Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Auburn University, Auburn, Al, United States

Tay-Sachs Disease (TSD) is a form of GM2 gangliosidosis in humans that is untreatable and fatal by 5 years of age. The ovine TSD model has the same subunit mutation as Tay-Sachs patients. AAV2/rh8 vectors expressing ovine hexosaminidase subunits were injected in the lateral ventricle and bilaterally into the thalamus of TSD sheep. MR images and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) data were acquired on a 3 Tesla MAGNETOM Verio scanner. Untreated TSD sheep show gray:white matter isointensity and elevations of brain metabolites. Gene replacement in the ovine TSD model results in restoration of both brain architecture and metabolites.