Advanced Imaging of Spine

14:00         4230.     Magnetization Transfer MRI Measurements of Cervical Spinal Cord Abnormalities in Patients with Neuromyelitis Optica - not available

Mina Kim¹, Aaron Chan¹, Henry Mak¹, Queenie Chan², Koon Ho Chan³

¹Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China; ²Philips Healthcare, Hong Kong; ³Department of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Diagnosing neuromyelitis optica (NMO) in the early stages is crucial in order to provide the proper treatment as it involves aggressive and severe attacks of blindness and paralysis. However, current diagnostic criteria in routine practice using conventional techniques are not sensitive to early abnormalities in NMO. In the present work, we conducted magnetization transfer (MT) imaging for NMO patients. Our results show that it is feasible to assess NMO cervical cord damage of normal appearing tissues using the quantitative capability of MT imaging, which may lead to a better understanding of the clinical manifestations in NMO.

14:30         4231.     Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging of the Cervical Spinal Cord in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Maxim Bester^1,2, Eric Sigmund¹, Ali Tabesh¹, Hina Jaggi¹, Matilde Inglese^3,4, Robin Mitnick¹

¹Radiology, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ²Neuroradiology, Eppendorf-Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany; ³Radiology , New York University, New York, NY, United States; ⁴Neurology, New York University, New York, NY, United States

Spinal cord (SC) is a frequent and clinically relevant site of pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS). Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) measures non-Gaussian water diffusion and DKI-derived mean kurtosis (MK) is an index of tissue microstructural complexity. Using a moderately expanded diffusion sampling scheme, MK can be obtained simultaneously with DTI metrics. The aim of this study was to investigate global and regional structural abnormalities in the cervical SC of MS patients using both DKI and DTI. Compared to controls, fractional anisotropy and MK were significantly decreased and mean diffusivity was increased in patients. MK was significantly associated to disability.

15:00         4232.     Radial Fractional Anisotropy Mean and Radial Mean Diffusivity Mean:  New Metric in the Study of Spinal Cord Tissue

Arturo Cardenas-Blanco^1,2, Eve Chung Tsai^3,4

¹Radiology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; ²Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; ³Neurosurgery, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; ⁴Cellular and Molecular medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and its ability to delineate the motion of water molecules and subsequently white matter tracts has become more important during the last years in the study of spinal cord. Nevertheless, due to the lack of resolution and the poor signal to noise ratio, it is still one of the big challenges in clinical MR research. In this abstract a new approach to quantitatively assess SC tissue is presented. This new approach is based in the combination of quantitative information obtained from DTI; Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Mean Diffusivity (MD); taking advantage of the singular geometry of the SC.

15:30         4233.     T1 and T2 Mapping of the Human Cervical Spinal Cord at 3 Tesla

Maxim Bester^1,2, Matilde Inglese¹, Lazar Fleysher¹

¹Radiology and Neurology, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ²Eppendorf-Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany

The cervical spinal cord (SC) is a frequent site of pathology in several neurological diseases. We measured the T1 and T2 relaxation times of the human SC using a 3-point GRE T1 mapping method with built-in B1-correction and spin-echo sequence with protocol optimization based on 2-point measurements of T2s respectively. The T1 relaxation times measured in our study were lower and the T2 relaxation values were higher than those reported previously. The latter might be explained by the fact that undesired diffusion weighting may be introduced by use of the TSE sequence leading to a decrease in T2 values.

13:30         4234.     Novel Assessment of the Effects of Spinal Cord Injury in Patients by Means of Spinal FMRI

Patrick W. Stroman^1,2, Randi L. Beazer¹, Christopher Kidd¹, Rachael Bosma¹, Karen Smith^3,4, Ronald Pokrupa^5,6, Omar Islam, ^2,7, Nomusa Mngoma⁴, David Cadotte^8,9, David Mikulis^8,10, Michael G. Fehlings^8,9

¹Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ²Diagnostic Radiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ³Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁴Providence Care, St Mary's of the Lake, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁵Neurosurgery, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁶Neurosurgery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁷Radiology, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; ⁸Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ⁹Surgery, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; ¹⁰Medical Imaging, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Clinical applications of functional MRI of the spinal cord, in order to assess the effects of spinal cord trauma or disease, must provide sensitive and reliable results, even in the presence of fixation devices to stabilize the spine, and must meet practical time limitations while providing enough information to be diagnostic.  Here we demonstrate detailed functional maps in response to stimulation on the right and left sides of the body, at spinal cord segmental levels above and below the level of injury, in spinal cord injured patients.  The method is almost fully automated, and takes under 7 minutes.

14:00         4235.     High-Resolution CINE MRI for the Visualization of Arachnoid Adhesions

Andreas Gottschalk¹, Axel Bornstedt², Uwe Maurer³, Silke Steinhoff¹, Bernd Schmitz⁴, Volker Rasche²

¹Department of Radiology, Armed Forces Hospital, Ulm, Germany; ²Department of Internal Medicine II, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Germany; ³Department of Neurosurgery, Armed Forces Hospital, Ulm, Germany; ⁴Department for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Ulm, Ulm, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany

The application of high-resolution cardiac phase resolved MRI (CINE) to directly visualize arachnoid adhesions for improved intervention planning in syringomyelia was investigated. It could be shown that high-spatial resolution (250µmx500µmx2mm) combined with 30 cardiac phases enabled direct visualization and quantification of the arachnoid adhesions. The position of the adhesions was verified during the intervention and post-interventional MRI was performed for assessment of the structure of the arachnoid adhesion after the microsurgical adhesiolysis procedure.

14:30         4236.     Preoperation MRI Analysis in 149 Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Zhengguang Chen¹, Lifeng Lao², Jianxiong Shen³, Xiaozhen Li⁴

¹Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; ²Department of Orthopaedic, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China; ³Department of Orthopedics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; ⁴Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is defined as a lateral spinal curvature greater than 10° accompanied by vertebral rotation and has no clear underlying causes. Traditionally AIS was evaluated using standing radiographs of the full spine to assess lateral curvature with the Cobb method, but it is on 2D coronal plane-only evaluating system, ignoring the 3D nature of AIS. MRI and computer-generated 3D images is a noninvasive procedure which could be used to assess the functional morphology in spine. To validate the hypothesis of disproportional growth between neural and skeletal system a MRI study was performed in 149 AIS patients and 41 age-matched controls.

15:00         4237.     Mean Displacement Map of Spine and Spinal Cord Disorders Using High B-Value Q-Space Imaging; Feasibility Study.

Masaaki Hori^1,2, Utaro Motosugi¹, Fatima Zareen¹, Keiichi Ishigame¹, Hiroshi Kumagai¹, Toshiyuki Onodera³, Kazuo Yagi³, Shigeki Aoki², Tsutomu Araki¹

¹Radiology, University of Yamanashi, Chuou, Yamanashi, Japan; ²Radiology, School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan; ³Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan

Purpose of this study is to investigate the use of high b-value q-space imaging (QSI) to evaluate spine and spinal cord lesions in vivo, with the use of mean displacement (MD) maps, as feasibility study. In results, various MD values were measured in the lesions. Moreover, MD maps were not apparently well correlated with corresponding apparent diffusion coefficient maps of DWI with b-values of 1000 s/mm2. This technique has potential to provide new information in addition to conventional sequences in routine clinical study.

13:30         4238.     Fully Automated Straightening of the Spinal Cord Using Fiber Tractography

Demian Wassermann¹, Julien Cohen-Hadad^2,3, Stephane Lehericy⁴, Habib Benali⁵, Serge Rossignol⁶, Rachid Deriche¹

¹INRIA, Sophia-Antipolis, PACA, France, Metropolitan; ²Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA,, Charleston, MA, United States; ³UMRS 678, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle, Inserm, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, Ile-de-France, France, Metropolitan; ⁴Center for NeuroImaging Research, Pitie Salpetriere Hospital, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Paris, Ile-de-France, France; ⁵Inserm, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMRS 678, Laboratoire d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle, Paris, Ile-de-France, France; ⁶Groupe de recherche sur le Système Nerveux Central, Département de Physiologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Spinal Cord MRI (SC-MRI) is a challenging research field with numerous important clinical and basic research applications. Some of the SC-MRI applications strongly need to deal with a well  straightened spinal cord either for appropriate methodological developments, for better visualization or diagnostic purposes. In this article, we develop an efficient and automatic method to straighten the spinal cord image and fibres. Diffusion Tensor MRI is first used to recover by tractography the bundles of fibres related to the spinal cord. An efficient Gaussian process framework is then used to automatically recover in a robust way the most representative fibre which is used to interpolate and straighten the spinal cord image and fibres. Our method is successfully tested on real images of one cat with partial spinal cord injury and two healthy volunteers. This capability to reliably reconstruct straightened animal and human spinal cord opens new opportunities for SC-MRI applications.

14:00         4239.     Susceptibility Weighted Imaging: A New Tool in Detecting Hemorrhage in Spinal Cord Injury

Meiyun Wang¹, Yongming Dai², Qing Lin, Yanhong Han, Man Wang, E Mark Haacke³, Zhen Wu, Dapeng Shi

¹Department of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China; ²MRI, Siemens Healthcare, Shanghai; ³Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University

We aimed to evaluate the role of SWI in detecting hemorrhage in spinal cord injury (SCI). Eighteen patients with a history of acute cervical spine trauma and 20 volunteers were enrolled in this study. SWI showed hemorrhage in 4 patients, which was not demonstrated on conventional MRI; 4 of 18 had intramedullary hemorrhage, which was proved by SWI and neurosugery. So we conclude SWI is an invaluable tool for visualizing hemorrhage in SCI compared to conventional MRI methods.

14:30         4240.     DCE-MRI and DW-MRI in Characterization of Spinal Metastasis - not available

David H. Gultekin^1,2, Hebert A. Vargas Alvarez³, Cecilia Wassberg⁴, Jason A. Koutcher¹, Yoshiya Yamada⁵, Eric Lis², Sasan Karimi², Lawrence H. Schwartz²

¹Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States; ²Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States; ³Radiology, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, United States; ⁴Sloan-Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer C, New York, United States; ⁵Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States

The combination of DCE-MRI and DW-MRI in the assessment of metastatic cancer of various primaries (breast, prostate, melanoma, colorectal, papillary thyroid, RCC and NSCLC) in the spine has been evaluated for treatment response monitoring in patients undergoing radiotherapy.

15:00         4241.     Fast Spin-Echo Triple Echo Dixon:  Initial Clinical Experience with a Novel Pulse Sequence for Simultaneous  Fat Suppressed and Non Fat Suppressed  T2-Weighted Spine Mr Imaging

Russell Norman Low^1,2, Matthew J. Austin³, Jingfei Ma⁴

¹Sharp and Children's MRI Center, San Diego, CA, United States; ²San Diego Imaging, San Diego, CA, United States; ³Radiology, Univeristy of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States; ⁴Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, United States

We evaluate a novel Dixon based FSE sequence (fTED) for spine imaging that efficiently provides T2 weighted imaging with and without fat suppression in a single acquisition. Compared to STIR images the fTED water images showed equal homogeneity of fat suppression with less motion artifact, sharper anatomic detail, and less susceptibility artifact. The T2 fTED images without fat suppression were equivalent to T2 FRFSE images for lesion detection. FTED provides T2 imaging of the spine with and without fat suppression with a 56% savings in scan time compared to STIR and T2 FRFSE imaging.

Advanced Imaging of Dementia & Neurodegenerative Disease, Part I

14:00         4242.     BOLD Signal Fractal Dimension Mapping in AD Demonstrates Increase Microvascular Activity and Metabolism When Combined with Spectroscopy

Mohammed Warsi¹, D William Molloy², Tim Standish², Graeme Wardlaw³, Michael D. Noseworthy⁴

¹School of Biomedical Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ²Medicine, St. Peters Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ³Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ⁴Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

We present a BOLD signal fractal dimension (FD) mapping approach to assess the tissue microvascular environment in Alzheimer's dementia.  The periodicity or temporal complexity can be quantified using this method thus allow insight into the underlying microvascular processes.  Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)  is associated with regional hypermicrovascularity, especially in the deep grey matter.  Furthermore our BOLD FD was inversely correlated to our MRS measures of total creatine.

14:30         4243.     Automatic Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields in T2-Weighted in Vivo MRI

Hongzhi Wang¹, John B. Pluta², Brian B. Avants¹, Sandhitsu R. Das¹, Caryne Craige¹, Murat Altinay¹, Michael W. Weiner³, Susanne Mueller³, Paul A. Yushkevich¹

¹Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ³Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States

15:00         4244.     A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study of Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal White Matter Alterations in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration

Yu Zhang^1,2, Maria Carmela Tartaglia², Norbert Schuff^1,2, Gloria Chiang^1,2, Christopher Ching^1,2, Howard J. Rosen², Bruce L. Miller², Michael W. Weiner^1,2

¹CIND VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), semantic dementia (SD) and progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA) are three major clinical subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). In this study, cross-sectional and a preliminary longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses were performed in 12 bvFTD, 6 SD, 6 PNFA, and 19 healthy control (CN) subjects. Cross-sectional analysis revealed bvFTD is associated with a characteristic pattern of fractional anisotropy (FA) reductions in the frontal and temporal regions, SD predominantly affects the uncinate fasciculus, and PNFA affects the left arcuate fasciculus. Preliminary longitudinal analysis suggests that DTI captures disease progression in FTLD.

15:30         4245.     Automated Segmentation of Cortical and Subcortical Gray Matter Structures for Evaluation of Alzheimer's Disease and Fronto-Temporal Dementia

Emil Malucelli¹, David Neil Manners¹, Claudia Testa², Caterina Tonon², Giovanni Rizzo², Roberto Poda³, Federico Oppi³, Michelangelo Stanzani Maserati³, Luisa Sambati³, Bruno Barbiroli², Roberto Gallassi³, Raffaele Lodi²

¹Department  of Internal Medicine, Aging and Nephrology , University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ²Department  of Internal Medicine, Aging and Nephrology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ³Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

Objectives: To assess the ability of combined MR cortical structure volumetry and DTI to automatically detect regional brain changes in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Methods: 9 AD patients, 7 FTD patients and 7 controls were studied by 3D volumetric and DW MR imaging. An automated registration/segmentation pipeline defined cortical and subcortical regions of interest, yielding structure volumes and mean diffusivity. Results. Diffuse volume reductions and MD increases were found in both patient groups compared to controls. Conclusions: the protocol described has the potential to identify in vivo surrogate markers for brain pathologic changes in neurodegeneration.

13:30         4246.     DTI Measurements of Neurodegeneration in Early Alzheimer’s Disease: A Corpus Callosum Study

Julio Acosta-Cabronero^1,2, Guy B. Williams¹, George Pengas², Peter J. Nestor²

¹Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; ²Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

The splenium and genu of the corpus callosum (CC), which contain millions of inter-hemispheric fibres, were found to be abnormal in early AD. In this study, we analysed the behaviour of several DTI measures in the subregions of the midline CC and assessed their relationship with global cognitive data. We found that in both splenium and genu, axial and mean diffusion were better predictors of the disease, whereas radial diffusion and particularly, fractional anisotropy exhibited strong correlations with cognitive performance in the splenium only. The results suggest that the neurodegenerative processes affecting the splenium are different than in the genu.

14:00         4247.     Functional Connectivity and Psychometrics as Early Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease

Partick Rich¹, Huiling Peng², Jewell Thomas², Joseph Mettenburg³, Tammie Benzinger³, John Morris², David Balota⁴, Beau Ances⁵

¹Psychology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IO, United States; ²Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States; ³Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States; ⁴Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United States; ⁵Neurology, Washingotn University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States

This project investigated early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In particular, we studied the relationship between psychometrics (the Stroop task) and blood oxygen level dependent resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fcMRI). We observed significant differences in BOLD-fcMRI correlations between subjects with high and low COV subjects within the default mode network (DMN). Our results suggest that psychometric changes are associated with alterations in the DMN with both being early markers for individuals at risk for AD.

14:30         4248.     Structural and White Matter Changes in Patients with Dementia: Comparative FDG-PET and MRI Studies

Elena Gerasimovitch Steffensen¹, Vineet Prakash², Simon Fristed Eskildsen³, Karsten Vestergård⁴, Victor Vishwanath Iyer², Elna-Marie Larsson⁵

¹Department of Radiology, Aalborg Hospital/Århus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; ²Department of Nuclear Medicine, Aalborg Hospital/Århus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; ³Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; ⁴Department of Neurology, Aalborg Hospital/Århus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; ⁵Department of Radiology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden

Introduction: Volumetry and evaluation of WM damage is used to characterization of dementia. Purpose: To investigate whether cortical/hippocampal volumetry; measurement of mI- and NAA-concentration or FA and ADC is preferable in classification of dementia. Method: 3T protocol: 3D T1-weighted imaging; 1H-spectroscopy and DTI in 34 patients. 18FDG-PET: 9 FTD patients; 9-AD, 2- normal PET. Results: Thinner cortex and higher ratio of mI/NAA was seen in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for AD (p<0.05). FA was lower and ADC higher in FTD. Conclusion: WM abnormalities have a potential to facilitate classification of dementia. PCC may be chosen as a region of investigation.

15:00         4249.     Are Behavioural Symptoms of Alzheimer’S Disease Directly Associated to Neurodegeneration?

Laura Serra¹, Roberta Perri², Mara Cercignani¹, Barbara Spanò^1,3, Lucia Fadda^2,4, Camillo Marra⁵, Giovanni Augusto Carlesimo^2,4, Carlo Caltagirone^2,4, Marco Bozzali¹

¹Neuroimaging laboratory, Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy; ²Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy; ³Direzione Scientifica, , IRCCS Centro Neurolesi ‘Bonino-Pulejo’, Messina, Italy; ⁴Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’, Roma, Italy; ⁵Institute of Neurology, Università Cattolica, Roma, Italy

Psychiatric symptoms (BPSD) are frequently observed in the clinical course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We used voxel-based morphometry  to identify, in a large cohort patients with AD at different clinical stages, which BPSD are more significantly associated with regional gray matter degeneration. Correlation analyses showed an association between disinhibition and GM volumes in the cingulate gyrus bilaterally, and in the right middle frontal gyrus, and between delusions and  GM volume of the right hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus, and of the right middle frontal gyrus. These findings indicate that  BPSD are likely part of the clinical features of AD.

13:30         4250.     Retrospective Distortion Correction Using the ADNI Phantom to Salvage Unusable Exams

Bogdan Dzyubak¹, Jeffrey L. Gunter¹, Edward Brian Welch², Ron J. Killiany³, Clifford R. Jack¹, Matt A. Bernstein¹

¹Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States; ²Philips Healthcare, Highland Heights, OH, United States; ³Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

During the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) multicenter study, a laser alignment light was mis-calibrated on one scanner, leading to a displacement error in the isocenter location used during image reconstruction. Consequently, the standard gradient distortion correction was inaccurate and the resulting data were unusable for longitudinally tracking brain changes. Off-line processing was used to remove the aberrant distortion correction from ADNI phantom data, then those images were shifted by a variable displacement, and finally the images were re-corrected for gradient distortion. The actual displacement error was determined by this method and the subject data could be re-corrected and salvaged.

14:00         4251.     Findings of Nonlinear Behaviors of Log-Signal Intensities on DTI in Patients with Alzheimer¡¯s Disease

Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Songfan Xu², Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Dal-Mo Yang¹, Dong-Wook Sung³, Dong Ho Lee³, Seungjoon Park⁴

¹Radiology, East West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ²Biomedical Science, Graduate School of Medicine,  Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ³Radiology, KHU Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ⁴Pharmacology and and Biomedical Science, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

Proposing Calculation of Voxel-based B-values on DTI in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

14:30         4252.     Early and Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Have Distinct Patterns of White Matter Damage

Elisa Canu¹, Federica Agosta¹, Michela Pievani^1,2, Giovanni B. Frisoni³, Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²LENITEM, IRCCS S.Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy; ³LENITEM, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FatebenefratelliIRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratell, Brescia, Italy

SPM5 and the DARTEL method were used to perform a VBM analysis to assess WM differences in 14 early onset AD (EOAD) and 15 late onset AD (LOAD) vs. age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). Compared to HC, in EOAD patients, WM loss was mapped mainly to the posterior regions such as the posterior cingulum and the lateral parietal regions, bilaterally. In LOAD patients, WM loss was confined to the medial temporal lobe in the parahippocampal regions. Our findings indicate that EOAD and LOAD patients differ in the topography of WM damage, which reflects the pattern of cortical loss.

15:00         4253.     The Diffusivity Pattern of White Matter Degeneration in Semantic Dementia Is Spatially and Qualitatively Different from Alzheimer's Disease

Julio Acosta-Cabronero¹, George Pengas², Guy B. Williams¹, Peter J. Nestor²

¹Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; ²Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

The diffusion profile in semantic dementia (SD) was studied to examine the profile of connection changes. Tract-based spatial statistics in SD patients provided compelling evidence that the network is distinct to that of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and indicated that the key abnormality exiting the temporal lobe was in the uncinate fasciculus projection to the orbital frontal lobe. The tensor behaviours also indicated that the nature of the neurodegenerative in SD differs qualitatively from that seen in AD.

13:30         4254.     MRI-Derived, ROI-Based Whole-Brain Comparison of FDG- And PIB-PET in Prodromal and Mild Alzheimer’s Disease

David S. Karow¹, Linda K. McEvoy¹, Christine Fennema-Notestine², Donald J. Hagler, Jr. ¹, James B. Brewer, ^1,3, Carl K. Hoh¹, Anders M. Dale, ^1,3

¹Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; ²Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; ³Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States

Evaluation of metabolism and amyloid plaque burden in prodromal and mild Alzheimer's Disease using MRI-derived, subject-specific, semi-automated procedures.

14:00         4255.     Lateral Ventricle Segmentation Based on Fusion of Expert Priors in AD.

Vladimir S. Fonov¹, Sridar Narayanan¹, Douglas L. Arnold¹, D. Louis Collins¹

¹McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada

Measurement of lateral ventricular volume is often used for measuring the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Existing techniques for ventricle segmentation have been extensively validated for the normal population, but may be suboptimal for the patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), for example. We propose an automated method which uses information from expert manual segmentation combined with a population-specific atlas. Experiments were completed with a group of 271 elderly patients from an ongoing clinical trial, using manual segmentations as a gold standard.  We found that proposed algorithm yields accurate results with a median kappa of 0.962.

14:30         4256.     Assessment of White Matter Tract Damage in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Michela Pievani^1,2, Federica Agosta¹, Elisabetta Pagani¹, Elisa Canu³, Stefania Sala¹, Martina Absinta¹, Cristina Geroldi³, Rossana Ganzola³, Giovanni B. Frisoni³, Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio - Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy; ³IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FatebenefratelliIRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio - Fatebenefratel, Brescia, Italy

DT-MRI tractography was used to investigate MD, FA, axial (DA) and radial (DR) diffusivities changes in limbic and cortico-cortical (CCT) WM tracts in 25 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 19 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment  (aMCI), and 15 controls. AD showed increased MD in CCT and cingulum, and reduced FA in fornix. Both patient groups showed increased DA in CCT and DR in the fornix. In AD and aMCI, limbic tracts showed a greater increase in DR vs. DA. Hippocampal volumes correlated with fornix DA. This study suggests different pattern of WM involvement in the limbic and CCT in AD.

15:00         4257.     2D L-COSY MR Spectroscopy Detects Very Early Changes in the Brain of Alzheimer Mouse

S van Duijn¹, F Kara², N Braakman^2,3, S G. van Duinen¹, R Natté¹, M A. van Buchem⁴, A Alia²

¹Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ²Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; ³Catharina hospital, Eindhoven, Netherlands; ⁴Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides a non-invasive way to investigate in vivo neurochemical abnormalities of many brain disorders. However, its role in finding very early and specific metabolic changes as biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has not yet been established. In the present study we employed, for the first time, localized 2D L-COSY MRS in young wild-type and transgenic APP/PS1 mouse model of AD to probe specific early metabolic changes during AD. Our results provide an important indication of early neurochemical changes that take place before Aâ plaque formation in these transgenic mice.

Advanced Imaging of Dementia & Neurodegenerative Diseases, Part II

14:00         4258.     Echo Planar Spectroscopic Imaging in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Sanjeev Chawla¹, Sumei Wang¹, Sulaiman Sheriff², John H. Woo¹, Lauren Elman³, Leo F. McCluskey³, Murray Grossman³, Elias R. Melhem¹, Andrew Maudsley², Harish Poptani¹

¹Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States; ³Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of echoplanar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) in assessing metabolic alterations beyond the motor cortex of ALS patients. NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr were measured from the precentral gyrus (PreCG), postcentral gyrus (postCG) and internal capsule (IC) and compared to Occipital region (OR) as an internal control. Significant reductions in NAA/Cr were observed from the preCG and IC from both the hemispheres. Significantly higher Cho/Cr ratios were also observed from the preCG, postCG and IC regions indicating that metabolic abnormalities in ALS extend beyond the motor cortex that can be observed using EPSI.

