Tingting Liu¹, Yuqing You², Zhiyong Zhao¹, Zuozhen Cao¹, Ruike Chen¹, Mingyang Li¹, Ying Lv³, Mingyan Li³, Fusheng Gao², Hongxi Zhang², Chai Ji³, and Dan Wu^1
1Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering & Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, ²Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China, ³Department of Child Health, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China

The present study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal developmental pattern of association fibers in infants aged 0-5 months and the interaction between these fibers and the associated cortex utilizing FBA based on HARDI data. We found that the C-shaped fibers demonstrate an approximately symmetrical along-track pattern with more advanced development in the middle segments than the extremities; the horizontally oriented fibers manifest that the anterior segments started later but developed faster than the posterior segments. Mediation analysis revealed the mediation effect of cortical GM on the development of WM was more prominent than that of WM on GM.

Claire Kelly^1,2,3, Thijs Dhollander², Evelyne Muggli^1,4, Jane Halliday^4,5, Elizabeth Elliott^6,7, Anthony Penington^4,8, Alicia Spittle^1,9, Della A Forster^10,11, Sharon Lewis^4,5, Stephen Hearps¹², Deanne K Thompson^1,2,4, and Peter J Anderson^1,3
1Victorian Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS), Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ²Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ³Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, ⁴Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, ⁵Reproductive Epidemiology, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ⁶Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, ⁷Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Westmead, Sydney, Australia, ⁸Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, ⁹Department of Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, ¹⁰The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, ¹¹Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, ¹²Brain and Mind, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

Effects of low-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) on brain development have been infrequently studied. In a general antenatal population cohort, we compared brain structure between 6-8-year-old children with no PAE (n=41), PAE during trimester 1 (n=44), and PAE throughout gestation (n=58). Most brain regions did not differ between groups, however the caudal anterior cingulate cortex area, and striato-cortical tract cross-sectional area, were significantly smaller in the group exposed to alcohol throughout gestation relative to the other groups. Overall, low-moderate PAE is not strongly associated with brain structure, except low-moderate PAE throughout gestation is associated with specific brain regional alterations.

TING YI¹, Qiuhong MA¹, QIFANG CAI¹, Huiting Zhang², Weian Wei¹, Bing Gao¹, and KE JIN^1
1Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, China, ²Siemens Healthineers, Wuhan, China

This study investigated the feasibility of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)-Based radiomic features in differential diagnosis of low- and high-grade pediatric brain tumors. The results showed that the DWI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) combined model can effectively distinct low- and high-Grade pediatric brain tumors. This suggests that DWI sequence may facilitate brain tumor grading. 

songhong Yue¹, jie Li¹, fengxian Fan¹, haoyuan Li¹, xiao Ling¹, yupin Bai¹, Kai A², and jing Zhang^1
1Lanzhou University second hospital, lanzhou, China, ²Philips Healthcare, Xian, China

Accurate evaluation of placenta accreta before parturition can effectively avoid adverse maternal and infantile outcomes. Based on the T2 weighted imaging (T2WI) histogram, this study analyze the placenta quantitatively. We compared the difference in T2WI histogram parameters between the placenta accreta group (23 patients) and the non-placenta accreta group (27 patients) to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. Among these parameters, the difference of 10 Percentile, Energy, Entropy, Total Energy, Uniformity was statistically significant (P<0.05). Uniformity and Entropy have the largest area under the curve (AUC). We speculate T2WI based histogram is useful for noninvasive assessment of placental implantation.

jiaojiao lu¹, ting liu¹, junjun li¹, xianjun li¹, and jian yang^1
1Department of Radiology, the first Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, xi'an, China

Placenta accreta may lead to life-threatening complications and is difficult to distinguish by traditional MRI sequences. In this study, IVIM-based virtual elastography was used for the first time to detect the stiffness of the placenta, and it was found that the virtual (IVIM) stiffness values for the AP-ROIs were mostly higher than those for the NP-ROIs; the IR-ROIs were also significantly higher than the NIR-ROIs. Thus, the implanted regions of the placenta could be significantly stiffer than those of the non-implanted regions. That is helpful for adding a new method for clinical diagnosis of placenta accreta.

Teng Ma^1,2,3, Xunda Wang^1,2, Linshan Xie^1,2, Pit Shan Chong⁴, Venice Sin^1,2, Peng Cao³, Pek-Lan Khong³, Lee Wei Lim⁴, Alex T. L. Leong^1,2, and Ed. X Wu^1,2,4
1Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, ³Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China, ⁴School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

The olfactory system plays a pivotal role in driving behavioral responses that are critical to survival. In particular, the decline in ability to detect and discriminate odors in aged humans lead to an overall decrease in quality of life. However, our present understanding of olfactory dysfunction in aging brains beyond the cellular and micro-circuit level is scarce and incomplete. In this study, we deployed optogenetic fMRI to reveal the changes of brain-wide odor-associated regions brought about by aging in an accelerated aging rat model. We found diminished activations brain-wide indicating dysfunction at the systems level across multiple long-range olfactory pathways.