14:30         4259.     Study on Gray and White Matter Changes in ALS with Voxle-Based Morphometry Using DARTEL

Lin Ma¹, Zhiye Chen¹

¹Department of Radiology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

Standard VBM (VBM-STANDARD) has demonstrated gray and white matter loss in ALS. In order to evaluate the efficacy of VBM with DARTEL algorithm (VBM-DARTEL), both VBM-DARTEL and VBM-STANDARD were performed in ALS. High resolution images were acquired from 30 ALS patients and 30 controls. ALS was subclassified into ALS/MCI and ALS/CN, and ALS/Bulbar and ALS/Limb. VBM-DARTEL revealed more gray and white matter deficits than VBM-STANDARD. With VBM-DARTEL, gray matter loss was also detected in ALS/MCI compared with ALS/CN, and gray and white matter deficits in ALS/Limb compared with ALS/Bulbar. VBM-DARTEL was more accurate than VBM-STANDARD in performing volumetric studies.

15:00         4260.     Whole-Brain Proton MRSI in ALS: Changes in the Distribution of Metabolites by Brain Lobes and Tissue Types

Varan Govind¹, Khema R. Sharma², Sulaiman Sheriff¹, Andrew A. Maudsley¹

¹Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States; ²Neurology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States

Whole-brain proton MRSI data acquired at 3T from groups of definite-ALS and control subjects were analyzed by brain hemispheric lobes and parenchymal constituent tissue-types (white matter and gray matter). The metabolite ratios, NAA/Cr and Cho/NAA, in the white matter showed significant and widespread alterations throughout the brain of ALS patients. In the gray matter of the ALS group, significant differences were found in the left frontal- and left parietal lobes for NAA/Cr, and bilateral frontal lobe for Cho/NAA.

15:30         4261.     Brain DT MRI Predicts the Long-Term Clinical Evolution in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A 3.4 Year Follow Up Study

Federica Agosta¹, Elisabetta Pagani¹, Melissa Petrolini¹, Maria Pia Sormani², Domenico Caputo³, Michele Perini⁴, Alessandro Prelle⁵, Fabrizio Salvi⁶, Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Unit of Biostatistics, DISSAL, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; ³Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute Fondazione Don Gnocchi, Milan, Italy; ⁴Department of Neurology, Ospedale di Gallarate, Gallarate, Italy; ⁵Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Neuroscience, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; ⁶Department of Neurology, Ospedale di Bellaria, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

We investigated whether corticospinal tract (CST) DT-MRI changes contribute to the prediction of long-term clinical evolution in patients with amyotrophic laterals sclerosis (ALS). Conventional and DT-MRI were obtained in 24 ALS patients, who were followed prospectively for 3.4 years. Compared with controls, ALS patients showed increased MD and decreased FA of the CST. Shorter disease duration and lower CST FA were associated with disability worsening. Bulbar-onset and CST FA were independent predictors of time to death in ALS patients. More severe DT-MRI abnormalities in the CST predicted a poorer clinical outcome after a 3.4 year follow up in ALS patients.

13:30         4262.     Altered Functional Connectivity of the Motor Network in Multiple System Atrophy

Feng Feng¹, Hui You¹, Han Wang², Fuling Zheng¹, Chunling Meng¹, Jue Wang³, Yufeng Zang³

¹Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China; ²Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China; ³State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

MSA is mainly a sporadic neurodegenerative disease. Besides abnormalities of nigrostriatal pathway, the typical pathological findings were also described in primary motor and supplementary motor cortices. We hypothesize that there is associated disturbance of functional connectivity of the motor cortex in MSA patients. To test the hypothesis, resting-state functional MRI was used to measure the coherent spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygenation level¨Cdependent signal. Our results showed regional homogeneity changes in left precentral gyrus, right precuneus, supramarginal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, indicating functional connectivity disturbance of motor-related circuits and left-sided predominance of primary motor cortex involvement.

14:00         4263.     The Topographical Distribution of White Matter Damage in Parkinson’s Disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

Federica Agosta¹, Sebastiano Galantucci¹, T Stojkovic², A. Tomic², Igor Petrovic², Giulia Longoni¹, Vladimir Kostic², Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Using TBSS, we investigated WM changes in 39 Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, 20 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients (10 Richardson’s syndrome [PSP-RS] and 10 PSP-Parkinsonism [PSP-P]), and 26 controls. PSP-RS showed the most pronounced pattern of decreased FA, including both infratentorial and supratentorial regions, vs. controls and other patient groups. A similar pattern of FA decrease (except for superior cerebellar peduncle) was found in PSP-P vs. controls and PD (only at a lower significance). Impaired WM integrity was found in PSP but not in PD. The less prominent WM involvement in PSP-P might be associated to its favorable clinical status.

14:30         4264.     The In-Vivo Topographical Distribution of Brain Tissue Loss Associated with Depression in Parkinson’s Disease: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Massimo Filippi¹, Federica Agosta¹, Igor Petrovic², Sebastiano Galantucci¹, Vladana Spica², Milica Jecmenica², Vladimir Kostic²

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

VBM was used to investigate whether specific patterns of gray (GM) and white matter (WM) loss are associated with depression in 40 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Twenty-four PD were diagnosed as non-depressed (PD-NDep), and 16 as having depression (PD-Dep). Compared with PD-NDep, PD-NDep showed WM loss in the right anterior cingulum and inferior orbitofrontal (OF) region. In PD patients, Hamilton rating scale for depression score correlated significantly with right inferior OF WM. The pattern of brain atrophy in PD-Dep overlaps with the key regions involved in major depressive disorders, suggesting an increased vulnerability of this neural circuit in PD.

15:00         4265.     1H and 31P Spectroscopy: High Energy Metabolism in Idiopathic Parkinson Syndrome

Elke Hattingen¹, Ruediger Hilker², Joerg Magerkurth¹, Carola Seifried², Ulrich Pilatus¹

¹Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany; ²Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

Combined 31P and 1H spectroscopic imaging was used to study changes in midbrain energy metabolism of patients with Parkinsons disease. Compared to healthy volunteers there is a decrease in high energy phospahtes (ATP an phosphocreatine). The effect is more pronounced in the hemisphere contralateral to the clinacal more affected side. The results corroborate the hypothesis of a potential role of mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinsons disease.

13:30         4266.     Proinflammatory Cytokines Correlate with Diffusion Tensor Imaging Derived Metrics in Patients with Acute and Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure

Santosh Kumar Yadav¹, R Murali², Vivek A. Saraswat², R KS Rathore³, A Yadav¹, K N. Prasad⁴, M A. Thomas⁵, Rakesh Kumar Gupta¹

¹Radiodiagnosis, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ²Gastroenterology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ³Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁴Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁵Radiological Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Fourteen patients with ALF, 17 with ACLF and 8 age/sex matched controls were included in this study. MRI, 1H-MR spectroscopy and serum proinflammatory cytokines measurements were done in all the patients and controls. Serum proinflammatory molecules were significantly increased in both conditions as compared to controls. A significant positive correlation of CS with IL-6 and TNF-α was observed in ALF while, CS correlated only to IL-6 in ACLF. A significant negative correlation was observed between MD values and IL-6 in both conditions. A significant positive correlation was also observed among Glx/Cr, IL-6 and TNF-α in both conditions. These observations suggest that proinflammatory cytokines may contribute in the development of CE in these patients.

14:00         4267.     Absolute Quantification of Human Brain Metabolites in Gulf War Syndrome Using Proton MR Spectroscopy at 3T

Hyeon-Man Baek¹, Sergey Cheshkov^1,2, Audrey Chang¹, Sandeep Ganji¹, Evelyn Babcock¹, Richard Briggs^1,2, Robert Haley²

¹Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ²Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States

In the present study, metabolic concentrations of three distinct Gulf War (GW) syndromes (e.g., Syndrome-I is described as “impaired cognition;” syndrome-II, “confusion-ataxia; syndrome-III, “central pain”) were calculated and compared the findings with those for healthy GW veterans. The main observation in this work was the significant reduction of NAA (Syndrome-I, -8%; Syndrome-II, -11%; Syndrome-III, -4%) concentration in left BG and (Syndrome-I, -7%; Syndrome-II, -8%; Syndrome-III, -9%) in right BG of GW syndrome subjects compared to healthy control subjects. The present study demonstrated that quantitative in vivo 1H-MRS can be used to detect the brain abnormalities in GW illness veterans, which may have relevance for the mechanisms of Gulf War syndrome.

14:30         4268.     Brain Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Friedreich’s Ataxia

Giovanni Rizzo^1,2, Caterina Tonon¹, Maria Lucia Valentino², David Neil Manners¹, Filippo Fortuna^1,2, Cinzia Gellera³, Antonella Pini⁴, Sandro Ghezzo⁴, Agostino Baruzzi², Claudia Testa¹, emil Malucelli¹, Bruno Barbiroli¹, Valerio Carelli², Raffaele Lodi¹

¹MR Spectroscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Aging and Nephrology, University of Bologna, Bologna, BO, Italy; ²Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, BO, Italy; ³U.O. Biochemistry and Genetics, Fondazione IRCCS-Istituto Neurologico Nazionale “Carlo Besta”, Milano, MI, Italy; ⁴Neuropsichiatric Unit, Ospedale Maggiore, Bologna, BO, Italy

Objectives. To define the extent of the brain damage in FRDA and to identify in vivo markers of neurodegeneration, using DWI. Methods. MD maps from 27 FRDA patients and 21 healthy volunteers were generated. ROI and histogram analysis was performed. Results. MD values of patients were higher than controls in medulla, pons, MCP, SCP, pyramidal tracts, and OR, as well as in whole brainstem, cerebellar hemispheres, cerebellar vermis and sovratentorial compartment, and correlated with genetic and clinical data. Conclusions. Neurodegeneration in FRDA is more extensive than previously reported, and DWI is a suitable technique to provide biomarkers of disease progression.

15:00         4269.     Decreased Brain Glx Levels in HIV Dementia: A 3 Tesla MR Spectroscopy Study

Mona Adel Mohamed^1,2, Peter B. Barker^1,2, Richard L. Skolasky³, Richard T. Moxley³, Martin G. Pomper¹, Ned C. Sacktor³

¹Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Kennedy Krieger Institute, FM Kirby Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

The major finding of the current study is that brain MRS performed at 3T reveals decreased levels of Glx in the frontal white matter (FWM) of patients with HIV-associated dementia (HAD) compared to those without dementia. FWM Glx decreases were also associated with poorer cognitive function, specifically impaired executive and fine motor functioning in HAD. 3T MRS measurements of Glx may be a useful indicator of neuronal loss or dysfunction in patients with HIV infection.

13:30         4270.     Widespread and Different Distribution of Extrafocal NAA/(Cr+Cho) Reductions in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) with and Without Mesial Temporal Sclerosis

Susanne G. Mueller¹, Andreas Ebel¹, Jerome Barakos², Cathy Scanlon¹, Ian Cheong¹, Daniel Finaly¹, Paul Garcia³, Michael W. Weiner¹, Kenneth D. Laxer²

¹Dept. of  Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UCSF, Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²Pacific Epilepsy Program, Califronia Pacific Medical Center; ³Department of Neurology, UCSF

14 TLE with mesial temporal lobe sclerosis (TLE-MTS)and 14 TLE with normal appearing hippocampi (TLE-no) and 18 healthy volunteers were studied with a whole brain 3D EPSI at 4T. Widespread NAA/(Cr+Cho) reductions showing a considerable intersubject variability were found in both groups. The distribution of these abnormalities was different in the two TLE groups. These findings indicate that TLE-MTS and TLE-no are metabolically heterogeneous and might even represent different TLE entities.

14:00         4271.     Voxel-Based Analysis of Magnetisation Transfer Ratio as a Potential Biomarker in Prion Diseases.

Harpreet Hyare¹, Enrico De Vita², Gerard Ridgway³, Rachael Scahill⁴, Durrenajaf Siddique¹, Simon Mead¹, Peter Rudge¹, Tarek Yousry², John Collinge¹, John Thornton⁵

¹MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom; ²National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery; ³Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology; ⁴Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UCL Institute of Neurology; ⁵National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom

Voxel based morphometry in inherited prion diseases demonstrates regionally specific atrophy in the basal ganglia, cerebellum and posterior cortical areas but no significant differences in the white matter compared to controls.  Voxel-based analysis of magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) demonstrates decreased MTR in the same grey matter regions but for the same threshold (p<0.001), there is activation of more voxels including white matter voxels.  The findings suggesting that MTR may be more sensitive to microstructural changes and offers potential as a neuroimaging biomarker in prion diseases.

14:30         4272.     Cerebral White Matter Disruption in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Hedok Lee¹, Chen Hoffmann², Oren S. Cohen³, Peter B. Kingsley⁴, Isak Prohovnik^1,5

¹Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, United States; ²Radiology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; ³Neurology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; ⁴Radiology, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, United States; ⁵Radiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, United States

To test the sensitivity of DTI to detect white matter integrity in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), we scanned 21 CJD patients and 19 healthy controls, computed fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity, and quantitatively compared the results in voxel-level analyses of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). In CJD patients, significant FA reductions in distinct and functionally relevant white matter (WM) pathways correlated with disease duration and reflected an elevation of RD, suggesting augmented permeability of axonal membranes. Our findings demonstrate involvement of WM pathways connecting structural landmarks that are known to be involved in the disease.

15:00         4273.     In Vivo Longitudinal Monitoring of Blood Flow Alterations in TG2576 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

F Kara¹, N Braakman¹, M A. van Buchem², H JM de Groot¹, R Schliebs³, A Alia¹

¹Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; ²Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ³Department of Neurochemistry, University of Leipzig, Leiden, Netherlands

In this study we longitudinally monitored, the blood flow alterations in TG2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease using MR angiography. Blood flow alterations were clearly increased in transgenic mice over time. Flow defects in middle cerebral artery were seen already at the age of 8 month when there was no cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) was observed. In anterior cerebral artery the flow alterations were visible at the age of 19 months and were correlated with CAA as well as with high plaque deposition in the brain tissues. Our results show that blood flow defects are present long before vascular deposition of Aβ takes place in this mouse model.

Advanced Imaging of Dementias & Neurodegenerative Diseases, Part III

14:00         4274.     Excitatory Neurotransmitter Dysfunction Is Induced in Frontal Brain After Excitatory Drug Abuse

Napapon Sailasuta¹, Osama Abulseoud², Martha Hernandez^2,3, Thao T. Tran^1,3, Brian D. Ross^1,3

¹Clinical MR Spectroscopy, Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, United States; ²University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ³Rudi Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara , CA, United States

Does excitatory drug abuse, specifically of methamphetamine, have the expected effect on the major excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate?  Using TE-Average at 3 Tesla, and examining frontal white matter, site of the major neuropsychological deficits in this patient population, we describe a 20% increase in brain glutamate.  This is accompanied by the previously described 15% reduction in the neuronal marker NAA.  The two neurochemical changes are statistically correlated (P<0.003) inviting the question whether the one is causative of the other. The hypothesis linking excitatory drug use with excitatory neurotransmitter excess is confirmed.  Longitudinal studies are in progress to answer that new question.

14:30         4275.     Anatomical Connectivity Mapping Quantifies Neuroplastic Activity of Anticholinesterase Treatments in Patients with Ad

Marco Bozzali¹, Tommaso Gili^2,3, Laura Serra¹, Bruno Maraviglia^1,3, Carlo Caltagirone^4,5, Karl Embleton⁶, Geoff J. M. Parker⁷, Mara Cercignani¹

¹Neuorimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; ²MarbiLab, Enrico Fermi Centre, Rome, Italy; ³Dept of Physics, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy; ⁴Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; ⁵Dept of Neuroscience, University of Rome "Tor Vergata"; ⁶Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, United Kingdom; ⁷Imaging Science & Biomedical Engineering and the Biomedical Imaging Institute, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

This study assesses WM structural connectivity based on an index derived from diffusion MRI in a group of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), in a group of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment and in a  group of healthy control, in order to investigate whether structural connectivity is altered in AD. The unexpected finding of increased anatomical connectivity in several subcortical areas of patients with AD but not in those with mild cognitive impairment might be explained by the neurotrophic and neurorestorative properties of the cholinesterase inhibitors assumed by these patients, although more investigations are needed.

15:00         4276.     Differences Between Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Healthy Controls Detected by High Spatial Resolution 3D-MRSI at 3 T

Adriane Groeger¹, Grzegorz Chadzynski², Kathrin Brockmann¹, Karin Srulijes¹, Daniela Berg¹, Uwe Klose²

¹Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; ²Department for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Section for Experimental Magnetic Resonance of Central Nervous System, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

We developed an optimized 3D-MRSI protocol with high spatial resolution at 3T to evaluate a method for assessing the characteristic loss of neurons inside the substantia nigra in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Nine PD patients and eight age-matched healthy controls were examined. A voxel size of 0.252 ml yielded reproducible values for the NAA/Cr ratios in all subjects. Our results show clear differences between the intra-individual NAA/Cr ratios in the SN of PD patients compared to controls and suggest that aspects of the pathophysiological process at the SN can be assessed by 3D-MRSI with high spatial resolution at 3T.

15:30         4277.     Diffusion Tensor Imaging Detection of Early White Matter Changes in an Accelerated SIV Primate Model of NeuroAIDS

Eva-Maria Ratai^1,2, Vadim Villarroel³, Julian He^1,2, Reza Hakimelahi^1,2, Robert Fell¹, Chan-Gyu Joo^1,2, Jeffrey Bombardier¹, Susan Westmoreland, ^2,4, Kenneth Williams⁵, Ramon Gilberto Gonzalez^1,2

¹Department of Radiology, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; ²Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ³Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴Division of Comparative Pathology, New England Primate Research Center, Southborough, MA, United States; ⁵Biology Department, Boston College, Boston, MA, United States

A significant number of HIV-infected patients develop neurological symptoms which are thought to be a result of injury to neurons in the CNS. Our objective was to use DTI to detect abnormalities in white matter in a SIV-infected, CD8-depleted macaque model of neuroAIDS. MRS and DTI were conducted before and at 2 and 4 weeks post infection. White matter in the corpus callosum showed a trend towards decreased FA at 2 wpi. Correlation analyses demonstrated a significant association between white matter damage in the splenium and increases in choline. FA showed a negative correlation with viral load in the CSF.

Clinical Brain Tumor Imaging

14:00         4278.     ¹H-HRMAS of Small-Molecule-Metabolites in Adult Brain Tumours: Assignment, Quantification and Biomarker Determination.

Alan Wright¹, Greg A. Fellows², John R. Griffiths³, Martin Wilson^4,5, B Anthony Bell², Franklyn Arron Howe²

¹Radiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands; ²St George's University of London, United Kingdom; ³CRUK Cambridge Research Institute, United Kingdom; ⁴University of Birmingham, United Kingdom; ⁵Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom

MRS has the potential to provide diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for brain tumours in vivo. We have used the ex vivo technique of ¹H HRMAS NMR spectroscopy of brain tumour samples to identify the “NMR visible” metabolites in the common adult brain tumours. This has lead to the identification of 29 small molecule metabolites observable in spectra from a set of 65 tumours including grade II astrocytomas, grade III gliomas, GBMs, lymphomas, metastases and meningiomas. We have also identified some novel-potential biomarkers for binary brain-tumour diagnostic comparisons. These include hypotaurine as a marker for GBM when compared to metastases or histidine as a positive marker for gliomas when compared to metastases or meningioma.

14:30         4279.     Radiation Toxicity to the Normal Brain Detected by Echoplanar Spectroscopic Imaging in Patients with Brain Metastases Treated with Whole Brain Radiation Therapy

Sanjeev Chawla¹, Sumei Wang¹, Sulaiman Sheriff², Lisa Desiderio¹, Alexander Lin³, Harry Quon³, Ramesh Rengan³, Elias R. Melhem¹, Andrew Maudsley², Harish Poptani¹

¹Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²Radiology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States; ³Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Echoplanar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI) was performed serially in patients with brain metastasis undergoing whole brain radiation therapy to assess metabolic alterations in the normal brain. NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios were measured from dorsolateral-prefrontal-cortex, cingulate-gyrus, thalamus, hippocampus and basal ganglia.  In general, a decrease in NAA/Cr was noted from several regions while the Cho/Cr ratio decreased in some regions with a concomitant increase in other regions probably due to neurodegenerative effects of whole brain radiation. These results suggest that EPSI may be used for detecting radiation toxicity to the normal brain in patients with brain metastases treated with radiation therapy.

15:00         4280.     Using MR Spectroscopy to Track Metabolic Changes in Glioblastoma After One Dose of Cediranib

Heisoog Kim^1,2, Ciprian Catana¹, Eva-Maria Ratai¹, Wei-Ting Zhang¹, Ovidiu C. Andronesi¹, Tracy T. Batcheolor³, Rakesh K. Jain⁴, Alma Gregory Sorensen¹

¹A.A.Martinos center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; ²NSE/HST, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; ³Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; ⁴Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

This study investigated early changes in predominant metabolites for assessment of tumor response to anti-angiogenic agents in rGBM using 1H-MRS. After one dose, NAA/norCre in ET showed a significant increase in good-OS patients (12/19) and no such increase in poor-OS. NAA/Cho increased in good-OS, while decreasing in poor-OS.  There were no significant changes in norCre or MRI parameters, including T1, FLAIR, and ADC. The change in NAA/norCre after one dose suggests a revival of neuronal activity as well as a recovery of metabolite concentrations due to reduction of edema.  NAA/Cho changes also seem to correlate well with overall survival.

15:30         4281.     Combining High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning H1 NMR and Molecular Genomics Predicts Survival in Brain Tumor Patients Better Than Either Methodology Alone

Loukas G. Astrakas^1,2, Konstantinos D. Blekas³, Ovidiu C. Andronesi^1,4, Michael N. Mindrinos⁵, Peter M. Black⁶, Laurence G. Rahme⁷, A Aria Tzika^1,4

¹NMR Surgical Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burns Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ²Department of Medical Physics, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; ³Department of Computer Science, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; ⁴Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martinos Center of Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, United States; ⁵Stanford Genome Technology Center, Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States; ⁶Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ⁷Molecular Surgery Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Burn Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States

Our aim was to develop a novel approach that combines high-resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) H1 NMR and genomics in the same biopsies to improve prognostication of brain tumors. We employed a linear Support Vector Machine combined with the robust minimum redundancy – maximum relevance feature selection scheme, and applied our algorithm to combined HRMAS 1H MRS and microarray data of the same adult brain tumor biopsies. Our results demonstrate that we are able to produce accurate and meaningful data and introduce a novel classification scheme that predicts a clinically meaningful parameter such as survival better than either method alone.

13:30         4282.     Correlation Between Diffusion Tensor and Perfusion Imaging in Segmented Enhancing Lesion with High Grade Glioma

Naomi Morita^1,2, Masafumi Harada¹, Eva Zacharaki², Priyanka Bhatt², Sanjeev Chawla², Elias R. Melhem², Hiromu Nishitani¹

¹Radiology, Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan; ²Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Knowledge about microvascularity, angiogenesis or tumor cellularity is important in determing tumor grade. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are any correlations between ADC, FA and rTBV value in segmented enhancing lesion within tumor. Thirty three brain tumor patients with contrast enhancement on MRI underwent DTI and PWI. FA, ADC and rTBV values were measured in the segmented enhancing area within tumor. FA and rTBV had a negative correlation (p<0.05). This study indicates that damage of fiber and tumor progression may have any relationships in the course of tumor progression.

14:00         4283.     Differentiation of Radiation-Injuries and Tumor Recurrence Using Perfusion-Weighted Imaging

Yu Lin Wang¹, Lin Ma²

¹department of radiology,PLA gerneral hospital, China; ²department of radiology,PLA gerneral hospital, beijing, China

PWI made it possible to obtain measurements of vascularity within brain lesions. The vascularity of malignant tumor differs dramatically from that of radiation necrosis. Thus, tumor recurrence within irradiated lesions may be differentiated from regions of radiation necrosis with PWI. 15 patients were prospectively entered into the study on the basis of the following criteria: previous treatment with radiation therapy after surgical resection for intraaxial tumors; new development of enhancing lesions within the radiation field. The final determination of the new development of enhancing lesions was decided either histologically or clinicoradiologically.

14:30         4284.     Non-Negative Matrix Factorization for Differentiation of Brain Metastasis and Glioblastoma Multiforme, and Visualization of Tumor Infiltration

Jan Luts¹, Teresa Laudadio, ^1,2, M. Carmen Martinez-Bisbal^3,4, Sofie Van Cauter¹, Enrique Molla⁵, Jose Piquer⁵, Johan Suykens¹, Uwe Himmelreich¹, Bernardo Celda^3,4, Sabine Van Huffel¹

¹Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; ²Istituto Applicazioni Calcolo, CNR, Bari, Italy; ³University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; ⁴Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Valencia, Spain; ⁵Hospital de La Ribera, Valencia, Spain

This study focuses on the differentiation between solitary brain metastasis and glioblastoma multiforme based on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and long TE two-dimensional turbo spectroscopic imaging (2D-TSI) data. Fifteen patients with a brain tumor, nine affected by glioblastoma multiforme and six by metastasis, were considered. Non-negative matrix factorization (NNMF) results in a clear separation of glioblastomas and metastases. The methods allows visualizing the abundances of the normal tissue component, which indicate tumor infiltration. In conclusion, automated processing with NNMF of 2D-TSI enables to visualize metabolic differences between glioblastomas and metastases and enables to visualize tumor infiltration.

15:00         4285.     The Effect of Bevacizumab on Normal Appearing White Matter Fibers: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging (Dti) Study

Moran Artzi^1,2, Deborah T. Blumenthal^3,4, Felix Bokstein^3,4, Benjamin W. Corn, ^4,5, Palmon Mika¹, Orna Aizenstein⁶, Dafna Ben Bashat¹

¹The Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Brain Imaging Center, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ²Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University , Tel-Aviv, Israel; ³Neuro-Oncology Service, Oncology Division, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁴Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁵Radiation Oncology Unit, Oncology Division, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁶Department of Radiology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel

Combined chemo-radiation therapy (RT) is the standard first-line treatment for glioblastoma (GB). Recently, antiangiogenic-drugs such as bevacizumab have become routine second-line-therapy for patients with recurrent-GB; however the effects of this agent on the normal appearing white-matter (NAWM) are yet unknown. In this work we scanned patients with primary brain tumors before and after RT and during bevacizumab therapy. DTI was used to evaluate NAWM changes compared to healthy controls. Changes in diffusivity values were detected following RT but not during bevacizumab-therapy. Those results support that post-radiation changes occur, without evidence for additional WM toxicity from bevacizumab-therapy.

13:30         4286.     Support Vector Machines in DSC-Based Glioma Imaging – Suggestions for Optimal Characterization

Frank G. Zöllner¹, Kyrre Eeg Emblem², Lothar R. Schad¹

¹Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; ²Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

Dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance perfusion imaging (DSC-MRI) is a method of choice to characterize gliomas. Recently, support vector machines (SVM) have been introduced as means to prospectively characterize new patients based on information from previous patients. Based on features derived from automatically segmented tumor volumes from 101 DSC-MR examinations, four different SVM models were compared. All SVM models achieved high prediction accuracies (>82%) after rebalancing the training data sets to equal amounts of samples per class. Best discrimination were obtained using a SVM model with a radial basis function kernel allowing for a correct prediction of low-grade glioma at 83% and high-grade glioma at 91%.

14:00         4287.     Differentiation Between Glioblastomas, Brain Metastases and Primary Cerebral Lymphomas Using Diffusion and Perfusion Weighted Imaging

Sumei Wang¹, Sungheon Kim², Sanjeev Chawla¹, Ronald L. Wolf¹, David Knipp¹, Arastoo Vossough¹, Donald M. O’Rourke³, Kevin D. Judy³, Elias R. Melhem¹, Harish Poptani¹

¹Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ³Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Twenty-six glioblastomas, 25 brain metastases and 16 cerebral lymphomas underwent DTI and DSC studies. FA, ADC, CL, CP, CS and rCBV were measured from the enhancing part of the tumor. Elevated FA, CL, CP and decreased CS were observed in glioblastomas compared with both metastases and lymphomas, whereas ADC and rCBV values from glioblastomas were significantly higher than lymphomas. FA and ADC was the best predictor for differentiation of glioblastomas from non-glioblastomas, whereas ADC, CS and rCBV were the best model for distinguishing lymphomas from metastases. Our study indicates that DTI metrics along with rCBV measurement may be helpful in tumor classification.

14:30         4288.     Initial RCBV Predicts Response to Bevacizumab in Patients with High-Grade Gliomas

Kathleen M. Schmainda^1,2, Devyani Bedekar^1,2, Scott D. Rand^1,2, Jennifer Connelly, ²³, Mark Malkin, ²³

¹Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; ²Translational Brain Tumor Research Program, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; ³Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

The prognosis for patients diagnosed with brain tumors has been dismal. Now there is hope with improved time to progression and survival noted for patients treated with anti-angiogenic drugs such as bevacizumab.  Yet, many questions remain regarding the appropriate selection of patients most likely to respond. These questions are important from both a clinical and economic perspective and therefore speak to the need for ways to efficiently and reliably predict response.  Here we demonstrate the potential of DSC-measures of rCBV, obtained just prior to treatment with bevacizumab, to predict outcomes in patients with both new and recurrent GBM.

15:00         4289.     Using Cerebrovascular Response to Hyperoxia  for Assessing Treatment Resonse in Glioblastoma

Heisoog Kim^1,2, Ciprian Catana¹, Grace Kim¹, Ovidiu C. Andronesi¹, Dominique L. Jennings¹, Divya S. Bolar^1,3, Elizabeth R. Gerstner⁴, Tracy T. Batchelor⁴, Rakesh K. Jain⁵, Alma Gregory Sorensen¹

¹A.A.Martinos center, Massachusetts General Hospotal, Charlestown, MA, United States; ²NSE/HST, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; ³EECS/HST, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States; ⁴Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospotal, Boston, MA, United States; ⁵Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospotal, Boston, MA, United States

This study quantitatively investigated BOLD responses to pure oxygen in glioblastoma (GBM) throughout the course of the treatment with chemoradiation and an anti-angiogenic drug. BOLD signal changes dropped significantly at the beginning of the treatment in tumor and gradually recovered afterwards. Conversely, in contralateral normal tissue a slight increase was observed at the early time points. Interestingly, no difference was observed between values in both regions after 35 days. Our preliminary findings suggest that assessing the oxygenation status before and after treatment might be useful for both prognostic and diagnostic assessment in GBM patients.

13:30         4290.     Correlation Between Imaging Findings of Magnetic Susceptibility Weighted Images and MIB-1 Labeling Index.

Kazuchika Hagiwara¹, Akira Kunimatsu¹, Wataru Gonoi¹, Harushi Mori¹, Osamu Abe¹, Kuni Ohtomo¹, Hiroyuki Kabasawa²

¹Radiology, Tokyo University Hospital, Bunkyouku, Tokyoto, Japan; ²GE Healthcare Japan

The purpose of this study was to examine with or without of association between findings in phase sensitive imaging (PSI) that is a susceptibility weighted imaging method and MIB-1 Labeling Index (LI) that is a marker of malignancy of human brain tumors. Forty brain tumors were studied with 3 T MRI and properties of intratumoral dark spots in PSI were graded on scale of 1 to 4 subjectively depending on area proportions of dark spots within tumors. Statistically significant difference of MIB-1 LI was found between low and high grade tumor groups.

14:00         4291.     Influence of Combined FMRI and MR Tractography on Operative Planning of Brain Tumors: Initial Experience in a Histopathologically Variable Subset of Tumors - not available

Hossam Moussa Sakr¹, Mona Adel Mohamed², Hasan Mohamed Jalalod'din³, Yasser Abd El Aziem Abbas¹

¹radiology, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; ²radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States; ³neurosurgery, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Functional MRI and tractography are two non invasive methods to assess the relation of and possible affection of eloquent cortical brain centers as well as white matter tracts by brain tumors, in this study we show that adding functional and tractography data to the conventional MR data modify the decision of therapy aiming to avoid or minimize post operative deficit.

14:30         4292.     Breath-Hold Regulated Blood Oxygenation-Level Dependent MRI and Vascular Space Occupancy MRI of Brain Tumors

Yuan-Yu Hsu^1,2, Wan-Chun Kwan³, Kun-Eng Lim^1,2, Ho-Ling Liu^4,5

¹Dept. of Medical Imaging, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital-Taipei Branch, Xindian, Taipei, Taiwan; ²School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; ³Dept. of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; ⁴Graduate Institute of Medical Physics and Imaging Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; ⁵MRI center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan

To evaluate the cerebrovascular response of normal tissues and cerebral tumors under breath-holding challenges by using 3-T blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) and vascular space occupancy (VASO) MRI. Six normal adults and 14 patients with brain tumors were studied. There were significant BOLD signal increases and VASO signal decreases in normal appearing gray matter of normal subjects and patients, but not in the tumors. Interestingly, there were BOLD signal decreases or VASO signal increases in two meningiomas. Both 3-T BOLD and VASO MRI can detect breath-hold regulated cerebrovascular changes, with a higher sensitivity for signal detection of BOLD technique.

15:00         4293.     T1 CUBE Compared to Fast Spin Echo T1 Weighted and BRAVO in Post Contrast Enhanced Brain MRI at 3T

David W. Stanley¹, Amy L. Kotsenas², Timothy J. Kaufmann², Heidi A. Edmonson², Dan W. Rettmann³, Eric T. Han⁴

¹MR, GE Healthcare, Proctor, MN, United States; ²Dept. of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States; ³Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Rochester, MN, United States; ⁴Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States

3T MR scanners have become increasingly useful in medical imaging with their increased SNR capabilities and potential of higher resolution images.  However, with some existing pulse sequences, mediocre lesion contrast enhancement, image artifacts, excessive vascular enhancement, and increased signal from white matter pose challenges to the assessment of small and subtle enhancing lesions at 3T.  The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of imaging and contrast enhancing lesion conspicuity of 3D fast spin echo-based T1 CUBE with a T1 weighted 2D FSE and 3D volumetric T1-weighted IR prepared 3D GRE (BRAVO) in contrast enhanced 3T brain MRI.

Clinical Brain Tumor or Head & Neck Imaging

14:00         4294.     Tracer Kinetic Parameters Derived from Quantitative Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI Correlate with VEGF Expression in Head-And-Neck Tumours

Stephanie B. Donaldson^1,2, Guy Betts³, Suzie C. Bonington⁴, Catharine M.L West³, Lucy E. Kershaw², David L. Buckley, ^2,5

¹North Western Medical Physics, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom; ²Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; ³Academic Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; ⁴Department of Radiology, Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom; ⁵Division of Medical Physics, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

Dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE-) MRI using a two-compartment exchange model (2CXM) can provide estimates of perfusion (F_b), microvessel permeability-surface area (PS), interstitial volume (v_e) and blood volume (v_b). DCE-MRI parameters correlate with VEGF expression, an initiator of angiogenesis and prognostic indicator, in a variety of tumours. Eight patients with head-and-neck cancer underwent high temporal-resolution DCE-MRI before surgery. Whole-tumour concentration-time curves were analysed using the 2CXM to estimate F_b, PS, v_e, v_b and plasma mean transit time. VEGF mRNA expression was measured at surgery. F_b, v_e and PS correlated significantly with VEGF expression suggesting that DCE-MRI parameters may be indicative of angiogenesis.

14:30         4295.     MRI of Head and Neck Patients in the Radiotherapy Treatment Position

Scott Hanvey¹, John Foster²

¹Radiotherapy Physics, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, United Kingdom; ²MRI Physics, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Accurate localisation of the planning target volume (PTV) is vitally important in radiotherapy. The excellent soft tissue contrast of MRI makes it an ideal imaging modality for radiotherapy of the head and neck.  Registration of MRI with CT can be problematic since patients are not positioned in the same way. The following study compared the accuracy of the registration of MRI with CT in 20 head and neck patients receiving an MRI in the typical curved table and within an immobilisation device. It also measured the PTVs of patients in the normal and radiotherapy position in MRI.

15:00         4296.     Prognostic Value of Minimum Apparent Diffusion Coefficient for Patients with Hypopharyngeal Cancer

Yu-Chun Lin^1,2, Su-Hang Ng¹, Yau-Yau Wai¹, You-Hsuan Tsai³, Jiun-Jie Wang³

¹Department of Diagnostic Radiology, ChangGung Memorial Hospital, KweiShan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; ²Department of Electrical Engineering, ChangGung University, KweiShan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; ³Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Science, ChangGung University, KweiShan, Taoyuan, Taiwan

The minimum ADC reflects the highest cellularity within the tumor. In this study we proposed to assess the survival rates for patients with hypopharyngeal cancer using minimum ADC, mean ADC and the tumor volume, which is the conventional standard. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the minimum ADC can successfully predict the 16-month overall survival with a optimal threshold of 6.94¡Ñ10-3 mm2/sec. Thus, the minimum ADC could serve as a biomarker for the prognosis in patients with hypopharyngeal cancer.

15:30         4297.     MRI Sialolithography: Direct Visualization of Calculi in the Submandibular Gland Using SWI at 3T

Ali Fatemi¹, Colm Boylan², Judith Coret-Simon², Michael D. Noseworthy, ²³

¹Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ²Diagnostic Imaging, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; ³Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

A technique is presented that allows for the specific identification and localization of calculi within glandular tissues or ducts using MRI.  The technique is based on positive phase filtered SWI, and does not require ionizing radiation or the use of sialogogue.

13:30         4298.     T1 and T2 Relaxation Time Histograms of Mandibular Bone Marrow: A Monomodal Distribution in Sickle Cell Disease

Joseph Liao¹, Nekou Nowrouzi¹, Elliott Elias¹, Hernan Jara¹, Osamu Sakai¹

¹Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

Purpose: To characterize sickle-cell disease-related changes in the mandibular bone marrow using qMRI relaxometry. Materials and Methods: 13 SCD patients (19.8-43 years old) and 17 age-matched controls (23-64 years old) were imaged with the mixed turbo spin-echo pulse sequence. The mandible was manually segmented. T1 and T2 relaxation time histograms were created. Results: 15 of the 17 controls exhibited bimodal peaks in T1; all controls exhibited bimodal peaks in T2. In contrast, all SCD patients exhibited monomodal peaks in both T1 and T2 sequences. Conclusion: qMRI relaxometry reveals a monomodal histogram distribution in the bone marrow in SCD patients.

14:00         4299.     Quantitative MRI Analysis of Lacrimal Glands in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Elliott Elias¹, Joseph Liao¹, Memi Watanabe¹, Naoko Saito¹, Hernan Jara¹, Osamu Sakai¹

¹Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

Purpose: To analyze MR relaxometric and volumetric changes in lacrimal glands in sickle cell disease (SCD) as motivated by a recent case report on lacrimal gland pathology. Materials and Methods: 15 SCD patients (19.8-43.6 yrs) and 23 control subjects (23-64 yrs) were imaged by mixed-TSE sequence at 1.5T. T1, T2, and secular-T2 relaxation time histograms and volumes were analyzed. Results: T2 and secular-T2 relaxation times were significantly shortened in SCD patients, and glandular volumes were increased. No significant differences were observed in T1.  Conclusion: Disease specific relaxometric and volumetric were observed in the lacrimal glands of SCD patients.

14:30         4300.     Quantitative MRI Analysis of Craniofacial Bone Marrow in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease

Elliott Elias¹, Joseph Liao¹, Memi Watanabe¹, Yu Sakai¹, Kaan Erbay¹, Naoko Saito¹, Hernan Jara¹, Osamu Sakai¹

¹Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

Purpose: To analyze MR relaxometric and volumetric changes in craniofacial bone marrow in sickle-cell disease (SCD). Materials and Methods: 15 SCD patients (19.8-43.6 yrs) and 23 controls (23-64 yrs) were imaged by mixed-TSE sequence at 1.5T. Craniofacial bones were manually segmented, and T1, T2, and secular-T2 relaxation time histograms and volumes were analyzed. Results: T2 and secular-T2 peaks revealed significant shortening in SCD patients. Only the first T1 peak showed significant increase. Significant increase in marrow volume was observed in SCD patients. Conclusion: Disease specific relaxometric and volumetric changes were observed in the craniofacial bone marrow in SCD patients.

15:00         4301.     Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) for the Assessment of Iron Loading in the Brain of Beta-Thalassemia Major Patients

Deqiang Qiu¹, Godfrey CF Chan², Queenie Chan³, Sau-Yin Ha², Pek-Lan Khong¹

¹Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; ²Pediatric and Adolescent Medcine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; ³Philips Healthcare Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Brain iron loading was evaluated in a group of thalassemia beta-major patients using susceptibility weighted imaging and compared with normal healthy volunteers. Age and gender effects were found in normal subjects. A wide range of iron concentration was indicated in the patient group with some showing higher phase value and some lower phase value in brain regions than normal. Significantly different phase value was found among patients receiving different iron chelation agents. SWI is sensitive in measuring iron concentration in the brain and provide a valuable tool for iron assessment both for clinical trials and for individual evaluation.

13:30         4302.     Imaging Biomarkers in Neurofibromatosis 2-Related Vestibular Schwannomas

Dominique Louise Jennings¹, Kim Mouridsen², Meiyun Wang², Harry Miao³, Langdon Miller³, Scott R. Plotkin⁴, A Gregory Sorensen²

¹Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA , MA, United States; ²Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, MA, United States; ³PTC Therapeutics, Inc., South Plainfield, NJ, United States; ⁴Department of Neurology and Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

This study applied advanced imaging techniques in the evaluation of the tumor heterogeneity in neurofibramatosis type-2 vestibular schwannomas. We aim to develop imaging biomarkers to assess response to anti-angiogenic therapies in this tumor type.

14:00         4303.     Differential Diagnosis of Intracranial Ectopic Germinomas at Early Stage and Lacunar Infarction by Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging

Xin Lou¹, Lin Ma¹, Chenglin Tian², Ailian Zhang¹, Yulin Wang¹, Zhiye Chen¹

¹Radiology Department, Beijing, China; ²Neurology Department, Beijing, China

Intracranial germinomas may arise in sites besides pineal and suprasellar regions, which was named intracranial ectopic germinomas (IEGs). Most IEGs at early stage present as lacunar infarct-like or demyelination-like lesions. Because germinomas are highly sensitive to radiotherapy, therefore the early diagnosis is crucial for the treatment. Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) has proved to be more sensitive in detecting early basal ganglia germinoma than conventional MRI. Five patients with early IEGs and six patients with lacunar infarction in basal ganglia were performed SWI and conventional MRI. Our preliminary results revealed SWI is helpful in differentiating early IEGs from lacunar infaction.

14:30         4304.     Ex Vivo Metabolic Profiles for the Differential Classification Between Oligodendroglial and GBM Tumours - not available

Bernardo Celda^1,2, Ruben Ferrer-Luna¹, Horacio Martinetto³, Jorge Calvar³, Gustavo Sevlever³, Vicent Esteve², MCarmen Martinez-Bisbal²

¹Physical Chemistry, University of Valencia, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain; ²Physical Chemistry, CIBER-BBN, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain; ³FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ex vivo metabolic profiles for 5o brain tumours (20 oligodendrogial (OT) and 30 GBM) obtained by HR-MAS were used for a clear classification between OT and GBM.

15:00         4305.     r-CBV Changes: Can We Predict Tumor Behavior of Low Grade Gliomas with Rapid Progression from Imaging Features?

Yoo Jeong Yim¹, Soo Chin Kim¹, Hyo bin Seo¹, Ji Hoon Kim¹, Chul-Ho Sohn¹, Kee Hyun Chang¹

¹Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

The purpose of this study was to determine whether r-CBV(relative cerebral blood volume) value in low grade gliomas can be used as an adjunct to pathologic grading. From 2004 to 2009. among 190 pathologically proven low grade glioma(WHO grade II),  fifteen patients(7.8%)(4 astrocytomas, 10 oligodendrogliomas, 1 oligoastrocytoma) showed malignant transformation. These tumors included 8 anaplastic oligodendroglioma, 3 anaplastic astrocytoma, 3 anaplastic oligoastrocytoma and 1 glioblastoma. At the initial study, mean r-CBV value was 5.07(range, 2.87-9.32) and 10.4(range,3.25-16.15) at malignant transformation. Cut-off value for r-CBV of low grade glioma at the point of high grade transformation is 5.3(p=0.0005, sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 76.9%). r-CBV values can be used as an accurate adjunct to WHO pathologic grading of low grade gliomas that have a propensity for malignant transformation.

13:30         4306.     Quantitative MRI Analysis of Aging of Human Fat Tissue: Intra-Orbital Versus Extra-Orbital Fat

Memi Watanabe¹, Osamu Sakai¹, Joseph Liao¹, Hernan Jara^1,2

¹Department of Radiology, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States; ²Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States

Purpose: To study the aging pattern of intra- vs. extra-orbital fat tissue, using multispectral quantitative MR imaging (qMRI). Methods: Forty-two subjects (M:F=21:21, age: 0.5-87 years, average 31.5) were examined with experimental mixed turbo spin echo (mixed-TSE) sequence. Region-of-interest (ROI) measurements of retrobulbar fat, buccal fat and subcutaneous fat tissues were obtained for multispectral qMRI analysis. Results: PD and T1 values of all fat tissues showed similar tissue characteristics and aging patterns, while a decrease in T1 and secular-T2 values was seen in extra-orbital fat with aging. Conclusion: Multispectral qMRI data of aging in intra- and extra-orbital fat tissues were obtained.

14:00         4307.     High-Resolution Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of the Orbits Using Readout-Segmented EPI

Roland Bammer¹, Kristen W. Yeom¹, Samantha J. Holdsworth¹, Stefan T. Skare¹

¹Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) of the Orbits bears great diagnostic potential. Its use, however, has been limited due to profound geometric distortions and signal loss related to single-shot EPI. We demonstrate that diffusion-weighted readout-segmented (RS)-EPI with its significant distortion reduction capacity can provide high-resolution DWI and DTI scans that allows one to delineate intra-orbital structures within clinically reasonable scan times. A consecutive series of 35 pediatric patients was enrolled in a comparative evaluation and a 100% superiority of RS-EPI (both in resolution and distortion reduction) over ASSET-enhanced EPI could be demonstrated.

14:30         4308.     The Effects of Age, Gender and BMI on Parotid Fat and Parotid ADC Measurements in EPI Based and FSE-PROPELLER Based Diffusion Weighted Imaging

Hui-Chu Chiu^1,2, Chun-Jung Juan³, Hing-Chiu Chang^4,5, Hsiao-Wen Chung^3,5, Cheng-Chieh Cheng^3,5, Su-Chin Chiu^3,5, Cheng-Yi Cheng¹, Cheng-Yu Chen³, Guo-Shu Huang³

¹Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ²EMBA in Global Chinese Management, Department of Business Administration, College of Management, Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan; ³Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁴Applied Science Laboratory, GE Healthcare Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan; ⁵Institute of Biomedical Electronics and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

The effects of age, gender and body mass index (BMI) on parotid fat content and parotid ADC measurements have never been investigated yet. In this study, we measured parotid ADC values using non-fat-saturated and fat-saturated DWI pulse sequences including fast spin-echo PROPELLER and echoplanar acquisitions. Our results highlight the parotid fat content is influenced by gender and is significantly positively associated with age and BMI. The parotid fat content has a significantly negative effect on parotid ADC values that is most apparent in non-fat-saturated DWI pulse sequence and the effect could not be remedied by any fat-saturated DWI pulse sequence.

15:00         4309.     Cortical Activation During Swallowing Rehabilitation Maneuvers: A Functional MRI Study of Healthy Controls

Kyung K. Peck¹, Ryan Branski, Cathy Lazarus², Victoria Cody, Devon Kraus, Samantha Haupage, Cindy Ganz, Andrei Holodny, Dennis Kraus

¹Medical Physics and Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States; ²New York University

Both the Effortful and Mendelsohn maneuver are currently used in the clinical setting as a component of a comprehensive rehabilitation of swallowing. However, the brain responses to these tasks and how activation differs from dry swallowing has not been investigated. In this study, we seek to provide preliminary data regarding the neural networks associated with commonly-employed rehabilitation strategies. We hypothesize that with increased understanding of the neural bases behind these maneuvers, factors of peripheral injury as well as the central adaptor response can be considered in order to develop enhanced rehabilitation strategies for this challenging patient population

Multiple Sclerosis I

14:00         4310.     Magnetization Transfer (MT) and Endogenous Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) Effects in Patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Ali Al-Radaideh¹, Olivier Mougin¹, Su-Yin Lim², Christopher Tench², Cris Constantinescu², Penny Gowland¹

¹Sir Peter Mansfield MR Centre, The University Of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²Clinical Neurology, The University Of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Magnetization transfer (MT) is an important MRI measure in MS and the MT effect can be assessed qualitatively using magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) maps.A distinctive peak is observed in the z -spectrum of the human brain, at -1.05k Hz offset from the water frequency at 7T. This is caused by endogenous chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) between amide (chemical group attached to the peptide bond) and water protons. Here we obtain MTR images for negative (MTR- sensitive to MT + CEST effects) and positive (MTR+ sensitive to just MT effects) frequency offsets of the saturation and compare the distributions of these parameters in NAWM of healthy controls and patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS: a condition that is likely to lead to MS).

14:30         4311.     Application of CEST Imaging to Study Amide Proton Transfer (APT) in Healthy Controls and Multiple Sclerosis Pathology at 7 Tesla

Adrienne N. Dula^1,2, Richard D. Dortch^1,2, Bennett A. Landman^2,3, Sid Pawate⁴, Patrick J. Lavin⁴, Edward B. Welch, ^1,5, John C. Gore^1,2, Seth A. Smith^1,2

¹Vanderbilt Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; ²Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States; ³Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; ⁴Neurology, Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States; ⁵3MR Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH, United States

Increased contrast from chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) effects in human brain at 7T has been used to study amide proton transfer (APT) and applied in multiple sclerosis (MS). APT imaging is sensitive to the mobile protons associated with proteins and peptides. The increased signal, T1, and spectral dispersion at 7T ameriorate this molecular MRI method. APT asymmetry analysis at 7T was used to examine unique white matter, gray matter contrast in healthy controls as well as an MS patient. Herein, we utilize the Water Spectrum Shift Reference (WASSR) method to correct for B0 inhomogeneities and center the CEST spectra.