Yanli Zhang¹, Tianhong Wang², Shuaiwen Wang², Yuling Gao², Shaoyu Wang³, Shunlin Guo², and Junqiang Lei^2
1The first hospital of lanzhou university, Lanzhou, China, ²The first hospital of Lanzhou university, Lanzhou, China, ³MR scientific marketing, Siemens Healthineers, Xi an, China

White matter damage in patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning have been extensively reported in previous studies, but neurological deficits-associated gray matter volume (GMV) changes are not well explored. Forty-one CO poisoning patients and 36 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent 3D T1WI and cognition and motor function assessment. GMV change patterns of patients were explored using Voxel-based morphometry processing. This study would provide a simple neuroimaging biomarker to identify the brain anatomical signatures underlying neurological deficits in CO poisoning, and thus facilitate the ongoing effort of knowing of the neuropathologic mechanism happened in these patients. 

Chenyue Liu¹, Chunxu Da¹, Jian Yang¹, and Xianjun Li^1
1The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi, Xi'an, China

The mechanical properties of biological tissue provide information related to the strength and integrity of the cellular microstructure. Recently, mechanical properties of the brain have been visualized and measured non-invasively with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Virtual MRE (VMRE) is based on non-Gaussian distribution model, which can be regarded as an indicator to reflect the complexity and change of different brain microstructure. The purpose of this study is to explore the capability of diffusion–based VMRE in the characterization of the gray matter shear stiffness, discuss the cause of the differences of gray matter encephalic in normal human brains.

 

Yuki Matsumoto¹, Yuki Kanazawa¹, Yuki Kinjo², Masafumi Harada¹, Tosiaki Miyati³, Hiroaki Hayashi³, Mitsuharu Miyoshi⁴, Naoki Maeda², Yasuhisa Kanematsu⁵, Yasushi Takagi⁵, and Akihiro Haga^1
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan, ²Graduate school of Health Science, Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan, ³Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan, ⁴Global MR Applications and Workflow, GE Healthcare Japan, Hino-city, Japan, ⁵Department of Neurosurgery, Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima, Japan

Our purpose was to assess plaque vulnerability under the influence of blood flow in terms of morphological and component characteristics using MRI.Twenty-three patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic carotid stenosis, all of whom provided informed consent, underwent 3T MRI scan (GE Healthcare). We evaluated the consistency between the flow patterns and plaque features in the carotid artery stenosis, using 4D-flow MRI and 3D-FSE-MSDE sequences. During the vulnerability analysis, it was observed that there was a negative correlation between 3D-FSE-MSDE and 4D-flow parameter (R = -0.43, P < 0.001). 

Nan Gao¹, Sheng Hu^1,2, Xiaoxiao Wang¹, and Bensheng Qiu^1
1Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China, ²School of Medical Information Engineering, Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei, China

This study aimed to investigate GABA variation between KOA patients and healthy people without therapy and how GABA changes through acupuncture stimulation. MEGA-PRESS sequence was used to detect GABA signaling in the right thalamus before and after acupuncture stimulation on EX-LE5 acupoint of the left leg. Our study demonstrated a sex-related GABA+/Cr difference in patients with KOA chronic pain, proving the quantitative sex differences in human pain processing. Moreover, the therapeutic effect of acupuncture stimulation was positively proved and quantified by measuring GABA+/Cr.

Tingting Yuan¹, Ying Zhang², Hongchao Wang¹, Yueluan Jiang³, Chenglong Wang⁴, Chunjie Guo¹, Guang Yang⁴, and Huiting Zhang^3
1Department of Radiology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China, ²Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China, ³MR Scientific Marketing, Siemens Healthineers, Beijing, China, ⁴Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

The major complication of dopaminergic therapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is dyskinesia which affects patients' quality of life. The pathogenesis of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate striatum-thalamus alterations in PD patients with and without LID using advanced diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) techniques (DTI, DKI, NODDI and MAP).  