15:00         4312.     Multimodal High Resolution Magnetization Transfer and T1mapping in NAWM of Patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Ali Al-Radaideh¹, Olivier Mougin¹, Su-Yin Lim², Christopher Tench², Cris Constantinescu², Penny Gowland¹

¹Sir Peter Mansfield MR Centre, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²Clinical Neurology, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is known to reduce magnetization transfer ratio (MTR)and increase the longitudinal relaxation time (T1) in the white matter (WM). Here, we measure the distribution of MTR and T1 values in normal appearing white matter (NAWM) at 7T and high spatial resolution, comparing CIS patients with healthy controls.

15:30         4313.     Magnetization Transfer Weighted Double Inversion Recovery for an Improved Visualization of Neocortical and Juxtacortical Signal Abnormalities

Christian Langkammer¹, Christian Enzinger¹, Siegrid Fuchs¹, Franz Fazekas¹, Stefan Ropele¹

¹Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

Signal abnormalities in multiple sclerosis such as neocortical and juxtacortical lesions can be visualized best using a double inversion recovery (DIR) sequence. DIR sequences are based on T1 filtering and aim on suppressing signal from white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. We here investigated, whether the application of additional MT saturation pulses can further improve the contrast between cortex, white matter and embedded lesions. The new sequence was evaluated in the brain of healthy volunteers and multiple sclerosis patients.

13:30         4314.     Elimination of T₁ Weighting in FLAIR by Optimized Double IR – Could This Be the Only T₂-Weighted Sequence Needed?

Ananth J. Madhuranthakam¹, Subhendra N. Sarkar^2,3, Reed F. Busse⁴, David C. Alsop^2,3

¹MR Applied Science Lab, GE Healthcare, Boston, MA, United States; ²Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States; ³Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ⁴MR Applied Science Lab, GE Healthcare, Madison, WI, United States

FLAIR is widely used for its improved conspicuity of long T₂ lesions.  However, concerns remain that the IR imparts T₁ weighting that can decrease detectability of some lesions.  Frequently, both T₂ and FLAIR are used in clinical protocols to guard against these concerns.  Recently, double IR (DIR) has been proposed to highlight some brain lesions by nulling both WM and CSF but produces even stronger T₁ contrast than FLAIR.  Here, we describe an optimization with DIR to produce an image with pure T₂ weighting while simultaneously suppressing CSF and demonstrate results in normal volunteers with a single slab 3D acquisition.

14:00         4315.     Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging of Gray Matter in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Maxim Bester^1,2, Jens H. Jensen¹, Ali Tabesh¹, Hina Jaggi¹, Cathy Hu¹, Joseph Herbert³, Robert I. Grossman¹, Matilde Inglese, ^3,4

¹Radiology, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ²Neuroradiology, Eppendorf-Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany; ³Neurology, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ⁴Radiology , New York University, New York, NY, United States

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is useful to assess subtle pathology in normal-appearing white matter of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) measures the non-Gaussian water diffusion and mean kurtosis (MK) is sensitive to structural changes in isotropic tissue such as gray matter (GM). The aims of this study were to assess GM in MS patients using DKI and DTI and to investigate the relationship between GM MK and white matter injury. Differences from controls were observed in both GM MK and DTI metrics suggesting that DKI can provide additional complementary information about brain tissue microstructure

14:30         4316.     Magnetization Transfer DTI in Multiple Sclerosis

Alexandru Vlad Avram¹, Arnaud Guidon¹, Jeffrey Petrella, Joel Morgenlander², Allen W. Song

¹Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; ²Department of Neurology, Duke University

We present a stimulated echo DTI sequence with magnetization transfer capable of imaging the diffusion anisotropy of myelin water and evaluate its potential for early detection of white matter abnormalities in multiple sclerosis. The observed myelin-specific FA changes clearly indicated the underlying demyelination in MS patients, and the degrees of the FA changes may further characterize the stage of disease progression, which may lead to an early detection of areas undergoing initial myelin microstructural changes before any significant myelin content reduction.

15:00         4317.     A Multi Center Longitudinal Study of Diffusion Tensor Mri Changes in Healthy Volunteers and People with Ms

Elisabetta Pagani¹, Jochen G. Hirsch², Petra J.W. Pouwels³, Mark A. Horsfield⁴, Elisabetta Perego¹, Achim Gass², Stefan D. Roosendaal³, Frederik Barkhof³, Federica Agosta¹, Roberto Vuotto¹, Marco Rovaris¹, Domenico Caputo⁵, Antonio Giorgio⁶, Jacqueline Palace⁶, Stefan Ropele⁷, Franz Fazekas⁷, Massimo Filippi⁸

¹Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Italy; ²University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; ³VU University Medical Centre, Netherlands; ⁴University of Leicester; ⁵Scientific Institute Fondazione Don Gnocchi, Italy; ⁶University of Oxford, United Kingdom; ⁷Medical University of Graz, Austria; ⁸Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

We studied diffusion tensor (DT)-derived metrics acquired at baseline and after 6 months with the aims of assessing: a) longitudinal stability in healthy subjects, and b) sensitivity to tissue damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Thirty-one healthy subjects and 22 MS patients were studied in 7 MRI centers using a standardized DT-MRI sequence. Mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy longitudinal changes in healthy subjects ranged from 1% to 3.7%. Neither of these two DT-MRI measures disclosed progressive tissue changes in MS patients, possibly because of the relatively short follow-up period.

13:30         4318.     Knowledge-Driven Automated Segmentation of Cortical Lesions on MR Brain Images in MS

Sushmita Datta¹, Jerry S. Wolinsky², Ponnada A. Narayana¹

¹Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, United States; ²Neurology, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, United States

A knowledge-based technique for segmenting cortical lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS) with minimal human intervention is presented. This method relies on double inversion recovery and phase sensitive inversion recovery images combined with morphological operations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the segmentation of cortical lesions in MS.

14:00         4319.     Detecting Multiple Sclerosis Cortical Lesions Post-Mortem Using 7 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Bing Yao¹, Simon Hametner², Peter van Gelderen¹, Hellmut Merkle¹, Fredric Cantor³, Henry McFarland³, Hans Lassmann², Jeff H. Duyn¹, Francesca Bagnato³

¹AMRI, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; ²Centre for Brain Research, Medical University, Vienna, Austria; ³NIB, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States

Focal cortical grey matter lesions (CLs) are an important component of multiple sclerosis (MS) pathology. However, detecting cortical lesions in MS using MRI poses challenges. MRI at ultra-high field strengths such as 7 Tesla has the potential to superbly enhance MS-induced CLs visibility. In this study, we applied ultra-high resolution R2* maps to detect and evaluate cortical lesions and their subtypes and the MRI results were compared with the pathology analysis.

14:30         4320.     Profile-Based Cortical Parcellation to Detection of Cortical Multiple Sclerosis Lesions

Christine Lucas Tardif¹, John B. Richardson², Claude Lepage¹, D Louis Collins¹, Alan C. Evans¹, G Bruce Pike¹

¹McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada; ²Department of Neuropathology, Montreal Neurological Institute/Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada

Cortical grey matter (GM) multiple sclerosis lesions are difficult to segment in MR images due to poor contrast with normal appearing GM and spatial variation in healthy GM. We propose using an observer-independent profile-based method for cortical parcellation to detect cortical lesions. Following tissue classification and surface extraction, profiles are extended from the white matter surface to the cortical surface. The cortex is parcellated according to profile intensity and shape using a kmeans classifier with squared Euclidean distance. The method is tested on high-resolution MR data from a fixed postmortem MS brain, and validated using myelin basic protein immunohistochemistry.

15:00         4321.     Evidence of Distributed Subpial T2* Signal Changes at 7T in Multiple Sclerosis: An Histogram Based Approach.

Caterina Mainero¹, Carlos Lima¹, Julien Cohen-Adad¹, Doug Greve¹, Amy Radding¹, Thomas Benner¹, R Philip Kinkel², Bruce Fischl¹, Bruce R. Rosen¹

¹A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; ²Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States

We investigated whether a histogram-based analysis of 7T T2* signal intensity in the cortex can show distributed subpial cortical changes in 14 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), as described histopathologically. We hypothesized that this show significantly increased  T2* signal intensity in patients vs controls. FLASH-T2* spoiled gradient-echo weighted images acquired at 7T. Pial and white matter surfaces generated by FreeSurfer on a 3T MEMPR were overlaid on the 7T FLASH-T2* images. T2* intensities were normalized to mean CSF intensity (T2*/CSF ) and then sampled 1mm inside the pial surface. The histogram-based analysis showed significant, diffuse T2*/CSF signal increases in MS vs matched controls, particularly evident in frontal areas.

13:30         4322.     Optimisation of 3 T and 7 T T₂^*-Weighted MRI for the Detection of Small Parenchymal Veins in MS Lesions

Jennifer Elizabeth Dixon¹, Matthew John Brookes¹, Emma C. Tallantyre², Nikos Evangelou², Peter G. Morris¹

¹Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²Department of Clinical Neurology, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Post-mortem studies of MS lesions show a close spatial relationship to parenchymal veins. In vivo study of this has previously been limited by the difficulties in demonstrating both lesions and veins on a single MR image. Recently, we have shown that T2*-weighted MRI at 7T enables simultaneous visualisation of both structures, and found that 82% of white-matter MS lesions contained a detectable vein. Here, we predict optimal scanning parameters for increasing the sensitivity of vessel detection and reducing the inherent bias towards detection of veins with particular orientations.

14:00         4323.     High Resolution Magnetic Susceptibility Mapping in Patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Ali Al-Radaideh¹, Samuel Wharton¹, Su-Yin Lim², Christopher Tench², Cris Constantinescu², Richard Bowtell¹, Penny Gowland¹

¹Sir Peter Mansfield MR Centre, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²Clinical Neurology, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

Neurodegeneration in MS might be expected to cause an accumulation of iron in deep grey matter (dGM) structures. The aim of this study is to measure the susceptibility of dGm structures in patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS), an early manifestation of MS.

14:30         4324.     Iron-Sensitive Quantitative Methods for Multiple Sclerosis: Lesion Evolution and Deep Grey Matter Iron Deposition

Robert Marc Lebel¹, Amir Eissa¹, Peter Seres¹, Derek J. Emery², Gregg Blevins³, Alan H. Wilman¹

¹Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; ²Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; ³Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Three iron-sensitive methods are applied at 4.7T for tracking iron-based changes in the brain of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).  The methods are phase susceptibility, R2 and R2* mapping.  Each method is applied with special high field adaptations. They are used to track lesion progression as well as deep grey matter changes.  Each measure provides unique contrast and its own sensitivity and specificity to iron.  Together these methods can provide new insight into MS progression.

15:00         4325.     Abnormal Iron Content in Deep Grey Matter Structures of MS Patients as a Function of Age

Charbel Abdo Habib¹, James Garbern, ^1,2, Manju Liu¹, Ewart Mark Haacke¹

¹Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States; ²Neurology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease whose etiology until recently has remained a mystery. A possible explanation for MS has been put forward by Zamboni et al that it is caused by a chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). In this abstract, we show that the iron deposition seen by susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in MS patients is abnormal compared to normal controls and appears in areas drained by the medial venous drainage system. This finding is consistent with the CCSVI hypothesis.

Multiple Sclerosis II

14:00         4326.     Deep Gray Matter Atrophy in a Large Sample of Clinically Isolated Syndrome and Early Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Niels Bergsland¹, Michael G. Dwyer¹, Dana Horakova², Ondrej Dolezal¹, Zdenek Seidl³, Manuela Vaneckova³, Eva Havrdova², Robert Zivadinov⁴

¹University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; ²Charles University, Department of Neurology, Prague, Czech Republic; ³Charles University, Department of Radiology, Prague, Czech Republic; ⁴Neurology, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo , NY , United States

To quantify deep gray matter (DGM) atrophy in a large sample of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) patients, early relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and healthy controls (HC). To investigate the relationship between DGM atrophy and disability in CIS patients.

14:30         4327.     Exploring the Relations Between Emotional Disability and Subcortical Atrophy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Francesca Bagnato¹, Clelia Pellicano¹, Fredric Cantor¹, Antonio Gallo¹, Sungyoung Auh², Mary Ehrmantraut¹, Iordanis Evangelou¹, Vasiliki Ikonomidou¹, Robert Kane³, Joan Ohayon¹, Susan Stern¹, Henry McFarland¹

¹NIB-NINDS-NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States; ²Clinical Director Office-NINDS-NIH, Bethesda, MD, United States; ³VA, Baltimore

Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the development of depression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) remain unknown. We here demonstrate that atrophy of deep grey matter (GM) structures of the limbic circuit, such as thalamus and hippocampus, may explain up to 30% of the variance of depression in MS. The relation between depression and GM atrophy holds significant when the effect of patients’ physical disability is taken into account. The results highlight the role of neurodegeneration in specific brain sites as an important factor associated with depression in MS patients.

15:00         4328.     A Five-Year Serial Longitudinal Study of Deep Gray Matter Atrophy in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Robert Zivadinov¹, Dana Horakova², Michael G. Dwyer³, Deepa Ramasamy³, Eva Havrdova², Zdenek Seidl⁴, Ondrej Dolezal³, Sara Hussein³, Ellen Carl³, Manuela Vaneckova⁴, Niels Bergsland³

¹Neurology, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo , NY , United States; ²Charles University, Department of Neurology, Prague, Czech Republic; ³University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; ⁴Charles University, Department of Radiology, Prague, Czech Republic

To compare the evolution of deep gray matter (DGM) atrophy in early relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and in normal controls (NC) over 2 years. To investigate the extent of DGM atrophy progression in MS patients over 5 years.

15:30         4329.     Relation Between Thalamic Atrophy and Long-Term Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis: A 8-Year Follow Up Study

Maria A. Rocca¹, Sarlota Mesaros¹, Elisabetta Pagani¹, Maria Pia Sormani^1,2, Vittorio Martinelli³, Giancarlo Comi³, Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Unit of Biostatistics, DISSAL, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy; ³Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

We assessed the value of thalamic damage (in terms of atrophy and magnetization transfer ratio-MTR), taken in isolation, and its short-term changes in predicting accumulation of disability over an 8-year period in 73 patients with relapse-onset multiple sclerosis (MS). At the end of follow up, 44 patients (60%) showed a significant disability worsening. A multivariable model included baseline thalamic fraction [p=0.01, odds ratio (OR)=0.62], and average lesion MTR percentage change after 12 months (p=0.04, OR=0.90) as independent predictors of disability worsening at 8 years (r2=0.29) suggesting that thalamic damage predicts the long-term accumulation of disability in MS.

13:30         4330.     Cortical N-Acetyl Aspartate Predicts Long-Term Clinical Disability in Multiple Sclerosis – a Longitudinal MR Spectroscopic Imaging Study

Xingchen Wu¹, Lars G. Hanson^1,2, Morten Blinkenberg³, Arnold Skimminge¹, Per Soelberg Sørensen³, Olaf Paulson^1,4, Henrik Mathiesen^1,3

¹Danish Research Center for Magnetic Resonance, MR Dept., Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark; ²Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark; ³Danish MS Research Center, Neurology Dept., Copenahgen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Denmark; ⁴Dept. Neurology and Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Denmark

MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) provides in vivo information about neuronal loss or dysfunction by measuring N-acetyl aspartate (NAA). This aim of this multi-slice echo-planar spectroscopic imaging study was to test the hypothesis that cortical NAA/Creatine (Cr) is a potential predictor of neurological disability in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by serial MRSI once every 6 months for 24 months. Clinical examinations including the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were performed at baseline, month 24, and year 7. We found that baseline cortical NAA/Cr ratio was negatively correlated with EDSS at month 24 and year 7. In conclusion, cortical NAA/Cr in early RRMS predicts clinical disability in 7 years.

14:00         4331.     The Correlation Between Whole-Brain N-Acetylaspartate Quantification and Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score

Daniel Rigotti¹, Nissa Perry¹, Joseph Herbert², Oded Gonen¹

¹Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ²Neurology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

Due to its homogeneity, there remains no accurate way to quickly assess current disease status of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS). We combine data from the Multiple Sclerosis Severity Scale (MSSS), an EDSS-based marker sensitive to small lesions in eloquent areas, with whol-brain N-acetylaspartate (WBNAA), a marker specific for diffuse neurodegeneration in a large cohort of MS patients (including ~50 clinically-confirmed benign). We show a near unanimous concurrence of the two methods in the benign patients. Additionally, using the confirmed benigns as an internal standard,~20% of non-benigns meet the both definitions of benign, which is similar to the accepted prevalence.

14:30         4332.     Serial Whole-Brain N-Acetylaspartate Concentration in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Daniel Rigotti¹, Matilde Inglese¹, Nissa Perry¹, James Babb¹, Joseph Herbert², Oded Gonen¹

¹Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ²Neurology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

The irreversible effects of multiple sclerosis are chiefly caused by neuronal loss. The global concentration of the neuron-specific amino-acid derivative N-acetylaspartate (WBNAA1) has been shown to be a sensitive marker for diffuse neurodegeneration in cross-sectional studies. Here we show data from a year-long longitudinal study of nineteen newly-diagnosed MS patients where we detect a significant and biologically relevant serial decline in WBNAA. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that quantifiable changes reflecting ongoing pathogenesis have been measured in MS using WBNAA.

15:00         4333.     Classification of Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Forms by 1H Magnetic Ressonance Spectroscopy of Cerebrospinal Fluid - not available

Francesc Xavier Aymerich^1,2, Julio Alonso¹, Manuel Comabella³, Miquel E. Cabañas⁴, Mar Tintoré³, Xavier Montalban³, Alex Rovira¹

¹Unitat RM Vall Hebron (IDI), Hospital Vall Hebron, Barcelona, Spain; ²Enginyeria de Sistemes, Automàtica i  Informàtica Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain; ³Unitat  Neuroimmunologia Clínica, CEM Cat, Hospital Vall Hebron, Barcelona, Spain; ⁴Servei Ressonància Magnètica Nuclear, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain

The purpose was the design of a fuzzy classifier to differentiate among primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), relapsing remitting MS and non-MS conditions by 1H-NMR spectroscopy of cerebrospinal fluid. The design considered the fusion of classifiers based on fuzzy decision trees. We considered three different datasets (aliphatic region, aromatic region and the aggregation of both regions). We evaluated for each dataset the classifier performance by means of two classification quality indexes (correctness and robustness). Results showed mean classification correctness and robustness in the intervals [0.92,1] and [0.34,0.50] respectively. The aggregation of aliphatic and aromatic regions provided the best results.

13:30         4334.     Transversal and Longitudinal Voxelwise Whole Brain Evaluation in the Earliest Stages of Multiple Sclerosis

Eytan Raz¹, Mara Cercignani², Emilia Sbardella¹, Porzia Totaro¹, Carlo Pozzilli¹, Marco Bozzali², Patrizia Pantano¹

¹Department of Neurological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy; ²Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy

In patients with multiple sclerosis, the relationship between white matter and gray matter damage evolution is not fully understood; we aimed at longitudinally (one-year interval) evaluating the white matter and gray matter damage in the same coohort of clinically isolated syndrome patients recruited at onset. While white matter damage is detectable early and widely involves most tracts, no white matter changes over one year follow-up period are noted; conversely, a significant decrease in cortical and deep gray matter volume is observed at 1 year follow-up evaluation.

14:00         4335.     Relationship Between Structural Brain Damage and Functional Cortical Reorganisation in Patients with Benign Multiple Sclerosis - not available

Antonio Giorgio¹, Emilio Portaccio², Maria Laura Stromillo³, Silvia Marino³, Valentina Zipoli², Gianfranco Siracusa², Marco Battaglini³, Maria Letizia Bartolozzi⁴, Anita Blandino³, Leonello Guidi⁴, Sandro Sorbi², Antonio Federico³, Maria Pia Amato², Nicola De Stefano³

¹Neurology and Neurometabolic Unit, Dept. of Neurological and Behavioral Sciences, Siena University , Siena, Italy; ²Dept. of Neurology, University of Florence, Italy; ³Neurology and Neurometabolic Unit, Dept. of Neurological and Behavioral Sciences, Siena University, Siena, Italy; ⁴Neurology Unit, Hospital of Empoli, Italy

It is not currently known whether the favorable clinical status present several years after disease onset in Benign Multiple Sclerosis (B-MS) might be due to the presence of a more efficient functional cortical reorganisation. In 25 right-handed patients with B-MS, different bilateral brain areas, not only those devoted to motor tasks, were recruited during a simple motor task. This widespread functional cortical reorganisation appeared directly related to the integrity of normal appearing brain tissues and inversely associated with focal WM pathology and progressive brain volume loss.

14:30         4336.     Patterns of Regional Gray Matter Atrophy and Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Different Disease Phenotypes

Gianna Riccitelli¹, Maria A. Rocca¹, Cristina Forn¹, Andrea Falini², Elisabetta Pagani¹, Mariaemma Rodegher³, Monica Falautano³, Paolo Rossi³, Giancarlo Comi³, Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Department of Neuroradiology, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ³Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy

Using voxel-based morphometry, we found distinct patterns of regional distribution of GM damage associated with cognitive impairment (CI) in MS patients with different clinical phenotypes. CI relapsing-remitting MS patients had GM volume loss in the deep GM nuclei and in several regions in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. CI secondary progressive MS patients had GM volume loss in regions of the fronto-temporal lobes, and the hippocampus. CI primary progressive MS patients showed GM volume loss in the cingulum, superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus and cerebellum. GM loss in CI MS patients was only partially correlated with T2-visible lesions.

15:00         4337.     Variation in Signal Surrounding White Matter Lesions in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis

Daniel J. Tozer¹, Abdulgabbar Hamid¹, Declan T. Chard¹, David H. Miller¹, Alan J. Thompson²

¹NMR Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom; ²Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom

It is known that the normal appearing tissue of subjects with multiple sclerosis is abnormal, but not whether this is linked to focal white matter (WM) lesions or more widespread. This work investigates the tissue surrounding lesions for a variety of MRI parameters and compares them to the lesion and distant WM. Up to 9 pixel thick layers were extracted for MTR, T1 and T2 maps. It was found that much of this tissue is different to WM and the lesion. Hypointense and isointense lesions (on T1 weighted images) also behaved differently suggesting different pathological processes occurring at different times.

13:30         4338.     In Vivo Quantitative Evaluation of Brain Tissue Damage in Multiple Sclerosis Using Gradient Echo Plural Contrast Imaging Technique

Pascal Sati^1,2, Anne H. Cross³, Charles Hildebolt¹, Dmitriy A. Yablonskiy⁴

¹Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Department of Radiology , Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, United States; ²Translational Neuroradiology Unit, Neuroimmunology Branch, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States; ³Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, United States; ⁴Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, United States

Conventional MRI based on spin-echo sequences aids in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. However, MRI markers derived from these SE sequences provide limited information about tissue damage and correlate poorly with patient disability assessed with clinical tests. In this study, we introduce for the first time a new scoring method for MS evaluation using R2* histograms acquired by means of Gradient Echo Plural Contrast Imaging technique. This method is sensitive not only to lesion load, but also to the degree of tissue damage within the MS lesions thus holding promise for improving the evaluation of MS pathology.

14:00         4339.     Quantifying the Permeability of Blood-Brain Barrier in MS Patients Under Conventional Treatment

saeid Taheri¹, Gary A. Rosenberg¹, Corey Ford¹

¹Neurology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States

We investigated the permeability of Blood-Brain Barrier by employing contrast-enhanced MRI, a reduced dose of Gd-DTPA and a fast T1 mapping technique. A series of T1 images before and after the injection of contrast agent were acquired. By using Patlak modeling technique and a reference for concentration of Gd-DTPA in plasma we were able to build a permeability map corresponding to the permeability of BBB underlying each pixel. We have recruited ten MS patients under the conventional treatment along with 17 controls and compared results. We were able to distinguish between high and low grade activities of BBB in MS.

14:30         4340.     Use of Magnetic Resonance Venography for Characterization of Extracranial Venous System in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and in Normal Controls

Robert Zivadinov¹, Alexandra S. Lopez¹, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman², Claudiu Schirda¹, Christopher Magnano¹, Cheryl Kennedy¹, Christina Brooks¹, Justine Reuther³, Kristin Hunt¹, Michelle Andrews¹, David Hojnacki¹

¹University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; ²University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo, NY, United States; ³University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo\, NY, United States

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular condition characterized by anomalies of the primary veins outside the skull that restrict the normal outflow of blood from the brain in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Extracranial venous flow morphology in 57 MS patients and in 21 age- and sex-matched normal controls (NC), was investigated by using magnetic resonance venography (MRV) on a GE 3T scanner. 4D Time Resolved Imaging of Contrast KineticS (TRICKS) and enhanced and unenhanced 3D Time of Flight (TOF) MRI sequences were performed. No extracranial venous flow morphology MRV differences were detected between MS patients and NC.

15:00         4341.     Hypoperfusion of Brain Parenchyma Is Strongly Associated with the Severity of Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Paolo Zamboni¹, Erica Menegatti¹, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman², Michael G. Dwyer³, Claudiu V. Schirda³, Anna M. Malagoni¹, David Hojnacki², Cheryl Kennedy³, Ellen Carl³, Niels Bergsland³, Christopher Magnano³, Ilaria Bartolomei¹, Fabrizio Salvi¹, Robert Zivadinov⁴

¹University of Ferrera- Bellaria Neurosciences, Vascular Diseases Center, Ferrera, Italy; ²University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo, NY, United States; ³University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; ⁴University at Buffalo, Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center\, Buffalo, NY, United States

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular condition described in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, characterized by stenoses of the main extracranial veins with hampered cerebral venous outflow. We hypothesized that the impaired venous outflow contributes to hypoperfusion of brain parenchyma, as measured by perfusion-weighted imaging. CCSVI was established based on the venous hemodynamic (VH) Doppler criteria. There was a significant strong association between VH criteria and PWI indices in all examined regions of the brain parenchyma in MS patients. This study demonstrates that severity of CCSVI is directly associated with hypoperfusion of the brain parenchyma in MS.

White Matter Diseases

14:00         4342.     Whole-Brain Histograms of the Bound Pool Fraction Reveal Delayed White and Gray Matter Damage After Blast-Induced Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI)

Vasily L. Yarnykh¹, Hunter R. Underhill¹, Donna J. Cross¹, K McCraw², J Biberston², D J. Hoff², K Hart², Satoshi Minoshima¹, Eric C. Petrie^3,4, Murray A. Raskind², Elaine R. Peskind, ²³

¹Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; ²Northwest Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, United States; ³Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States; ⁴Northwest Network Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) , Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, United States

Cross-relaxation imaging (CRI) is a new method for quantitative mapping of parameters describing magnetization transfer between mobile water protons (free pool) and macromolecular protons (bound pool) in tissues. The purpose of this study was to test the capability of CRI to identify post-traumatic changes in brain tissues caused by blast-induced mTBI. CRI was performed in groups of military veterans recently exposed to blast trauma and healthy controls. Bound pool fraction (f) maps were reconstructed using a novel modification of the CRI processing algorithm. Histogram analysis revealed a significant decrease of f in both white and gray matter of mTBI patients.

14:30         4343.     DTI Parameters Predict Outcome in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Patients

Joshua F. Betz¹, Jiachen Zhuo¹, Anindya Roy², Kathirkamanthan Shanmuganathan¹, Rao P. Gullapalli¹

¹Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, United States

Patients presenting with Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) follow a highly variable clinical course, with initial neurological status frequently discrepant from long-term outcomes.

 In this study, we compared Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) parameters in 38 TBI patients with their Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) at discharge. The DTI parameters ADC and Axial Diffusion are shown to be correlated with the GCS at the time of MRI, and can be used to predict survival better than GCS alone. In addition DTI parameters are able to predict neurological recovery at discharge.

15:00         4344.     Diffuse Metabolic Abnormalities in Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Quantitative Proton MR Spectroscopy Study

Ivan Kirov¹, James Babb¹, Joseph Reaume¹, Robert Grossman¹, Oded Gonen¹

¹Radiology, New York University, New York, NY, United States

Since injury in mild traumatic brain injury is likely both minimal and diffuse, we used a proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) strategy of both high coverage and sensitivity. To achieve the former, a 3D 1H-MRS volume-of-interest (VOI) covered 360cc of mostly white matter, and whole-brain 1H-MRS accounted for all the brain. For high sensitivity, all 480 spectra of the 3D VOI were summed, yielding one spectrum per subject. Since B0 homogeneity is better across small voxels, spectra alignment before summation resulted in excellent spectral resolution. Results revealed no neuronal dysfunction or atrophy, but diffuse elevation of choline and myo-inositol in the 3D VOI.

15:30         4345.     Parcellating Disconnectivity: Understanding the Microstructural Abnormalities Associated with Neurocognitive Deficits in Traumatic Brain Injury

Virginia F. Newcombe^1,2, Jo G. Outtrim¹, Dot A. Chatfield¹, Anne Manktelow¹, Peter J. Hutchinson³, Jon P. Coles^1,2, Guy B. Williams², Barbara Sahakian⁴, David K. Menon^1,2

¹Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; ²Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom; ³Academic Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; ⁴Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Impairment in decision making is commonly impaired post TBI contributing to the burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in selected ROIs was correlated with neurocognitive performance in a decision making task, the Cambridge Gambling Task; CGT. Cognitive performance on neuropsychological testing correlated significantly with diffusivity parameters in cognate brain regions. Our data add to the evidence that loss of microstructural integrity, as detected by DTI, is an important determinant of function following TBI, and confirm the involvement of key neurochemical networks in these complex neurocognitive tasks. DTI may be a useful research and clinical tool in this setting.

13:30         4346.     A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study of Longitudinal White Matter Degeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Yu Zhang^1,2, Norbert Schuff^1,2, Susan C. Woolley³, Gloria Chiang^1,2, Lauren Boreta^1,2, Jonathan S. Katz³, Michael W. Weiner^1,2

¹CIND VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²UC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; ³Forbes Norris ALS Center, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States

We report longitudinal differences of white matter degradation in 16 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who were scanned at 7-month intervals, by using a preliminary longitudinal assessment of diffusion tensor MRI (DTI). Both tractography-guided ROI analysis and voxel-wise whole brain analysis showed a significant decline of fractional anisotropy (FA) over time in the right corticospinal tract (CST). Furthermore, the FA decline was significant in the localized (mild) subgroup of ALS but not the generalized (severe) subgroup. These preliminary results suggest that longitudinal DTI measurements capture clinical progression of ALS.

14:00         4347.     Correlation of Quantitative Diffusion Tensor Tractography with Clinical Grades of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis

Richa Trivedi¹, H Anuradha², Atul Agarwal², Ram KS Rathore³, Kashi N. Prasad⁴, Rajendra P. Tripathi¹, Rakesh Kumar Gupta⁵

¹NMR Research Centre, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, India; ²Neurology, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ³Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology, , Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁴Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁵Radiodiagnosis, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Diffusion tensor tractography using FACT algorithm was performed on 20 children with different grades of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) to look for probable correlation between tract-specific DTI metrics in major white matter pathways and Jabbour classification based clinical grades. A significant inverse correlation was observed between fractional anisotropy (FA) in major white matter tracts and clinical grades. We conclude that FA is a better measure than conventional MRI for the assessment of clinical grade in these patients.

14:30         4348.     Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Optic Neuritis and Its Recovery

Nourhan Zayed¹, Fiona Costello², Michael Smith^3,4, Bradley Goodyear, ²³

¹Electrical and Computer Engineering , University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ²Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ³Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ⁴Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Appropriate DTI measures to characterize the presence and severity of optic neuritis (ON) as well as its recovery are not established. We hypothesized that the optic nerve experiencing ON may not actually exhibit significantly different FA or ADC from that of the unaffected eye or over the course of recovery. Instead, we predicted that ON is characterized by a greater distribution of FA and ADC, suggesting that acute ON is associated with more heterogeneous diffusion within the optic nerve. Variability of DTI measures, rather than means, may be a more sensitive indicator of the presence of ON and its recovery.

15:00         4349.     Effect of Central Nervous System Involvement in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients : Examination Using Diffusion Parameters and Volumetric Measurement

Shiou-Ping Lee¹, Jie-Zhi Cheng², Wen-Yang Chiang³, Chung-Ming Chen², Kao-Lun Wang¹

¹Department of Medical Imaging and Technology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ²Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; ³Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan

None of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) studies examined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and volumetric measurement in the same groups. This paper aimed to investigate the effect of central nervous system (CNS) involvement in SLE patients on two diffusion parameters, i.e., fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), and one volumetric measurement, i.e., volume. To accurately define the corpus callosum boundaries, an automatic segmentation algorithm, cell-competition method, was adopted to delineate the boundaries of the corpus callosum on mid-sagittal FA maps to calculate FA, MD and volume of corpus callosum.

13:30         4350.     In Vivo Vascular Hallmarks of Diffuse Leukoaraiosis

Jinsoo Uh¹, Uma Yezhuvath¹, Yamei Cheng¹, Hanzhang Lu¹

¹Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States

We characterized multiple domains of vascular changes in leukoaraiosis using in vivo MR techniques. Compared to NAWM, CBF in leukoaraiosis regions was 38% lower (p=0.01) and CVR was 48% lower (p=0.005). Significant BBB leakage was also detected (p=0.04). Quantitative analysis revealed that the extent of BBB leakage was positively correlated with apparent diffusion coefficient. In addition, the total area of leukoaraiosis in the brain is correlated with the CVR in NAWM. This study shows that the vascular changes in leukoaraiosis include both an ischemic and a toxicity component, suggesting a central role of vascular endothelium in the formation of leukoaraiosis.

14:00         4351.     Relation Between Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Vascular Reactivity - A 7 Tesla Study

Mandy Conijn¹, Hans Hoogduin, Jeroen Hendrikse, Mirjam Geerlings, Peter Luijten

¹Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

Lacunar infarcts and white matter lesions are thought to be caused by changes in the small vessels of the brain. It is possible that these changes influence the vascular reactivity in the brain. This study assessed if the presence of lacunar infarcts or white matter lesions is associated with a reduction of vascular reactivity, measured through the BOLD response at 7T. Both the whole brain signal change and the percentage of activated voxels were significantly decreased in patients with lacunar infarcts, but both measures were not related to white matter lesions.

14:30         4352.     Characteristics of White Matter Hyperintensities in MR Images of Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Junya Konishi^1,2, Julien Milles², Jeroen van der Grond², Mark A. van Buchem²

¹Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan; ²Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

MRI manifestations of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) are white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and cerebral micobleeds (CMB), and the characteristics of CAA-related WMH have not been studied before. The purpose of this study was to study the volume and distribution of CAA-related WMH using an automated method for probability maps and voxelwise statistical maps of WMH on MRI. Our study demonstrated that CMB are associated with WMH, and increased numbers are associated with increased volumes of WMH. Also we found evidence for differences in distribution of WMH associated with CAA-type CMB as compared to other types of CMB.

15:00         4353.     Asymmetric Dilatation of Virchow-Robin Space in Unilateral Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis

Tae-Sub Chung¹, Ah Young Park¹, Sang Huyn Suh¹

¹Diagnostic Radiology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

Problem: To test the hypothesis that chronic ischemia followed by white matter atrophy is associated with Virchow-Robin spaces (VRSs) dilatation by determining the relationship between unilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis and asymmetric dilatation of VRSs on the same side. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed axial T2-weighted and diffusion weighted MR images (GE Signa Excita 3-T) of 46 patients with severe unilateral ICA stenosis (>70%), diagnosed by carotid contrast MRA and carotid digital subtraction angiography (DSA) between Feb. 2007 and Sep. 2009. Hyperintense lesions in the pre- and post-central gyri and corona radiata along CST pathway in the high convexity white matter on T2WI were included as VRSs. All lesions were graded into score 0 (None), score 1 (linear hyperintensity not extending to the corona radiata), score 2 (linear hyperintensity extending to the corona radiata) and score 3 (round or oval hyperintensity larger than 2mm). We statistically analyzed the difference of VRSs score between bilateral hemispheres, the correlation between VRSs socre and severity of ICA stenosis, the correlation between VRSs score and age, and the difference of ipsilateral VRSs scores according to existence of infarction. Results: The VRSs on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides showed statistical difference (p<0.01). The relationship between the patient’s age and VRSs score showed positive correlation(p<0.01) There was no significant correlation between VRSs score and ICA stenosis severity. The ipsilateral VRS scores were significantly higher in the cases with infarction than without infarction(p<0.05).Conclusion: Our results suggest that chronic ischemic process and subsequent white matter degeneration and atrophy is a factor of VRSs dilatation. Therefore, if we detect the unusual VRSs dilatation on brain MR, it is worth considering the possibility of ischemic condition and necessity of further workup.

13:30         4354.     Correlations of Brain 1H-MRS, DTI, and Post-Mortem Findings in Patients with Mitochondrial Neurogastrointestinal Encephalomyopathy (MNGIE).

Caterina Tonon¹, David Neil Manners¹, Claudia Testa¹, Emil Malucelli¹, Piero Parchi², Rita Rinaldi³, Roberto De Giorgio⁴, Carlo Casali⁵, Michio Hirano⁶, Giuseppe Plazzi², Valerio Carelli², Bruno Barbiroli¹, Raffaele Lodi¹

¹MR Spectroscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Aging and Nephrology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Italy; ²Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna; ³Neurology Unit, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna; ⁴Department of internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna; ⁵Department of Neurology, University la Sapienza, Roma; ⁶Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University,, New York City, NY

The aim of this study was to clarify the pathophysiology of leucoencephalopathy in five patients with Mitochondrial NeuroGastroIntestinal Encephalomyopathy, a rare disorder caused by loss of function mutations in the gene encoding tymidine phosphorylase. The reduction of all 1H-MRS metabolites detected in the white matter (WM) can be explained by a dilution effect due to increased brain water content demonstrated by the increased of WM mean diffusivity (MD). On the basis of the negative correlation between WM MD values and WM [NAA], we hypothesize that the brain damage in MNGIE is compartmentalised and mediated by the impairment of the osmoregulation where also NAA has been implicated.

14:00         4355.     In Vivo Quantitative Imaging and Postmortem Protein Analysis Reveal CNS Hypomyelination in the Restless Legs Syndrome

Byeong-Yeul Lee¹, Padmavathi Ponnuru², James R. Connor², Qing X. Yang, ^1,3

¹Bioengineering, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; ²Neurosurgery, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; ³Radiology, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States

Iron deficiency has been known as a contributing factor for restless legs syndrome (RLS), resulting in the disruption of iron availability in the brain. In this study, we investigated the ex vivo myelin analysis in RLS autopsy brain tissue and imaging-based analysis using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Our data showed that a decrease in expression of myelin-specific protein and decrease in the white matter volume in RLS brain. These results support our hypothesis that global iron deficiency may cause reduction of myelin (hypomyelination), which in turn leads to structural change of white matter in RLS.

14:30         4356.     Multimodality Study for Restless Legs Syndrome Revealed Local Morphological Changes Associated with T2:   Hypomyelination or Iron Deficiency?

Byeong-Yeul Lee¹, James R. Connor², Qing X. Yang, ^1,3

¹Bioengineering, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; ²Neurosurgery, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States; ³Radiology, Penn State Hershye Medical Center, Hershey, PA, United States

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is a sensory-motor disorder characterized by uncontrollable urges to move the legs, causing chronic sleep disturbances. Brain iron deficiency has been considered as an important contributing factor to RLS.  In this study, we applied voxel-based relaxometry (VBR) for in vivo iron measurement and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for morphological study respectively to a same study cohort, aiming to determine the impact of iron deficiency on brain morphology. Our results revealed a striking association of local T2 change with brain atrophy.

15:00         4357.     7T MRI Demonstrates Diffuse Iron Deposition in the Putamen and Caudate Nucleus in CADASIL

Michael K. Liem¹, Saskia A.J. Lesnik Oberstein², Maarten J. Versluis¹, Marion L.C. Maat-Schieman³, Joost Haan³, Andrew G. Webb¹, Michel D. Ferrari³, Mark A. van Buchem¹, Jeroen van der Grond¹

¹Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ²Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ³Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

In this study we quantified focal and diffuse iron deposition in cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), using in-vivo and ex-vivo 7 Tesla MRI. Twenty-five CADASIL patients and 15 healthy controls were examined using high resolution susceptibility-weighted imaging on 7 Tesla MRI. Three ex-vivo CADASIL brain specimens were scanned with extra high resolution. Focal areas of signal loss were found in 36% of CADASIL patients, in a pattern consistent with microbleeds. Diffuse areas of signal loss were found in the putamen and caudate nucleus of CADASIL patients, in a pattern consistent with increased iron accumulation.

Advanced MRI in the Ageing Brain & Related Psychiatric Diseases

14:00         4358.     Evidence for Brain White Matter Damage and Atrophy with Aging: A Diffusion Tensor MRI Tractography Study

Federica Agosta¹, Stefania Sala¹, Elisabetta Pagani¹, Domenico Caputo², Massimo Filippi¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute Fondazione Don Gnocchi, Milan, Italy

Linear and quadratic age-related WM tract microstructural and volumetric changes were evaluated in 84 healthy volunteers. Age-related MD increase and FA decrease were associated with region-specific patterns of radial diffusivity increase and both decrease and increase in axial diffusivity. The quadratic model better fitted DT-MRI changes in several WM tracts. A negative correlation was found between age and left cingulum and fornix volumes. The quadratic model better fitted volume decline in corpus callosum and right inferior-fronto-occipital fasciculus. WM integrity loss and atrophy varies with age by WM tract and may reflect different degrees of severity of changes in WM properties.

14:30         4359.     Large-Scale ADC Histogram Analysis of the Brain Aging: Normal Versus Abnormal (667 Subjects, 2 Days-93.8 Years)

Memi Watanabe¹, Noreen Ward¹, Al Ozonoff², Steven Kussman¹, Koji Tanabe¹, Kaan Erbay¹, Naoko Saito¹, Hernan Jara^1,3, Osamu Sakai¹

¹Department of Radiology, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States; ²Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States; ³Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States

Purpose: To study age dependencies of ADC histogram and impact of brain abnormalities on ADC in a large and wide age ranged population. Methods: Brain data of 667 subjects (2 days-93.8 years) were obtained by DW-SE-sshEPI and ADC histograms of the whole brain were generated. The subjects were divided into normal and abnormal groups by MR findings and clinical histories. Results: The abnormal group showed higher ADC peak values compared with the normal. Conclusion: The aging patterns of ADC peak values of normal and abnormal brain groups have been demonstrated in a large and wide age ranged population.

15:00         4360.     Cortical Thickness Is Linked to Executive Functioning in Adulthood and Aging.

Agnieszka Z. Burzynska¹, Irene E. Nagel¹, Claudia Preuschhof¹, Sebastian Gluth¹, Lars Bäckmann^1,2, Shu-Chen Li¹, Ulman Lindenberger¹, Hauke R. Heekeren^1,3

¹Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; ²Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; ³Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

We investigated the cortical structural underpinnings of executive functioning in 129 healthy adults (73 younger, 20-32 years; 56 older, 60-71 years). We measured executive functions by Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and cortical thickness by applying surface-based segmentation (Freesurfer). The structural underpinnings of WCST largely overlapped with previously defined WCST functional patterns and the structure-performance relationship was stronger in later than in earlier adulthood. Our data suggest that the extent of structural preservation in old age differentiates between high and low performers, underscoring the need of taking performance level into account when studying changes in brain structure across adulthood.

15:30         4361.     Assessing the Corticospinal Tract with Multimodal Quantitative MRI

Pierre-Yves Herve¹, Eleanor F. Cox², Ashley Loftipour², Olivier Mougin², Sam Wharton², Richard W. Bowtell², Tomas Paus¹, Penny A. Gowland²

¹Brain & Body Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²SPMMRC, Physics & Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

The study of human white matter fibre pathways was first performed on post-mortem material, notably via dissection or with the Weigert staining method for myelinated fibres (Dejerine, 1895). More recently, diffusion weighted imaging emerged as a non-invasive alternative for both the tracing and the measurement of quantitative parameters of fibre pathways. Here we use multimodal quantitative imaging to assess differences between white matter structures.

13:30         4362.     Mineralization of the Globus Pallidus as a Function of Age: Are There Major Differences Between Caucasians and Chinese?

jiangtao liu¹, E Mark Haccke², Kuncheng li¹, Manju liu², Ana M. Daugherty³, Ambreen Sattar⁴, bo wu²

¹Radiology, Xuanwu hospital, Beijing, China; ²MRI Institute for Biomedical research, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States; ³Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States; ⁴Diagnostic Radiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States

SWI images for 37 age and gender matched healthy paired subjects (Chinese versus Caucasians) were retrospectively reviewed. the GP was measured in two adjacent slices. Two cutoffs were used and the percentage cutoff pixels between two groups was compared. Mineralization increases with age in the GP whether measured with phase or magnitude. For the right globus pallidus, healthy Chinese subjects have a higher percentage of mineralization at any age group while for the left side it tends to grow after age 40. SWI offers the potential to examine differences in disease that might correlate with mineralization.

14:00         4363.     Measuring T2 at Ultra High Field: Effects of Age and Sex

Eleanor F. Cox¹, Susan E. Pritchard¹, Peter J. Wright¹, Tomas Paus², Penny A. Gowland¹

¹SPMMRC, Physics & Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; ²Brain & Body Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

This study has examined the effects of age (40-75 years) and sex on the T2 of the human brain at 7.0 T. The results show that there is considerable variation in T2s across grey and white matter regions, and a trend for women to have longer WM T2s than men. The white matter T2s of men changed with age but the T2s of women did not.

14:30         4364.     Measurement of Iron Concentration in Human Brain Using Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM): Correlation with Age

Tian Liu^1,2, Jing Liu², Ludovic de Rochefort³, James Ledoux², Qing Zhang⁴, Martin R. Prince², Jianlin Wu⁴, Yi Wang¹

¹Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, New York, NY, United States; ²Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States; ³MIRCen, I2BM, DSV, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; ⁴Radiology, The 1st Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, China

Increasing iron deposition with increasing age has been confirmed in postmortem studies and observed in in vivo MRI. In this 100 volunteer study, we specifically measured susceptibility in putamen, and converted it to Fe3+ concentration. A strong linear correlation was obtained between susceptibility and age. The iron concentration agreed well with postmortem results.

15:00         4365.     Improved Inter-Subject Functional Registration Using DARTEL in Individuals Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol

Priya Santhanam¹, Zhihao Li¹, Claire Coles², Mary Ellen Lynch², Xiaoping Hu¹

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University

On account of multifaceted structural damage induced by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), MR image registration problems have been a roadblock in the detailed analysis of images from this population. The present study examines the applicability of DARTEL (diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra) to functional image registration in the PAE population. As compared to Talairach transformation, functional image registration by DARTEL had more group difference clusters in expected regions, and significant correlation between intensity over one difference cluster and known exposure-related measures. Results imply DARTEL may be a more accurate method for functional image registration for the PAE population.

13:30         4366.     Do Differences in Myelin Underlie the The Schizotypal Personality Spectrum?

Katrina McMullen¹, Shannon Kolind^1,2, Emma Barkus³, Sean CL Deoni¹

¹Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England, United Kingdom; ²Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, Oxford University, Oxford, England, United Kingdom; ³Department of Psychiatry, University of Wollongong, NSW, New South Wales, Australia

Alterations in region grey matter volume, white matter structure and brain function are known associates schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.  However, the underlying etiology of these disorders, believed to represent a spectrum of psychosis proneness, remains unknown.  Increasingly, the role of white matter connectivity, mediated by myelin, to these disorders is being questioned.  Here we report on a study of myelin content in schizotypy, revealing a linear association between schizotypy score and myelin water fraction, localized to the left hemisphere. These results, consistent with prior fMRI results, are suggestive of altered white matter efficiency and processing ability in high schizotypes.

14:00         4367.     Clinical 1H MRS Studies of Glutamatergic Neurotransmission in Bipolar Disorder

Wen-Jang Chu^1,2, Mathew Norris³, Renu Kotwal, Caleb M. Adler, Mi-Jung Kim, Rachel Whitsel, Jing-Huei Lee, ²³, Melissa P. DelBello, Stephen M. Strakowski, ²

¹Psychiatry, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ²Center for Imaging Research, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ³Biomedical Engineering, Univ. of Cincinnati

Glutamate (Glu) has been found play an important role in Bipolar Disorder (BD). The accurate measurement of Glu has been hurdled by the large signals overlapping and broadening baseline. Instead of reporting Glu levels, the Glx (sum of glutamate, glutamine and GABA) has been widely used in glutamatergic neurotransmission research. In this work, we studied Glu levels using short echo PRESS spectroscopy, and TE-averaged spectroscopy in medication-free, lithium-treated BD patients and healthy volunteers. The results have allowed us to evaluate the Glu level differences between the two groups, and the effect of lithium treatment on Glu levels.

14:30         4368.     Impaired Brain Circuitry and High-Energy Phosphates in Bipolar Disorder

Wen-Jang Chu^1,2, Amanda Stover³, Jonathan Dudley⁴, David Caldwell², Amanda Marie Opaskar², Mathew Norris⁴, Martine Lamy^2,3, Jane Allendorfer^2,3, Stephen M. Strakowski^1,2, Jing-Huei Lee^2,4, James C. Eliassen^1,2

¹Psychiatry, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ²Center for Imaging Research, Univ. of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ³Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Univ. of Cincinnati; ⁴Biomedical Engineering, Univ. of Cincinnati

The combined approach of fMRI and 31P spectroscopy is used to investigate 1) abnormal brain activation, and 2) the correlation between high-energy phosphates and abnormal activation in the brains of patients with bipolar disorder. A behavioral task, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, was used during fMRI to identify brain regions that differed between bipolar and healthy subjects. Several regions within anterior limbic network such as amygdala, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex were identified by fMRI activation differences. 31P MRSI data showed significant alterations of Pi, PDE and PCr in some of these regions.