Hiroyuki Kameda^1,2, Yuji Komaki³, and Kohsuke Kudo^4,5
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo, Japan, ²Faculty of Dental Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, ³Live Imaging Center, Central Institute for Experimental Animals, Kawasaki, Japan, ⁴Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan, ⁵Global Center for Biomedical Science and Engineering, Hokkaido University Faculty of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

 We evaluated the increased vascular permeability of ¹⁷O-labeled Water in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) mice using indirect proton MRI. The spinal cord of nine ALS mice and ten wild-type (WT) mice were scanned with 7T MRI with the T2-weighted RARE sequence. In the femoral vein, ¹⁷O-labeled water was intravenously injected. In ROIs of the spinal cord, the ¹⁷O concentration increased more in ALS mice than in the control mice. This latest method can detect the abnormalities in water kinetics probably caused by the impairments in blood–spinal cord barrier of ALS mice. 

Jinyuan Zhang^1,2,3, Zihao Zhang^1,2,3, Chen Ling^4,5, Xingfeng Shao⁶, Zhixin Li^1,2,3, Huilou Liang^1,2,3, Jing An⁷, Qi Yang⁸, Rong Xue^1,2,3, Yan Zhuo^1,2,3, Zhaoxia Wang^4,5, Yun Yuan^4,5, and Danny JJ Wang^6
1State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, ²University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, ³The Innovation Center of Excellence on Brain Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, ⁴Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China, ⁵Beijing Key Laboratory of Neurovascular Disease Discovery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China, ⁶Mark & Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States, ⁷Siemens Shenzhen Magnetic Resonance Ltd., Shenzhen, China, ⁸Department of Radiology, Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is an inherited form of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD). In this study, we investigated the changes of cerebral blood flow (CBF), arterial transit time (ATT) and water exchange rate (k_w) measured by multi-delay pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) and diffusion prepared pCASL. Increased ATT and decreased k_w were found in CADASIL patients compared with healthy controls. The results indicated modified cerebral hemodynamics and dysfunction of blood-brain barrier in CADASIL patients. MD-pCASL and DP-pCASL are promising for evaluating hemodynamics and BBB function of cSVD.

Gaiying Li¹, Rong Wu², Yasong Du³, Yang Song⁴, Yi Wang⁵, Xiaoping Wang², and Jianqi Li^1
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China, ²Department of Neurology, Shanghai Tong-Ren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, ³Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, ⁴MR Scientific Marketing, Siemens Healthineers, Shanghai, China, ⁵Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY, United States

    Abnormal metal accumulation in deep gray matter (DGM) nuclei of patients with Wilson’s disease (WD) could be detected using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), yet no study has quantitatively evaluated how the textures of susceptibility maps might evolve with WD. The aim of this study was to evaluate texture features extracted from susceptibility maps of DGM nuclei for differentiating WD from healthy controls (HC). The results showed that part of the texture parameters was significantly different between WD and HC, meanwhile the receiver operating characteristic curve revealed that some second-order texture parameters were more suitable and sensitive for diagnosis of WD.

Su Dongning^1,2, Zhang Zhe^2,3, Zhang Zhijin^1,2, Zhu Wanlin^2,3, Sui Binbin^2,3, Zhang Yingkui^2,3, Bi Jingfeng^2,3, Kong Qingle ^3,4, Gan Yawen^1,2, Yan Rui^1,2, Wang Xuemei^1,2, Wang Zhan^1,2, Wang Yongjun ^1,2,3, Wu Tao^1,2, Jing Jing^1,2,3, and Feng Tao^1,2
1Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital,Captital Medical University, Beijing, China, ²China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China, ³Tiantan Neuroimaging Center of Excellence, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, ⁴MR Collaboration, Siemens Healthineers Ltd., Beijing, China

To explore specific neuroimaging characteristics of iron deposition in WD, we conducted a small sample, prospective case-control study to compare the 7T MRI manifestation of iron deposition in the basal ganglia among PD, WD patients and healthy controls. The hyperintense globus pallidus rim sign could be a specific neuroimaging characteristic of WD in 7T T2*-weighted and SWI images, which may be related to the unique iron deposition pattern in the striatum in WD patients. Internal capsule appears to be hyperintensity with a clear border only observed in WD patients. These findings have the potential to provide diagnostic biomarkers for WD.

Zhengshi Yang^1,2, Jessica Z.K. Caldwell¹, Jeffrey L Cummings², Aaron Ritter¹, Jefferson W Kinney², and Dietmar Cordes^1,2,3
1Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, United States, ²University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, United States, ³University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Resting-state fMRI was used to investigate the aging effect on caudate function in mild cognitively impaired participants, with the focus of sex-dependent effect. Graph theory analysis was conducted to derive caudate nodal strength, which was then input to linear mixed effect model to evaluate its association with age. A striking aging effect was observed only in women with MCI but not in men with MCI, which was closely related to cognitive decline in woman participants. This finding suggests that caudate may be critical for alleviating cognitive decline in women with MCI.