15:00         4369.     Brain Morphometry Correlates of Pharmacoresistancy in Schizophrenia

Mario Quarantelli¹, Olga Palladino², Anna Prinster^1,3, Vittorio Schiavone², Barbara Carotenuto⁴, Arturo Brunetti⁴, Gianluca Ventrella², Angela Marsili¹, Andrea De Bartolomeis², Marco Salvatore⁴

¹Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute, National Research Council, Naples, Italy; ²Institute of Psychiatry, University “Federico II”, Naples, Italy; ³ “S.D.N.” Foundation, Naples, Italy; ⁴Department of Biomorphological and Functional Sciences, University “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

We assessed structural cerebral differences between 16 normal volunteers (NV), 16 Responder (R-SC), and 19 Non-Responder (NR-SC) schizophrenia patients. Segmented T1-weighted volumes were analyzed voxel-wise to assess local differences in gray matter volume between the three groups, using permutation tests implemented in the CamBA software. Main clusters of significant GM differences among the three groups emerged in bilateral frontal cortices, right insula and right medial temporal lobe, differences being mainly due to reduced GM volumes in NR-SC, as compared to both NV and R-SC, suggesting that differences between NV an SC may be mainly driven by NR-SC patients.

13:30         4370.     Increased Anterior Cingulate GABA Level  Following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Patients with Major Depressive Episodes

Pallab Bhattacharyya¹, Erik Beall¹, Mark Lowe¹, Micheal Phillips¹, David Muzina¹

¹Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) level in anterior cingulate is known to be reduced in depression patients. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a commonly used treatment for major depressive episodes (MDE). Using ¹H spectroscopy we have measured anterior cingulate GABA level 2 weeks before and 1-2 weeks after ECT treatment in MDE patients. Our preliminary data show an increase in anterior cingulate GABA level following ECT in MDE patients.

14:00         4371.     Cingulate Cortex Functional Connectivity Increase Predicts Relapse of Major Depression. - not available

Naranjargal Dashdorj¹, Neil L. Nixon², G Worwood², M Liotti², E Georgiadi², D P. Auer¹, P F. Liddle²

¹Academic Radiology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; ²Division of Psychiatry, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Functional imaging studies suggest alterations in cortico-limbic circuit connectivity in depression. Moreover, these functional connectivity (fc) changes were found to correlate with symptom severity and normalised upon antidepressant treatment. The direction of these fc changes is however debated with one group showing increased default network connectivity and another showing decreased cortico-limbic connectivity. Nonetheless, more studies implicate cingulate gyrus as a focus of dysfunction.  In this study, we compared fc of the rostral anterior cingulate between patients with history of remitted recurrent depression and healthy controls.

14:30         4372.     Regional Gray Matter Changes in Major Depressive Disorder: An Optimized Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Zhiyun Jia¹, Tijiang Zhang¹, Qizhu Wu¹, Junran Zhang¹, Su Lu¹, Xiaoqi Huang¹, Weihong Kuang², Qiyong Gong¹

¹Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan provice, China; ²Department of Psychiatry, West China Hospital of Sichuan University

High resolution 3-dimensional T1-weighted (T1W) images were acquired using a 3.0T MR scanner in fifty two patients experiencing major depression (MDD) and fifty two normal controls. Using voxel based morphometry (VBM), we demonstrated that MDD patients have higher volume and density of grey matter in multiple brain areas than controls, especially in bilateral thalamus. This is consistent with a previous postmortem study which demonstrated increased neuronal number in the thalamus of patients with depression relative to the nonpsychiatric comparison subjects. Further study should reveal this change in thalamus using multiple methods.

15:00         4373.     Thickness Profile Generation for the Corpus Callosum Using Laplace's Equation

Christopher Leslie Adamson¹, Amanda Wood^1,2, Jian Chen¹, Sarah Barton¹, David Reutens³, Mark Walterfang^4,5

¹Developmental and Functional Brain Imaging, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; ²Department of Medicine, Southern Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; ³Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; ⁴Neuropsychiatry Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; ⁵Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

We present a method to generate thickness profiles of the corpus callosum from midsagittal slices of MR images. The method is mostly automated, robust and computationally efficient. We utilise the method to reveal  morphological changes of the corpus callosum at different stages of schizophrenia.

Developing Brain I

14:00         4374.     Static and Dynamic Characteristics of Resting State CBF in Newborn Infants

Feng Liu^1,2, Zhishun Wang^1,2, Yunsuo Duan^1,2, Fernando Zelaya³, David J. Lythgoe³, Alayar Kangarlu^1,2, Bradley S. Peterson^1,2

¹Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States; ²New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States; ³Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom

Resting-state networks in the infant brain have been studied recently using BOLD fMRI in order to better understand the early developmental phase of default mode network. Perfusion MRI with arterial spin labeling (ASL) has been implemented to study resting-state functional connectivity in the adult brain. We applied pulsed ASL on unsedated, sleeping newborns, and studied the static and dynamic characteristics of cerebral blood flow (CBF) with a method using high-pass filtering and demodulation. We demonstrated the ability to detect the functional connectivity using the CBF fluctuation extracted from ASL signals during the resting state of newborns.

14:30         4375.     The Dynamics of Brain and CSF Growth in Normal Versus Hydrocephalic Development in a Mouse Model

Jason Gregory Mandell^1,2, Thomas Neuberger³, Corina S. Drapaca¹, Andrew G. Webb⁴, Steven J. Schiff^1,5

¹Center for Neural Engineering, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States; ²Department of Bioengineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States; ³Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States; ⁴C.J. Gorter Center for High Field MRI, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ⁵Departments of Neurosurgery and Physics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States

Hydrocephalus has traditionally been quantified by linear measurements of ventricle size. However, clinical outcome is related to brain cognitive function, which is more directly related to brain volume. We quantified brain and ventricular volume growth in normal versus kaolin-induced hydrocephalic development in mice from ages 2-12 weeks using 14T MRI. Hydrocephalic mice responded with brain growth either consistent with or faster than normal, correlating to the absence or presence of parenchymal edema. Clinical measurements were unable to discriminate between these patterns, demonstrating the clinical importance of brain volume measurements and the feasibility of constructing normative brain and fluid growth curves.

15:00         4376.     CSF and Cerebral Blood Flows in Paediatric: Evaluation with Phase Contrast MRI

Olivier Balédent¹, Véronique Courtois², Béatrice Krepjowicz², Julie Schauvliege³, Anthony Fichten⁴, Guy Kongolo⁵, Roger Bouzerar¹, Catherine Gondry-Jouet³

¹image processing, university hospital, Amiens, Picardie, France, Metropolitan; ²Ecole supérieure d'ostéopathie et de biomécanique, Paris; ³radiology, university hospital, Amiens, Picardie, France, Metropolitan; ⁴image processing, neurosurgery, Amiens, Picardie, France, Metropolitan; ⁵pediatry, university hospital, Amiens, Picardie, France, Metropolitan

The purpose of this study is to quantify with PC-MRI, CSF and cerebral vascular flows maturation in paediatric population and demonstrate how altered flows in children with hydrocephalus can be pointed. 36 children (5days-8years) were defined as a paediatric control group. 6 newborns (9days-6weeks) with ventricular dilation associated to intra ventricular haemorrhage (IVH) were individually studied. Arterial, venous, cervical CSF and aqueductal CSF flows were presented function of age. The 6 IVH newborn presented alterations of their cerebral flows. Quantitative assessments of CSF and blood flows indicate the potential usefulness of PC-MRI in paediatric hydrocephalus.

15:30         4377.     Direct Phase Imaging in Neonate

Kai Zhong¹, Lynn Anderson², Linda Chang², Thomas Ernst², Oliver Speck¹

¹Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Saxon-Anhalt, Germany; ²Department of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, United States

Direct phase images have been shown to yield superior gray (GM) and white matter (WM) contrast at high field compared to conventional magnitude images. However, the contrast mechanisms are still being discussed. Previous studies are limited to high field and adult volunteers or patients. In this study, phase imaging in neonates is demonstrated for the first time and provides insights to the various factors contributing to phase contrast, such as water macromolecule exchange (WME) and myelination. Phase differences between GM and WM are significantly reduced in neonates prior to myelination and seem to originate primarily from WME contrast. Therefore, direct phase imaging can study brain development and related pathologies in neonates.

13:30         4378.     Evolving Modular Structures During Early Functional Brain Development

Wei Gao¹, Hongtu Zhu², John Gilmore³, Weili Lin⁴

¹Biomedical Engineering, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; ²Biostatistics and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; ³Psychiatry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; ⁴Radiology and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

The integrated action between functionally connected yet spatially distributed regions to form different ¡°modules¡± is central to normal brain function. Numerous studies have been performed to detect possible brain modules supporting specific functions including sensory processing and the higher level cognition in adults. However, the formation of modular structures is likely to be substantially influenced by both structural maturation and learning, particularly during the early stage of brain development. In this study, healthy pediatric subjects 2 wks to 2 yrs of age were recruited and modularity analysis was performed to discern whole brain functional networks so as to delineate the emerging and developing trajectory of brain modular structures in a critical time period of early brain development.

14:00         4379.     Diffuse Microstructural Abnormalitites in Non-Cystic Focal White Matter Necrosis

Arabhi C. Nagasunder¹, Lisa Paquette², Caroline Jane Tavare³, Tena Rosser⁴, Floyd H. Gilles³, Marvin D. Nelson¹, Stefan Bluml^1,5, Ashok Panigrahy^1,6

¹Department of Radiology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ²Division of Neonatology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ³Department of Neuropathology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ⁴Division of Neurology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ⁵Rudi Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States; ⁶Department of Radiology, Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Neonatal brain is highly vulnerable to injury resulting in subsequent cognitive and motor disabilities. Our goal was to show that there are microstructural abnormalities in regions of the brain separate from the focal necroses in non-cystic periventricular leukomalacia. A diverse cohort of neonates was scanned at term equivalent age using DTI. We found that there is microstructural injury in white matter regions both proximal and distant from necrotic foci.

14:30         4380.     Snapshot Inversion Recovery (SNAPIR): A Robust, Optimised T1-Weighted Fetal Brain MRI Protocol for Improved Anatomy Delineation

Christina Malamateniou¹, Amy McGuinness¹, Prachi Patkee¹, Joanna M. Allsop¹, Mary A. Rutherford¹, Jo V. Hajnal¹

¹Imaging Sciences Department, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom

Image quality of standard gradient echo T1-weighted fetal brain MRI acquisitions is poor because of artefacts relating to fetal and maternal motion. The Snapshot Inversion Recovery (SNAPIR) sequence, an optimised T1-weighted protocol using single shot techniques, offers a potential robust alternative to standard T1-weighted methods. Qualitative analysis showed that significantly increased visualisation of the fetal brain anatomy was achieved with SNAPIR in 24 out of 32 anatomical structures studied, compared to the reference protocol. Additionally, quantitative analysis showed that SNAPIR presented with significantly increased contrast ratios between grey and white matter in the upper (p=0.01) and lower cerebrum (p=0.0001).

15:00         4381.     Construction of a Dynamic 4D Probabilistic Atlas for the Developing Brain

Maria Murgasova¹, Latha Srinivasan², Ioannis S. Gousias², Paul Aljabar¹, Joseph V. Hajnal², A David Edwards², Daniel Rueckert¹

¹Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; ²Imaging Sciences, Imperial College London

Probabilistic atlases have been established in the literature as a standard tool for enhancing the intensity-based classification of brain MRI. The rapidly growing neonatal brain requires an age-specific spatial probabilistic atlas to guide the segmentation process. In this paper we describe a method for dynamically creating a probabilistic atlas for any chosen stage of neonatal brain development. We present an atlas created from the segmentations of 153 subjects providing prior tissue probability maps for six structures - cortex, white matter, subcortical gray matter, brainstem and cerebellum, for ages of 29 to 44 weeks of gestation.

13:30         4382.     Early Neonatal Brain Development: Correlation Between DTI and MRS

Lynn Michelle Anderson¹, Linda Chang¹, Steven Buchthal¹, Brian Keating¹, Christine Cloak¹, Thomas Ernst¹

¹Department of Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hi, United States

Normal infant brain development was evaluated using both DTI and MRS.  Apparent diffusion (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA)  were correlated to brain metabolites within the same MRS voxel in 5 brain regions.  With increasing postconceptional age, increases in FA and decreases in ADC were associated with increases in NA, in the frontal white matter, which reflect more coherent fiber organization and axonal growth.  Similar age-related changes in DTI measures in the CST were associated with decreased MI which suggests myelination or a reduction in radial glia.  Decreased tCr and CHO in the FGM combined with decreased ADC suggest cellular pruning.

14:00         4383.     More Than Meets the Eye: Age and Pathology-Related MTR Changes in Very Preterm Brains

Andrew David Chung¹, Revital Nossin-Manor^1,2, Hilary E. A. Whyte^2,3, Margot J. Taylor^1,2, Manohar M. Shroff¹, John G. Sled^4,5

¹Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; ²Neurosciences & Mental Health, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; ³Neonatology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; ⁴Physiology Experimental Medicine, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; ⁵Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Our study compared MTR values of the basal ganglia (BG), thalami, and pons in the very preterm (<32 weeks GA) brain. Forty-four infants were separated into four groups based on radiological findings on conventional MR scans: normal, WM-injury, Grade I GMH + WM-injury, Grade II GMH + WM-injury. MTR increased with GA in both the BG and thalami in the normal and WM-injury groups. This relation was not seen in the pons in any of the groups. In the BG, the normal group demonstrated consistently higher MTR values than the WM-injury group, indicating GM effects not detected on conventional MRI.

14:30         4384.     Investigating the Relationships Between T1 and T2 Relaxation Times and Myelin Water Fraction During Neurodevelopment

Sean CL Deoni¹, Evelyne Mercure^2,3, Anna Blasi^2,3, David Gasston², Mark Johnson³, Steven CR Williams², Declan G. Murphy⁴

¹Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom; ²Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England, United Kingdom; ³Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck University, London, England, United Kingdom; ⁴Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England, United Kingdom

T1 and T2 are commonly cited as reflecting myelin content and used as surrogate markers. However, the relationships between myelin content changes and changes in these relaxation parameters have not yet been established.  In this study, we investigated the relationship between brain T1, T2 and myelin water fraction (MWF) during the developmental period from 3 through 8 months of age in healthy infants.  We demonstrate that while T1 is generally correlated with MWF, T2 is a poor predictor of myelin content.  Results of this study suggest care should be taken in using relaxation parameters to infer alterations in myelin content.

15:00         4385.     Altered Small-World Properties in Newborns at High Risk for Schizophrenia

Feng Shi¹, Yong Fan¹, Pew-Thian Yap¹, Weili Lin¹, John Gilmore², Dinggang Shen¹

¹Department of Radiology and BRIC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

We evaluated the brain structural networks on three groups of subjects, as high risk newborns of schizophrenic parents, healthy newborns, and healthy adults. All three groups showed small-world network properties. From healthy newborns to healthy adults as brain develops, global efficiency is increased while local efficiency is decreased, with reduced regularity and enhanced randomness. This suggests that brain networks develop from a ‘‘local to distributed’’ organization. However, high risk newborns showed a more localized pattern and lack global integration compared with healthy newborns. This indicates that a delay might have occurred during brain development of the high risk group.

13:30         4386.     Age Norms for Diffusion Tensor Data - Evaluation with TBSS

Nancy Rollins^1,2, Paul Glasier³, Leanne Tamm⁴, Linda Butwell, Jonathan Chia⁵, Michael Morriss, Zhiyue Jerry Wang

¹Radiology, Childrens Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ²University Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ³Psychiatry, paul.glasier@childrens.com, Dallas, TX, United States; ⁴Psychiatry, University Texas Southwestern Medical Center; ⁵Philips HealthCare Systems

Using TBSS, variable age effects on tensor metrics are seen across the brain in school-aged children suggesting valid comparisons of FA and diffusivities between typically developing children and children with neuro developmental or psychiatric conditions probably require age-matched cohorts unless the affects of the disease are known to be large in comparison to the scale of age effects.

14:00         4387.     Exploring Developmental Structural Connectivity Patterns by in Vivo Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography on Longitudinal Pediatric Data

Pew-Thian Yap¹, Yong Fan¹, Yasheng Chen¹, John H. Gilmore², Weili Lin¹, Dinggang Shen¹

¹Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States

Our objective is to study pediatric brain networks by applying DTI based fiber tractography on 39 healthy pediatric subjects with longitudinal data collected at the average ages of 2 weeks, 1 year, and 2 years. Our results indicate that the small-world architecture exists at birth, with low global and local efficiencies, and is strengthened in later stages of development. In addition, we found that the node degree distributions of the networks have Gaussian tails, signifying their single-scale nature. We also observe, across development, that the brain network seems to evolve progressively from a local, predominantly proximity based, connectivity pattern to a more distributed, predominantly functional based, connectivity pattern.

14:30         4388.     Imaging Myelination in Infant Neurodevelopment

Sean CL Deoni¹, Evelyne Mercure^2,3, Anna Blasi^2,3, David Gasston¹, Alex Thomson³, Mark Johnson², Steven CR Williams¹, Declan GM Murphy³

¹Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom; ²Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom; ³Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom

We report on the use of multi-component relaxation time measurement (MCR) to investigate myelination during human neurodevelopment.  Using the mcDESPOT MCR technique, we present the first ever in vivo visualization of healthy white matter myelination from 3 through 8 months of age.  Obtained results faithfully reproduce the spatio-temporal sequence established via post-mortem histological studies.

15:00         4389.     Cortical Development in Children Between 6 and 11 Years

L. Tugan Muftuler¹, Kevin Michael Head², Claudia Buss², Orhan Nalcioglu¹, Curt A. Sandman², Elysia Poggi Davis²

¹Center for Functional Onco-Imaging, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States; ²Psychiatry & Human Behavior, University of California, Orange, CA, United States

There is evidence that various cognitive and psychiatric disorders might stem from abnormal cerebral development during childhood. Therefore, understanding normal cortical development is important to study these abnormalities. For that purpose, we analyzed high resolution MRI images from 129 normally developing children between ages 6 and 11 years. Cortical development between 6 an 11 years as well as within 2 year windows was investigated. The results demonstrated that the cortical development was expressed in different anatomical locations within each time frame. The findings reveal the cortical development in a much finer spatial and temporal detail than has been previously reported.

Developing Brain II

14:00         4390.     Evidence of Neuronal Growth Spurts During Development in Healthy Children and Adolescents Using  a Multi-Voxel In Vivo ³¹P Spectroscopy at 4 Tesla

Jeffrey A. Stanley¹, Dalal Khatib¹, Rachel M. Dick¹, Olivia A. McGarragle¹, Frank P. MacMaster¹, Arthur L. Robin¹, David R. Rosenberg¹, Brian Martis², Vaibhav A. Diwadkar¹

¹Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, United States; ²Psychiatry, VA Ann Arbor HCS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States

The high prevalence of the onset of many psychiatric disorders during childhood and adolescence highlights the importance of understanding the molecular biochemistry of healthy neurodevelopmental trajectories in the maturing brain. In vivo ³¹P spectroscopy is a neuroimaging method that is sensitive in detecting biochemical changes as the brain develops. The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in membrane phospholipid metabolites of healthy children and adolescents to discern developmental growth spurts in cortical and subcortical structures using in vivo ³¹P spectroscopy at a higher magnetic field strength.

14:30         4391.     An MR/CT Compatible Neonatal Incubator

Martyn Paley¹, Anthony Hart¹, Mark Lait², Paul Griffiths¹

¹Academic Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom; ²Advanced Health Technology, Hertford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

A lightweight MR/CT compatible neonatal incubator has been developed to allow scanning of neonates on whole body MRI systems.

15:00         4392.     Dti Study in the Infants Brain; Methodolgy and Validation in Infants with Hypoxic-Ischemic-Encephalopathy

Moran Artzi^1,2, Liat Ben Sira³, Haim Bassan⁴, Varda Gross-Tsur^5,6, Irit Berger⁷, Ronella Marom⁷, Yael Leitner⁴, Maya Weinstein^1,8, Ronny Geva⁹, Dafna Ben Bashat¹

¹The Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Brain Imaging Center, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ²Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ³Department of Radiology , Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁴Pediatric Neurology and Child Development Unit, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁵Neuropediatric Unit, Shaare-Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; ⁶Department of Family Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel; ⁷Department of Neonatology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel; ⁸Department of Psychology, Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University , Ramat-Gan , Israel; ⁹Department of Psychology, Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

The ability to diagnose abnormal MR-signal in the infant's brain is challenging. The aim of this study is to present a methodology that enables quantification and comparison between infants' brains, by creating a standard space that includes the imaging data and templates and atlases adjusted to infants. Preliminary results of DTI in HIE infants with and without hypothermia (cooling to 33°c for 72 hours) compared with normal controls are presented, demonstrating the applicability of this methodology in the pathological brain. Diffusivity values in different VOIs and histogram analysis show the effect of the therapeutic hypothermia in HIE.

15:30         4393.     Abnormal Microstructure of the Thalamus in Childhood Survivors of Prematurity: Assessment with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Arabhi C. Nagasunder¹, Hannah C. Kinney², Caroline Jane Tavare³, Tena Rosser⁴, Floyd H. Gilles³, Marvin D. Nelson¹, Stefan Bluml^1,5, Ashok Panigrahy^1,6

¹Department of Radiology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ²Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital of Boston, Boston, MA, United States; ³Department of Neuropathology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ⁴Division of Neurology, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States; ⁵Rudi Schulte Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States; ⁶Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Long-term survivors of prematurity with periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) suffer major cognitive deficits. One of the critical structures is the thalamus which is involved in cognition via extensive interconnections with the cerebral cortex. The goal of this study was to show combined volumetric and DTI data within the parenchyma of the thalamus in childhood survivors of prematurity with PVL. We found significant atrophy in combination with microstructural abnormalities with preferential pulvinar injury.

13:30         4394.     Value of Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging for Diagnosing Intracranial Hemorrhage in Neonates According to Anatomic Location - not available

Tetsu Niwa¹, Taro Takahara¹, Thomas Kwee¹, Manon Benders², Linda de Vries², Vincent O. Boer¹, Freddy Visser¹, Peter R. Luijten¹, Floris Groenendaal²

¹Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; ²Neonatology, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital/University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

Susceptibility-weighted imaging provides additional value for increasing certainty to detect or rule out hemorrhage in neonates

14:00         4395.     Correlations Between Increased ASL Perfusion and Decreased ADC in Newborns with Hypoxic Ischemia

Rudolph Pienaar^1,2, Neel Madan, ²³, Patricia Ellen Grant^1,2

¹Radiology, Childrens Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States; ²Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ³Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

We have developed a methodology to detect correlations between increased ASL-CBF perfusion and decreased ADC values in areas of hypoxic ischemia

14:30         4396.     Specific White Matter Diffusion Characteristics in the Newborn Period Correlate with Either Neuromotor or Neurocognitive Outcome at 2 Years. a Voxel Based Analysis

Tamara Faundez¹, Rebecca Recker¹, Cristina Borradori Tolsa¹, Gregory Lodygensky¹, Francois Lazeyras^2,3, Petra Susan Huppi¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, University of Geneva and University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Service of Radiology, University of Geneva and University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; ³Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM), Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland

The goal of this study is to assess by diffusion MRI, neonatal structural deficit of premature babies related to neurocognitive deficits later in life. Using voxel-based analysis, we correlate ADC measures at birth with neuromotor and neurocognitive outcome at the age of 2 years. We observed distinct ADC changes with respect to mental and physical scores. Mental score is correlated with regions linked to future cognitive function like language. Neuromotor-related regions include precentral white matter linked to motor pathways. ADC changes are negatively correlated with cognitive scores, which speak in favour of a possible myelination delay already present at birth.

15:00         4397.     Effects of the Cumulative Exposure to Lypopolysaccharide and Hyperoxia on the Developing Rat Brain Assessed by High-Field Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Yohan van de Looij^1,2, Marco Sifringer³, Felix Brehmer⁴, Bettina Gerstner⁵, Petra S. Hüppi¹, Rolf Gruetter^2,6, Ursula Felderhoff-Müser⁷, Stéphane V. Sizonenko¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Department of Anesthesiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; ⁴Department of Neonatology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; ⁵Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Giessen, Giessen, Germany; ⁶Department of Radiology, University of Geneva and Lausanne, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland; ⁷Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany

In premature infants, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a common type of cerebral white matter injury and animal models of PVL can be achieved by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure. Furthermore, premature infants are subjected much earlier to relative hyperoxia, because of a dramatic rise of oxygen tissue tension compared with intrauterine conditions but hyperoxia is supposed to negatively influence brain development and maturation. The goal of this study was to characterize changes in the pup rat brain following LPS and/or hyperoxia exposure by DTI derived parameters. This study confirmed white matter damages following LPS injection and/or Hyperoxia revealed by DTI derived parameters.

13:30         4398.     A Combined Brain Proton MR Spectroscopy and Amplitude- Integrated Electroencephalography Study in Term Newborns with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Caterina Tonon¹, Claudia Testa¹, David Neil Manners¹, Emil Malucelli¹, Gina Ancora², Giovanni Tani³, Paolo Ambrosetto³, Bruno Barbiroli¹, Raffaele Lodi¹

¹MR Spectroscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Aging and Nephrology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Italy; ²Institute of Neonatology, Department of Woman, Child and Adolescent Health,, Policlinico S’Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy; ³Paediatric Radiology Unit, Department of Woman, Child and Adolescent Health, Policlinico S’Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy

Perinatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) remains a frequent cause of neurological sequelae and death. The accurate assessment of HIE is crucial for determining the prognosis.The aim of the study was to relate the brain metabolic changes detected by 1H-MRS to the amplitude integrated- electroencephalogram (a-EEG) time course findings in newborns at term and to evaluate their correlation with outcome. Both 1H-MRS and a-EEG findings showed a good correlation with the severity and the outcome of cerebral HI injury. These data, obtained from 1H-MRS and a-EEG in non-treated infants, represent reference data for future investigations to select candidates for cool cap therapy.

14:00         4399.     Anisotropy of Callosal Motor Fibers Predicts Functional Impairment in Children with Periventricular Leukomalacia

Inga Koerte^1,2, Paula Pelavin², Martha E. Shenton², Marek Kubicki², Berit Kirmess³, Steffen Berweck³, Maximilian Reiser¹, Florian Heinen³, Birgit Ertl-Wagner¹

¹Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; ²Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; ³Dr. von Hauners Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

Patients with periventricular leukomalacia are known to have altered white matter structure of motor tracts1. We aimed to evaluate the microstructure (DTI), interhemispheric inhibitory competence as measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and hand motor function in children with mild cerebral palsy compared to normal controls.Anisotropy values of transcallosal motor fibers appear to correlate with functional impairment of hand motor function in children with PVL. The microstructure of transcallosal motor fibers could serve as a potential predictor for hand motor function in patients with cerebral palsy.

14:30         4400.     Preliminary Experience with DTI and Multi-Exponential T2 Relaxation Imaging of Myelin in Children Treated for ALL

Wilburn E. Reddick¹, Qing Ji¹, David C. Carver¹, John O. Glass¹, Jun-Yu Guo¹, Zoltan Patay²

¹Division of Translational Imaging Research, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States; ²Division of Diagnostic Imaging, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States

We investigated the feasibility and utility of performing DTI (FA, D_radial) and multi-exponential T2 relaxation imaging (MWF, long-T2) to assess differing degrees of myelin disruption early in the course of therapy for ALL in two 4 year old patients with varying degrees of leukoencephalopathy. Relatively low FA, increased D_radial, and decreased MWF were evident in regions of the T2 hyperintensities. Long-T2 maps demonstrated that one patient had more sever myelin and axonal damage than the other patient. This study is the first to conduct DTI and multi-exponential T2 relaxation imaging during ALL therapy and provides support for additional prospective studies.

15:00         4401.     Quantitative Analysis of the Brain Anatomy in Cerebral Palsy

Andreia Vasconcellos Faria^1,2, Alexander Hoon³, Elaine Stashinko³, Ameneh Mashayekh¹, Xin Li⁴, Hangyi Jiang^1,4, Kazi Akhter¹, Kenichi Oishi¹, Jiangyang Zhang¹, Peter van Zijl^1,4, Michael Miller⁵, Susumu Mori¹

¹Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Radiology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil; ³Division of Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁵Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

We developed a new method to provide a comprehensive quantitative analysis of brain anatomy in cerebral palsy patients, based on two technical points: diffusion tensor imaging and an automated 3D whole brain segmentation based on our brain atlas and a nonlinear normalization technique (large-deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping). This method was applied to thirteen patients and the reliability of the automated segmentation measured by Kappa revealed "almost perfect" agreement with the manual segmentation. We illustrate some potential applications on individual characterization and group comparison. This technique also provides a framework to determine the impact of various neuroanatomic features on brain functions.

13:30         4402.     Metabolic Abnormalities in Perituberous Tissue: Initial Results of a Proton MR Spectroscopy Study of Pediatric Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Ivan Kirov¹, Joseph Oved², Sarah Milla¹, Orrin Devinsky³, Howard Weiner³, Oded Gonen¹

¹Radiology, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ²School of Medicine, New York University, New York, NY, United States; ³Neurosurgery, New York University, New York, NY, United States

While traditionally the MRI-defined tuber has been the primary surgery target for abolishing seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), there is evidence that non-tuberous tissue, specifically surrounding the active tuber, may also be epileptogenic. We use 3D proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to characterize tubers and normal-appearing tissue. Initial results reveal metabolic abnormalities in tubers and its adjacent tissue (peritubers). In one case electro-encephalography identified a seizure locus and 1H-MRS showed high lipid signal in its perituberous tissue. In all, these findings have implications for improved identification and definition of the epileptogenic zone in TSC.

14:00         4403.     White Matter Microstructure Correlates with Reading Ability in Healthy Subjects and Those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

Catherine Lebel¹, Carmen Rasmussen², Katy Wyper¹, Gail Andrew³, Christian Beaulieu¹

¹Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; ²Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; ³Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies of reading consistently highlight left temporal-parietal white matter. We used DTI to correlate fractional anisotropy (FA) with reading ability in 40 subjects with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) aged 5-19 years and 40 healthy controls. The control group had three significantly correlated clusters in the left temporal-parietal area and one in the genu (all positive), in good agreement with previous findings. The FASD group had 9 clusters with significant correlations (3 negative, 6 positive). These included 3 left temporal-parietal clusters, showing consistent involvement in this area, but also demonstrating more widespread correlations than controls.

14:30         4404.     Pituitary Volumes and Functions in Children with Growth Hormone Deficiency: Volumetric Magnetic Resonance Data

Miyuki Takasu¹, Chihiro Tani¹, Masaki Ishikawa¹, Keizo Tanitame¹, Hiroshi Fukuda¹, Jun Horiguchi¹, Akihisa Tamura², Yoshikazu Nishi³

¹Radiology, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; ²Radiology, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; ³Pediatrics, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

We investigated correlations between pituitary volumes measured from 3D volumetric MR imaging and the severity of the clinical and biochemical features in 69 patients with growth hormone deficiency. Pituitary volumes of all patient groups were smaller than the age-matched published norms. Pituitary volumes of both female groups were significantly smaller than that of controls. Pituitary volumes of male pubertal or postpubertal group were significantly larger than that of prepubertal one, but this difference was not significant between female groups. IGF-1 levels were significantly correlated with pituitary volumes. LH levels were significantly correlated with pituitary volumes in male patients.

15:00         4405.     MRI Assessment of Iron-Mediated Pathology Following Juvenile Traumatic Brain Injury

Lei Huang¹, Arash Adami², Andre Obenaus^1,3

¹Radiation Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States; ²Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, United States; ³Radiology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States

In a rat model of graded juvenile traumatic brain injury (jTBI), we characterized iron mediated neuropathology using multi-modal MRI that correlated with histology and tissue iron measures. Our results showed that SWI was sensitive to monitor pathological iron accumulation in vivo following increasing jTBI severity that correlates with increased tissue iron deposition, especially, non-heme iron concentration. The iron-mediated neuropathology was dominant in corpus callosum at this age.

Clinical Stroke Imaging

14:00         4406.     High Resolution Wall and Lumen MRI of the Middle Cerebral Arteries at 3-Tesla

Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Eui-Jong Kim², Woo_Suk Choi², Dal-Mo Yang¹

¹Radiology, East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ²Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

We imaged the walls of stenotic MCAs in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients using high resolution BB-MRI, in order to characterize vulnerable plaques. Multi-contrast (T1-, T2-, and proton density)-weighted BB-MRIs were acquired in 16 MCA stenosis. The plaque signal intensity was interpreted and the total wall thickness was measured at the most stenotic segment. Hyperintense foci were demonstrated more frequently within the plaques of symptomatic stenoses than within the plaques of asymptomatic stenoses Total wall thickness in the symptomatic stenoses was significantly higher than that seen in the asymptomatic stenoses. High-resolution, multi-contrast-weighted BB-MRI has the potential to characterize intracranial atherosclerotic plaques.

14:30         4407.     Carotid Plaque Imaging with BLADE and SPACE

Masahiro Ida¹, Kenji Saitoh¹, Shunsuke Sugawara¹, Yuko Kubo¹, Keiko Hino¹, Naoya Yorozu¹

¹Department of Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

BLADE is a self-navigating method for motion correction by repeated acquisition of the center of k-space. BLADE reduces physiological motion artifact. SPACE is based on 3D fast SE sequence with high turbo-factor and exploits refocusing pulses with variable flip-angle. This study attempts to estimate clinical utilities of BLADE and 3D SPACE for the evaluation of carotid plaques. BLADE sequences without cardiac gating are feasible for detecting not only atherosclerotic plaque but also the neighboring turbulent flow. Multi-slice BLADE sequences and 3D SPACE are useful methods and the initial sequences of choice for screening of carotid plaque and its risk factors.

15:00         4408.     High-Resolution Vessel Wall MRI of Chronic Unilateral MCA Occlusion

Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Dal-Mo Yang¹, Woo-Suk Choi²

¹Radiology, East-West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ²Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

We acquired high-resolution vessel wall MRI of MCA in patients with chronic unilateral MCA occlusion and evaluated the characteristics of MRI and clinical findings. We selected 17 consecutive patients who presented with unilateral MCA occlusion. High resolution PD-weighted TSE MRI with the saturation of arterial flow, were acquired the occluded MCA using 3T MRI. As the presence of MCA on MRI, MCA occlusion was classified plaqued MCA (13/17): the clear demonstration of MCA and atrophic MCA group (4/17): no MCA in the sylvian fissure. The vessel wall MRI might be a useful imaging tool that characterizes MCA occlusion in vivo.

15:30         4409.     Identification of Basilar Plaque Components Using Multicontrast High-Resolution 3-Tesla MRI

Xin Lou¹, Lin Ma¹, weijian Jiang², Ning Ma², Tingqiang Zhao¹

¹PLA Gerneral Hospital, Radiology Department, Beijing, China; ²Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing, China

Multicontrast high-resolution MR imaging (HRMRI) is an effective tool for the assessment of carotid plaque vulnerability, but there has been no report on identification of plaque components of basilar atherosclerosis. We therefore performed this prospective cohort study on 3T multicontrast HRMRI for 24 patients with >70% symptomatic atherosclerotic stenosis of basilar artery (BA). Our preliminary results revealed that multicontrast HRMRI (TOF, T1W, PDW, and T2W) can be used to study plaque components of severe basilar atherosclerosis with good interobserver and intraobserver agreements for the identification of LR/NC, IH and calcification.

13:30         4410.     Measuring Longitudinal Changes in Cbf in Post-Stroke Recovery Using Partial Volume Corrected Asl Perfusion Mri

Iris Asllani¹, Sophia Ryan, Eric Zarahn, John W. Krakauer

¹Columbia University, New York, NY, United States

Stroke leads to a reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in areas remote from the focal infarct, often in another arterial territory. This phenomenon is called diaschisis and is thought to reflect a reduction in neuronal metabolism mediated transynaptically from the infarct region. Our study has two main goals: 1) To characterize diaschisis after subacute strokes using partial volume corrected (PVEc) arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI. 2)To determine if resolution of diaschisis correlates with recovery from hemiparesis. We present ASL CBF images in stroke patients in the first month and then again at 6 months. The change in CBF is correlated with improvements in motor deficit over the same time period. ASL CBF images from each patient are also compared with age-matched stroke-free controls via a one-to-many statistical analysis.

14:00         4411.     Recovery Pattern in Chronic Stroke Post-Physiotherapy : An FMRI Study

Ashu Bhasin¹, Senthil S. Kumaran², M.V. Padma¹, Sujata Mohanty³, Rohit Bhatia¹

¹Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; ²DEPARTMENT OF N.M.R., ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, NEW DELHI, DELHI, India; ³Stem Cell Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Synopsis: Physiotherapy based on mirror therapy concept was administered to stroke patients for 8 weeks. BOLD mapping was carried out for fist-clenching tasks of paretic hand. It has been observed that during observation of a movement, motor areas in the primary and premotor cortex show enhanced activation when a subject observes the unaffected hand in a mirror or in simulated environments.

14:30         4412.     Voxel Based Lesion Symptom Mapping for the Identification of Critical Regions for Motor Recovery After Stroke

Peter Chang¹, Xue Wang¹, Darren Gitelman^1,2, Ryan Lo¹, Robert Levy^1,3, Justin Hulvershorn⁴, Todd Parrish¹

¹Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States; ²Neurology, Northwestern University; ³Neurological Surgery, Northwestern University; ⁴Northstar Neuroscience, Seattle, Wa

VLSM was conducted on 151 chronic stroke subjects from 26 imaging centers with different MR vendors and field strengths. The results identify regions in the corona radiata that appear to assimilate motor, pre-motor and sensory information similarly for right and left hemisphere lesions. There were significant results for dominant lesions but not non-dominant lesions. This indicates that following stroke of the non-dominant hemisphere, reorganization of the dominant hemisphere occurs to a greater degree than the reorganization of the non-dominant hemisphere following a dominant lesion. This population based study may improve the ability to give an accurate prognosis and optimize treatment.

15:00         4413.     Autologous   Intravenous Stem  Cells  Infusion  in Chronic Stroke : A Pilot Study in Indian Patients

Ashu Bhasin¹, Senthil S. Kumaran², M.V. Padma¹, Sujata Mohanty³, Rohit Bhatia¹

¹Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; ²Department of N.M.R., All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India; ³Stem Cell Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

Autologous mesenchymal stem cells were infused intravenously in chronic stroke patients with a dose of 5 x 10 ⁸ cells through median cubital vein in 4-6 hours. The experimental group was treated with stem cells and a focused physiotherapy regime and the control group with only physiotherapy regime. It was observed that stem cell transplantation leads to therapeutic benefits as measured on clinical (fugel meyer & barthel index ) and functional markers (BOLD, DTI) augmenting neural plasticity.

13:30         4414.     Where Is the “clinical Relevant” Penumbra? a Voxel-Based Analysis in Acute Stroke Patients

Charlotte Rosso^1,2, Yohan Attal², Sophie Crozier¹, Romain Valabrègue³, Dider Dormont, ^2,4, Sylvain Baillet², Stephane Lehericy^3,5, Yves Samson¹

¹Urgences Cerebro-Vasculaires, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ²CRICM, INSERM UMR S_975, CNRS UMR_7225, Equipe COGIMAGE, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ³Centre for NeuroImaging Research – CENIR, Pitie-Salpetrière Hospital, Paris, France; ⁴Neuroradiology Department, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ⁵Neuroradiology Department, Pitie-Salpetriere, Paris, France

In this study, we used, in 43 MCA acute stroke patients with initial and follow-up MRI, ADC maps to study the tissue-at-risk location. To investigate this issue, time course of ADC changes between initial and follow-up MRI, impact of recanalization in final ADC-defined infarct areas, and relationship with key regions associated with poor outcome were assessed. Infarct expansion concerns perisylvian regions but also the deep MCA territory and part of the CST. The comparison of ADC maps of recanalized vs. non-recanalized and good vs. poor outcome patients shows a great overlap and involved the lenticular nucleus and the CST.

14:00         4415.     Acute Change of Tissue Perfusion in Acute Stroke Patients After TPA Treatment

Hongyu An¹, Andria Ford², Cihat Eldeniz¹, Katie Vo², Rosana Ponisio², Yasheng Chen¹, William Powers¹, Jin-Moo Lee², Weili Lin¹

¹University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; ²Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States

Spatial heterogeneity of tissue perfusion change was detected in acute patients after tPA treatment. Concurrent development of reperfusion and new hypoperfusion were observed.  Compared to the reperfused region, the nonreperfused region had a significantly greater MTT prolongation, suggesting that tissue with a more severe initial injury is more likely to remain hypoperfused. Moreover, the nonreperfused regions had the highest risk of infarction, followed by new hypoperfused and reperfused regions.

14:30         4416.     ADC-Based Prediction of MCA Infarct Growth: Validation in 216 Acute Stroke Patients

Charlotte Rosso^1,2, Yohan Attal², Sandrine Deltour¹, Nidiyare Hevia-Montiel², Eric Bardinet^2,3, Dider Dormont^2,4, Stephane Lehericy^2,4, Sylvain Baillet², Yves Samson^1,5

¹Urgences Cerebro-Vasculaires, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ²CRICM, INSERM UMR S_975, CNRS UMR_7725, Equipe COGIMAGE, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ³Centre for NeuroImaging Research – CENIR, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ⁴Neuroradiology Department, Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, Paris, France; ⁵CRICM, INSERM UMR S_975, CNRS UMR_7725, Equipe COGIMAGE, Pitie-Salpetriere, Paris, France

In this work, we used ADC maps to predict infarct growth. The method is based on an algorithm able to make the initial infarct lesion growing up, taking in account the slight ADC decrease which occurs in the at-risk tissue. Patients (n=216) with MCA acute stroke confirmed by an initial (<6H) and a control MRI have been tested. Predicted vs. final infarct sizes and growths were significantly correlated. The accuracy to predict infarct growth status (patients with or without infarct growth) reached 76 %. The ADC-defined tissue-at-risk is a hallmark of the penumbra since MCA recanalization could spare it.

15:00         4417.     Change in Axial and Radial Diffusional Kurtoses for Ischemic Stroke

Jens H. Jensen¹, Maria F. Falangola^1,2, Caixia Hu¹, Ali Tabesh¹, Calvin Lo¹, Otto Rapalino^1,3, Joseph A. Helpern^1,2

¹Radiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ²Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Nathan S. Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, United States; ³Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

Diffusional kurtosis imaging was applied to measure the axial and radial diffusional kurtoses for three patients with subacute focal ischemic stroke. For all three patients, the axial diffusional kurtoses increased substantially in the affected regions (relative to the contralateral side), but for two of the subjects, the radial diffusional kurtoses showed little change. In these two cases, the affected regions appeared to be primarily in white matter, suggesting that for white matter ischemia mainly alters the diffusional kurtosis in the axial direction.

13:30         4418.     Arterial Spin Label Imaging of Transient Ischemic Attack

Greg Zaharchuk¹, Jean-Marc Olivot², Roland Bammer¹, Ajit Shankaranarayanan³, Michael Mlynash², Gregory W. Albers², Michael E. Moseley¹

¹Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; ²Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; ³Applied Sciences Laboratory - West, GE Healthcare, Menlo Park, CA, United States

ASL can detect subtle alterations in CBF and arterial arrival times. ASL abnormalities (including the borderzone sign) can be detected in the majority of acute hemispheric TIA patients and may therefore be able to provide objective evidence of a true vascular event.

14:00         4419.     Susceptibility Weighted Imaging in Patients with Occlusion of Middle Cerebral Artery

Bum-soo KIM¹, Jae-Young Byun¹, Yoon-joo Lee¹, So-lyung Jung¹, Kook-jin Ahn¹, Won-san Jung¹, Won-jong Yoo¹, Young-joo Kim¹

¹Department of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

In this study, imaging findings of SWI were retrospectively reviewed and analysed for 12 consecutive patients with occlusion of middle cerebral artery. Total or partial loss of arterial bright signal intensity in ipsilateral sylvian fissure was most frequently seen, followed by dark blooming of intravascular clot, prominent venous hypointense signal of the medullary / cortical vein, global hemorrhagic transformation. SWI provides valuable information in diagnosis and evaluation of patient with middle cerebral artery stroke.

14:30         4420.     PC-MRI Study of Cerebral Blood and CSF Flow Patterns in Patients with Diagnosed Cerebral Venous Thrombosis.

Souraya Stoquart-Elsankari¹, Marek Czosnyka², Pierre Lehmann³, Hervé Deramond³, Olivier Balédent¹

¹Biophysics and Image Treatment, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens, France; ²Department of Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom; ³NeuroRadiology, Amiens University Hospital, Amiens, France

Our objectives were to study by PC-MRI intracranial flow alterations in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). Thanks to a specific selection of MRI parameters, and of key-parameter velocity encoding values, intracerebral and cervical arterial and venous flows, as well as cervical and ventricular CSF flows were evaluated in 6 patients with diagnosed CVT on MR Venography. PCMRI did not detect any venous flow in the veins and/or sinuses with thrombosis detected on Venography, and it showed alterations of CSF flows in 5/6 patients. PC-MRI is a complementary tool in the evaluation of venous thrombosis effects on intracranial dynamics.

15:00         4421.     Clinical Significance of Ischemic Hypointense Findings in Vessels and Tissue in Gradient Echo T2*-Weighted Images at 3 Tesla Evaluated by Simple Visual Estimation in Stroke Patients Treated with Intravenous Rt-PA

Masafumi Harada¹, Hitoshi Kubo¹, Naomi Morita², Hiromu Nishitani², Tsuyoshi Matsuda³

¹Department of Medical Imaging, Univeristy of Tokushima, Institute of Health Biosciences, Tokushima City, Tokushima, Japan; ²Department of Radiology, Univeristy of Tokushima, Institute of Health Biosciences, Tokushima City, Tokushima, Japan; ³GE Healthcare Japan, Hino, Tokyo, Japan

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of Ischemic vessels (IschV) and tissue (IschT) signs in gradient echo T2*-weighted images (Gre T2*-WIs) and the correlation of clinical outcome with visual recognition of these signs. The current study may indicate that IschT sign in Gre T2*-WI at 3 tesla would include more severe ischemia than IschV sign and is therefore a candidate for determination of risk for deteriorated outcome with Gre T2*-WI at 3 tesla.

MRA & CSF Studies with Clinical Applications

14:00         4422.     Resolving Arterial Contributions in Vessel Encoding Dynamic Angiography

Michael A. Chappell^1,2, Tom W. Okell¹, Peter Jezzard¹, Mark W. Woolrich¹

¹FMRIB Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; ²Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Using a Vessel Encoded Arterial Spin Labelling preparation it is possible to provide non-invasive vessel selective angiography. However, the ability to separate the contributions from all the labelled arteries, e.g. all four carotids and vertebrals, can be limited by the specification of the acquisition. Here a new analysis method for VE-ASL data, that can separate different vessel contributions with even limited data, is modified and applied to angiographic images. Results for separation of carotids and vertebral are presented indicating that this is a viable alternative to highly invasive intra-arterial contrast methods.

14:30         4423.     Flow Velocity Measurement in the Carotid Bifurcation Using 4D Flow-Sensitive MRI and Doppler Ultrasound - not available

Andreas Harloff¹, Timo Zech¹, Felix Wegent¹, Simon Bauer¹, Martin Schumacher¹, Michael Markl¹

¹University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Flow-sensitive 4D MRI was used to assess absolute blood flow velocities within the carotid bifurcation in healthy volunteers and patients with high-grade internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis before and after carotid endarterectomy. MRI data were compared with Doppler ultrasound as the reference method. Reliability and reproducibility of MRI based measurements were tested. Velocity measurement was feasible at any desired site of the carotid bifurcation. Compared to Doppler ultrasound, however, MRI underestimated systolic blood flow velocity by approximately 30%.

15:00         4424.     Implementing VERSE for Time of Flight RF Pulses at 7Tesla: Methodological Considerations

Sebastian Schmitter¹, Soeren Johst², Michael Bock², Kamil Ugurbil¹, Pierre-Francois van de Moortele¹

¹University of Minnesota, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Minneapolis, MN, United States; ²German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany

It has been shown that successful Time-of-flight (TOF) images can be obtained at 7T benefiting from higher SNR and longer tissue T1. However, because of SAR constraints, magnetization transfer pulses that are used at 1.5T/3T cannot be used at 7T, saturation pulses are often skipped and the flipangle is limited. These issues can be addressed using the VERSE principle to decrease SAR. However, VERSE pulses are more sensitive to δB0. Here, we investigate in simulations and in vivo the impact of off-resonance frequencies on RF excitation profile of ramp shaped RF pulses (TONE) when applying VERSE at 7T.

15:30         4425.     Insight Into the Anatomy of Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow in the Human Ventricular System Using MR Velocity Mapping

Andreas Stadlbauer¹, Wilma van der Riet², Erich Salomonowitz¹

¹MR Physics Group, Department of Radiology, Landesklinikum St. Poelten, St. Poelten, Austria; ²European MRI Consultancy (EMRIC), Strasbourg, France

To study the spatial and temporal dynamics of CSF flow in the ventricular system of 40 normal volunteers using time-resolved 3D magnetic resonance velocity mapping. Classification of CSF flow based on calculation of 3D particle path lines over the cardiac cycle revealed one uniform flow pattern for the lateral ventricles, three categories for the third and two categories for the fourth ventricle. We found no significant aging effects on both the presence of a specific CSF flow pattern and on flow velocities. Our results provide the first detailed demonstration of the anatomy of CSF flow within the human ventricular system.

13:30         4426.     3D MRA with Dynamic Sequence Switching: Improved Imaging of the Arterial and Venous Phases

Petrice M. Mostardi¹, Clifton R. Haider¹, Norbert G. Campeau¹, Stephen J. Riederer¹

¹Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States

Time-resolved CE-MRA is widely used for imaging the intracranial arterial system, while a single high spatial resolution acquisition is generally used for the intracranial venous system.  The goal of this work was to combine these two studies into a single contrast-enhanced acquisition.  A time-resolved CAPR sequence was played out for about 50 sec for arterial phase imaging, providing images every 3.57 sec.  Then, by seamlessly switching to a high spatial resolution, 38 sec long scan, data for a venogram was acquired.  High speed reconstruction further allows the time of switching to be done in real time on a patient-specific basis.

14:00         4427.     High-Resolution Non-Contrast Enhanced Dark Blood Brain Vessel Imaging Using a Balanced Steady State 3D Projection Reconstruction Sequence

Aiming Lu¹, Keith R. Thulborn¹

¹Center for MR Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequences have been used for non-contrast enhanced vessel imaging due to its high SNR efficiency and bright blood signal. However, as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) signal is also bright in SSFP images, the application of these techniques to brain has been limited. In this work, we demonstrate that instead of appearing as bright signal, the vessels in the brain have low signal intensity in high-resolution 3T images. Using a dual-half-echo 3D projection reconstruction based SSFP sequence, our results show that non-contrast enhanced high-resolution vessel imaging can be obtained rapidly along with high quality T2-contrast images.

14:30         4428.     Automated Calculation of Wall Shear Stress in the Middle Cerebral Arteries of Healthy Volunteers Using PC-VIPR and Spline Interpolation

Warren Chang¹, Yijing Wu, Kevin Johnson, Andrew Wentland², Steven Kecskemeti³, Charles Mistretta¹, Patrick Turski¹

¹Radiology/Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States; ²Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison , WI, United States; ³Physics/Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States

Time-average wall shear stress in the M1 segment of the middle cerebral arteries of 10 healthy volunteers was calculated using automated spline interpolation. The velocity measurements were acquired using PC-VIPR, a fast undersampled phase-contrast MRA technique that allows whole-brain imaging in 5 minutes with sub-millimeter spatial resolution.  The calculated average WSS for the proximal MCA was 0.20 Pa (S.D. 0.016 Pa) consistent with published values for PC-MRA. This report shows that fast, automated, non-invasive estimation of wall shear stress can be obtained in middle and large-sized intracranial arteries that are prone to the development of atherosclerosis and other cerebrovascular disorders.

15:00         4429.     Low Dose, Supraortic 3D Time-Resolved MR Angiography at 3T: Comparison with High Spatial Resolution 3D Contrast-Enhanced MR Angiography

Yoon-joo Lee¹, Jae-young Byun¹, So-lyung Jung¹, Won-jong Yoo¹, Young-joo Kim¹, Kook-jin Ahn¹, Bum-soo KIM¹

¹Department of Radiology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

This study evaluates feasibility and effectiveness of low-dose TR-CEMRA (with injection of 1cc of Gadobutrol followed by 20cc of saline) performed in the assessment of supraaortic vessel, acquired with combination of parallel imaging (GRAPA) and view-sharing technique (TWIST) at 3T. Retrospective evaluation of image quality and stenosis grade by two neuroradiologist was done, and compared with the results from high-resolution single-phase CEMRA. The overall image quality for low-dose TR-CEMRA was in diagnostic range, comparable to HR-CEMRA. In grading of stenosis, TR-CEMRA showed concordant results with HR-CEMRA in 90.8%, with relatively more number of overestimation than underestimation.

13:30         4430.     Non-Contrast Dynamic MRA Using TrueFISP Based Spin Tagging with Alternating Radiofrequency (TrueSTAR) in Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation

Sumei Wang¹, Lirong Yan², Yan Zhuo², Ronald L. Wolf¹, Michael F. Stiefel¹, Jing An³, Elias R. Melhem¹, Jiongjiong Wang¹

¹Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States; ²State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; ³Siemens Mindit Magnetic Resonance Ltd., Shenzhen, China

Five patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were evaluated using a novel dynamic MRA (dMRA) technique termed TrueFISP based Spin Tagging with Alternating Radiofrequency (TrueSTAR). The results are compatible with time-of-flight (TOF) MRA results. Dynamic MRA demonstrated the blood flow pattern through feeding arteries, nidus and draining veins with high temporal resolution (<100ms), and may provide complementary information in the clinical evaluation of AVMs.

14:00         4431.     Assessment of Cervical Venous Stenosis in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Using 4D Flow MRI - not available

Albert Hsiao¹, Greg Zaharchuk¹, Robert Herfkens¹, Nancy J. Fischbein¹, Marcus T. Alley¹, Michael Dake²

¹Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; ²Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

Multiple sclerosis patients have unusual venous drainage patterns, which we have characterized using 4D velocity-encoded cine phase contrast MRI.

14:30         4432.     High Field in Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Lenticulostriate Arteries in CADASIL

Michael K. Liem¹, Saskia A.J. Lesnik Oberstein², Maarten J. Versluis¹, Joost Haan³, Andrew G. Webb¹, Michel D. Ferrari³, Mark A. van Buchem¹, Jeroen van der Grond¹

¹Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ²Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; ³Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands

In this study we examined luminal diameters of lenticulostriate arteries in patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). Twenty-two CADASIL patients and 11 controls were examined using high resolution 3D-time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF MRA) imaging on a 7-Tesla MRI scanner. No differences between CADASIL patients and controls were found in length, total number or total cross-sectional area of lenticulostriate artery lumina. Measurements of lenticostriate arteries were not associated with lacunar infarct load in the basal ganglia area.

15:00         4433.     Comparison Between 3D Phase Contrast MRI and Computational Fluid Dynamics in Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms.

Joppe Schneiders¹, Pim van Ooij², Joost van den Berg¹, Ed van Bavel², Aart J. Nederveen¹, Charles B. Majoie¹

¹Radiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands; ²Biomedical Engineering & Physics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands

In this study we compare time averaged 4D MRI of intracranial aneurysms and surrounding vessels with simulations created using Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD). The vessel geometry is obtained from high resolution 3D rotational angiography and inflow velocity is derived from 2D PC MR velocity measurements. We compared 4 patients with unruptured aneurysms, visualising the intra-aneurysmal flow pattern. With both modalities it is possible to visualise intra-aneurysmal flow patterns, with good agreement between the two different techniques.

13:30         4434.     Global Pulse Wave Velocity in 87 Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke and Aortic Atherosclerosis - not available

Andreas Harloff¹, Wolf Wallis, Christoph Strecker, Stephanie Brendecke, Jan Simon, Cornelius Weiller, Jürgen Hennig², Michael Markl²

¹Neurology, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; ²Diagnostic Radiology/MR Physics

The aim was to evaluate the feasibility of a new method for estimating aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) using flow-sensitive 4D MRI. PWV was calculated by fitting a plane to all available data of the upslope portion of multiple flow waveforms along the entire aorta. The value for the assessment of pulse wave velocity in the thoracic aorta was tested in 12 normal subjects and in 87 patients with advanced aortic atherosclerosis. Analysis included a systematic evaluation of reproducibility, inter- and intra-observer variability. Results indicate a relationship of the estimated compliance with age, aortic shape and the presence of disease.

14:00         4435.     Flow Residence Time Predicts the Location of Intra-Aneurysmal Thrombus:  Numerical Modeling Based on MRA and MRV Data

Vitaliy L. Rayz¹, Loic Boussel², Liang Ge³, Joe R. Leach¹, Alastair J. Martin¹, Michael T. Lawton⁴, David Saloner¹

¹Radiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²Creatis-LRMN (LB, PCD), Lyon, France; ³Surgery, University of California San Francisco; ⁴Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco

Thrombus deposition in cerebral aneurysms presents an increased risk of thrombo-embolism. The effect of increased flow residence time (RT) on thrombus deposition was investigated using a new numerical flow visualization technique. MR angiography and MR velocimetry data were used to construct patient-specific numerical models of the flow in three basilar aneurysms with known regions of thrombus deposition. The flow RT maps computed with CFD in the base-line geometries were compared with intra-aneurysmal regions that were observed to clot at the follow-up MRI studies. The results show that intra-aneurysmal regions with increased flow residence time are prone to thrombus deposition.

14:30         4436.     MR Velocity Mapping of 3D Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow in the Patients with Enlarged Ventricular System: Preliminary Results

Andreas Stadlbauer¹, Wilma van der Riet², Erich Salomonowitz¹

¹MR Physics Group, Department of Radiology, Landesklinikum St. Poelten, St. Poelten, Austria; ²European MRI Consultancy (EMRIC), Strasbourg, France

To study the CSF-flow dynamics in nine patients with enlarged ventricular system and nine volunteers using time-resolved 3D MR velocity mapping. Particle-path-lines were calculated to visualize CSF-flow patterns. From six patients with suspected hydrocephalus internus, four showed a hypomotile and two showed a hypermotile CSF-flow. From two patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus, one showed hypomotile and the other hypermotile CSF-flow. One patient who had undergone a ventriculostomy 10 yrs ago showed normal CSF-flow dynamics. These preliminary findings indicated changes in CSF-flow dynamics in patients with enlarged ventricular system, but further and more detailed studies are necessary.

15:00         4437.     Variability in Growth Rates of Fusiform, Dysmorphic Intracranial Aneurysms as Evaluated by CE-MRA

David Saloner^1,2, Loic Boussel³, Vitaliy Rayz¹, Alastair Martin¹, Michael Lawton⁴

¹Radiology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States; ²VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA; ³Radiology, CREATIS-LRMN, Lyon, France; ⁴Surgery, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States

Estimation of the stability of dysmorphic fusiform aneurysms of the intra-cranial internal carotid artery  requires precise monitoring of their volumes. We used MRA and 3D post-processing to study the evolution of these aneurysms on a prosepective cohort of patients with fusiform aneurysms of the intra-cranial internal carotid artery who were studied over multiple time points. The study found that MRA is an excellent method to monitor growth and that 3D quantitative volumetric methods should be employed to monitor whether any growth has occurred.  In dysmorphic, fusiform aneurysms of the anterior circulation growth rate was very slow supporting “watchful waiting”.

High Resolution Brain Imaging

14:00         4438.     Increased Detectability of Alzheimer Plaques at 7T Vs. 3T Using High Resolution BSSFP - not available

Michael Zeineh¹, Hagen Kitzler², Scott Atlas¹, Brian Rutt¹

¹Radiology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, United States; ²Neuroradiology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Beta amyloid plaques may have a significant role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. MRI has been used to visualize these plaques in humans ex vivo, but the etiology of the signal changes associated with plaques is unclear. We imaged 5 human AD specimens and 5 normal specimens at 3.0T and 7.0T with a 3.5 hour bSSFP sequence tailored to visualize plaques. While image SNR was approximately 1.7 times higher at high field, presumed plaque CNR was three times higher. This nonlinear increase may be explained by a field-sensitive microscopic component of amyloid plaques.

14:30         4439.     Reliable Amygdala Segmentation Using Clustering of Multimodal Data at 7 Tesla.

Eugenia Solano-Castiella¹, Gabriele Lohmann¹, Andreas Schäfer¹, Robert Trampel¹, Robert Turner¹

¹Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

The amygdala is a relatively small brain structure. Its location next to the sphenoidal sinus results in a variety of MR image artifacts, which increase with field strength. However, brain scanning at 7T provides considerable improvement of SNR and CNR having the potential for in vivo parcellation of amygdala images into neurologically significant subdivisions that may improve interpretation of fMRI-based neuropsychological studies. To improve clustering we used the strategy of combining images (GRE and TSE) having different contrast mechanisms. The analysis and clustering techniques we have developed for this purpose may assist parcellation of other deep brain structures.

15:00         4440.     Segmentation of the Frontal Lobe Using Inversion Recovery Cortical Layers Imaging

Daniel Barazany¹, Ory Levy¹, Yaniv Assaf¹

¹Neurobiology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Inversion recovery (IR) MRI provides a unique contrast that enables segmentation of the cortex in a laminar way. In this work we used multi IR images to cluster the frontal lobe into 5 distinct laminar sub-cortical structures. We found that each cluster has its own relaxation curve. Statistical analysis on the composition of 6 Brodmann's areas (BA) along the frontal lobe has shown that there is an interaction between different BAs and the MRI clusters. To validate our methodology, we were capable to identify the stripe of Gennari at BA17 in the visual cortex using this framework.

15:30         4441.     Anatomical Imaging at 7 T Using 2D GRASE – a Comparison with 2D TSE

Robert Trampel¹, Robin Martin Heidemann¹, Robert Turner¹

¹Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

Specific absorption rate (SAR) is a serious problem at high field strengths, especially for sequences such as Turbo Spin-Echo (TSE). For a given desired tissue contrast, SAR reduction can provide either faster imaging or greater spatial coverage per unit time. By omitting most of the refocusing pulses of TSE, and replacing them with segmented EPI readouts, GRASE (Gradient-and-Spin-Echo) incurs much less SAR. Careful comparison of TSE and GRASE images at 7 T showed very similar SNR and contrast. The very slight decrease in GRASE image quality is balanced by a significant reduction in scan time (x 1/3) or increase in spatial coverage (x 3) as compared with TSE.

13:30         4442.     MEG-Guided Surface Coil Imaging at 3 Tesla in Patients with Refractory Epilepsy: Preliminary Results

Samuel Lapere¹, Evelien Carrette², Paul Boon², Kristl Vonck², Xavier De Tiège³, Eric Achten¹, Karel Deblaere¹

¹Department of Radiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium; ²Reference Center for Refractory Epilepsy, Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital; ³Laboratoire de Cartographie Fonctionelle du Cerveau, ULB Erasmus Hospital Brussels, Belgium

Patients with refractory epilepsy in whom the epileptogenic zone cannot be precisely identified are not likely to undergo resective surgery. This study aims to assess the potential of surface coil imaging at 3T guided by magnetoencephalography (MEG) to locate the epileptogenic zone. Fifteen patients with dipole clustering on MEG (indicating the possible epileptogenic zone) were scanned with a surface coil at 3T. MEG-guided surface coil imaging at 3T showed an added value in the detection of lesions previously not visible or missed on 3T MRI, and demonstrated an improved delineation and electrophysiological validation of previously known lesions.

14:00         4443.     Increased Gray Matter Volume and Cortical Surface Area of Left Pars Opercularis in Male Orchestral Musicians Correlated Positively with Years of Musical Performance

Ihssan Abdul-Kareem¹, Andrej Stancak², Laura Parkes³, Vanessa Sluming¹

¹School of Health Sciences, Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; ²Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom; ³Department of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, School of Cancer and Imaging Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Musicians’ brains have long been studied for possible structural brain differences in response to skill acquisition. Broca’s region is crucial for several musically relevant abilities. We compare manual gray and white matter volume measurements and automatic cortical surface area measurements of Broca’s region subparts: pars opercularis (POP) and pars triangularis between 26 musicians and 26 non-musicians, all right handed. Musicians have significantly increased gray matter volume and cortical surface area of left POP which was positively correlated with years of musical performance. We hypothesize that prolonged skill acquisition is an environmentally enriching activity resulting in structural reorganization of left POP.

14:30         4444.     High Resolution Magnetization Transfer Imaging at 3T VS. 1.5T

Ying Wu^1,2, Christine O'Brien³, Christopher Glielmi⁴, Hongyan Du⁵, Robert Edelman^2,3, Ann Ragin⁶

¹Radiology , NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; ²Radiology , University of Chicago; ³Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States; ⁴Cardiovascular MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare; ⁵NorthShore University HealthSystem Research Institute; ⁶Radiology, Northwestern University

The increased field strength at 3T significantly improved image quality of high resolution Magnetization Transfer Images, while the increased scan variation at higher field strength is a potential concern; this investigation indicated that relative to 1.5T, the 3T scanner is conducive to more consistent MTR measurement over time. Importantly, our findings in the human study indicate excellent reproducibility in regions such as the hippocampus that are critical regions for detecting early changes in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Our results demonstrate the promising potential of high resolution MT for clinical application.

15:00         4445.     Complex Histogram Based Analysis for Visualization of MRI Data

Peter Arjan Wassenaar¹, Michael V. Knopp¹, Petra Schmalbrock¹

¹Radiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States

Especially at high fields, MRI data contain useful information stemming from the presence of paramagnetic material.  This work introduces a new approach to visualizing complex MRI data based on the concept of complex histograms.  Complex histograms provide a representation of both magnitude and phase data simultaneously.  Furthermore, a complex color mapping scheme is introduced for the visualization of complex images, while retaining both magnitude and phase information.  Finally, complex histograms may provide the starting point to tissue segmentation through constraints defined in the complex plane.

13:30         4446.     Imaging at 7T Reveals New Septated Fine Structure in the Human Corpus Callosum

Chris Wiggins¹, Andreas Schaefer², Bibek Dhital², Denis Le Bihan¹, Robert Turner²

¹CEA NeuroSpin, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; ²Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

At 7 T, high resolution structural imaging shows fine details of brain structures in vivo. Examining such images of the adult human corpus callosum, we have discovered two-dimensional planar structures never previously described with traditional histological techniques. Analysis of good quality DTI data at 3T supports this observation, showing a second preferred direction of water diffusion. Interhemispheric axonal connections show detailed laminar ordering at submillimeter scale.

14:00         4447.     Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cranial Nerves at 7 Tesla

Astrid Ellen Grams^1,2, Oliver Kraff, ^1,2, Stephan Orzada, ^1,2, Stefan Maderwald, ^1,2, Janine Kalkmann¹, Mark E. Ladd, ^1,2, Michael Forsting¹, Elke Ruth Gizewski^1,2

¹Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen, NRW, Germany; ²Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, University Hospital Essen, Essen, NRW, Germany

In the present study the feasibility of cranial nerve imaging with a 7 Tesla whole body scanner was investigated. For this purpose four sequences were evaluated. A 3D-TrueFISP sequence allowed the best cranial nerve detection rate in a reasonable scan time. This sequence seems to be superior at the moment as in the 3D-CISS, the “gold standard” sequence at lower magnetic field strengths, no parallel imaging could be performed.

14:30         4448.     Imaging of the Inner Ear at 7T: Initial Results

Taro Takahara¹, Hans Hoogduin¹, Fredy Vissor¹, Shinji Naganawa², Thomas Kwee¹, Peter Luijten¹

¹Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; ²Radiology, Nagoya Univeristy, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

To our knowledge, this is the first time the inner ear was imaged at 7T using a 3D-turbo spin echo sequence. Although not all parts of the inner ear could be visualized well due to inhomogeneities, our results are promising and  may have a positive impact for future (MR) studies of cochlear implants. Improvement in B1 shimming and dedicated RF pulses are expected to further improve image quality.

15:00         4449.     Anatomical Phenotyping of Cerebellum and Vestibulo-Cochlear Organ in Mice Using Contrast Enhanced Micro-MRI

Kamila Urszula Szulc¹, Edward Joseph Houston¹, Roy V. Sillitoe², Alexandra L. Joyner³, Daniel H. Turnbull^1,4

¹Skirball Institute, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ²Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; ³Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY; ⁴Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

In this study we demonstrate a potential of contrast enhanced micro-MRI approach for simultaneous anatomical phenotyping of the cerebellum and the vestibulo-cochlear organ in wild type mice and Gbx2-CKO mutant mice, which have severe defects in the Cb in the form of deletion of its central part. Additionally, these mice display abnormalities in the anatomy of flocculus-paraflocculus complex, a region of the Cb that receives projections from the vestibular organs and is critical for normal vestibular function. It was therefore of interest to determine whether the Cb defects were accompanied by additional, previously overlooked abnormalities in the vestibulo-cochlear organ.

13:30         4450.     The Reproducibility of Phase and R₂^* Acquired with Multi Echo Susceptibility Weighted Imaging

Christian Denk¹, Alexander Rauscher¹

¹UBC MRI Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Due to their  high sensitivity to changes in iron content, phase images and maps of R2* relaxation obtained with gradient echo techniques have been gaining popularity in the imaging of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the reproducibility of these techniques has not been investigated yet.  Therefore, we determined the reproducibility of  phase and R2* maps acquired with multi echo susceptibility weighted imaging and found that the intersession coefficient of variation is much smaller in phase images than in R2* maps.

14:00         4451.     Vessel Contrast in Susceptibility Weigthed Imaging (SWI) Under Inhalated Anesthesia with Different Oxygen Pressure

Marina Benito¹, Alexia Rodríguez-Ruano², Cristina Chavarrias¹, Paula Montesinos¹, Manuel Desco¹

¹Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Experimental, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; ²Unidad de Medicina y Cirugía Experimental , Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain

SWI allows to delineate the cerebral veins in  high quality, however during the MRI exam animals are anaesthetized. Anesthetics make vary the venous contrast depending on the deepness of anesthesia, but when using inhalated anesthesia  the venous response on SWI also depends on the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) in the supplied gas. This study investigates how the pressure of oxygen in the supplied gas affects the venous contrast in SWI in order to study the microvasculature of the rat brain.

14:30         4452.     Detection of Cerebral Microbleeds with Dual Echo T2*-Weighted MR Imaging at 7.0 Tesla

Mandy Conijn¹, Mirjam Geerlings, Peter Luijten, Jaco Zwanenburg, Jeroen Hendrikse

¹Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands

The interest in microbleeds is increasing, however, prevalence estimates differ substantially between studies, due to differences in image protocols and field strengths. This study assessed the visualization of cerebral microbleeds with dual-echo T2*-weighted imaging at 7T MRI in ten patients with vascular disease. The first echo images showed a large contrast between microbleeds and the surrounding tissue. On the second echo images microbleeds were larger in size, but some were not visible due to overlap with structures with a high susceptibility. Dual-echo T2*-weighted imaging combines the advantages of the first and second echo time for the visualization of microbleeds at 7T.

15:00         4453.     High Spatiotemporal Resolution Whole Brain Susceptibility Weighted Imaging Using Parallel Imaging

Song Lai¹, John Lackey¹

¹Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Parallel imaging was explored for speeding up data acquisition of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI). Combination of SENSE with segmented EPI lead to sub-minute data acquisition with whole brain coverage and 1mmx1mmx1mm isotropic voxels, making SWI a completely clinically applicable technique for many applications.

fMRI in Brain Disorders

14:00         4454.     Compensatory Mechanisms During Motor Sequence Learning in Parkinson’s Disease. a FMRI Study.

Maite Aznarez-Sanado¹, Maria Asuncion Fernandez-Seara¹, Federico Villagra¹, Francis R. Loayza¹, Jaione Irigoyen¹, Gonzalo Arrondo¹, Elena Erro², Maria Asuncion Pastor¹

¹Neuroscience, Center for Applied Medical Research. University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain; ²Servicio de Neurología, Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra

We aimed to study using fMRI differences in neural patterns during motor sequence learning and automatic performance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The comparison of the early learning phase in the PD group with the control group revealed increased activity in cortical and cerebellar areas and right putamen in the PD group. The most affected hand recruited contralateral basal ganglia more significantly than the non affected hand in the PD group.

14:30         4455.     Differential Brain Activation Pattern for a Simple Motor Task in Parkinsonism: An FMRI Study

Mohit Saxena¹, Senthil S. Kumaran², Sumit Singh¹, Madhuri Behari¹

¹Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; ²Department of N.M.R., All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Parkinsonism including Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy, is characterized by motor dysfunction. In this fMRI study, we observed differential activation pattern among the above three categories. Also, motor dysfunction improved with the intake of dopaminergic drugs.

15:00         4456.     Levodopa Differentially Modulates Subcortical Activity in Parkinson’s Disease During Self-Initiated Internally Timed Movements Compared to Movements Following a Cued Period.

Jolyn NA D'Andrea¹, Angela Haffenden², Sarah Furtado², Oksana Suchowersky^2,3, Bradley G. Goodyear, ^2,4

¹Medical Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada; ²Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ³Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ⁴Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Parkinson’s patients have difficulty performing self-initiated movements. Levodopa can reduce this functional deficit by focusing brain activity to areas necessary for task performance. The current study investigates how levodopa modulates brain activity in Parkinson’s patients during the performance of internally timed motor tasks, with and without a preceding cue. Our results show that levodopa has a differential effect on the involvement of ipsilateral basal ganglia and thalamus depending on whether internally driven movements are self-initiated or initiated by a cue. This has practical implications for helping Parkinson’s patients cope with behavioral deficits, and could impact future pharmacological interventions.

15:30         4457.     Gender Dependent Response of Dopaminergic Administration in  Parkinson’s Disease: A FMRI Study

Mohit Saxena¹, Senthil S. Kumaran², Sumit Singh¹, Madhuri Behari¹

¹Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; ²Department of N.M.R., All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors apart from bradykinesia, rigidity and postural imbalance.  The tremors often present motor dysfunction. We carried out this FMRI study to distinguish the brain activation pattern in the male and female Parkinson’s disease patients and the response of dopaminergic drugs in male and female patients.

13:30         4458.     Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Alters Cortical Functioning in Sustained and Shifting Attention Tasks

Xiangchuan Chen¹, Claire D. Coles², Mary E. Lynch², Xiaoping Hu¹

¹Biomedical Imaging Technology Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

Neural basis underlying behavioral alterations induced by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) remains unclear. In this study, fMRI was used to investigate the cortical functioning of individuals with PAE in sustained and shifting attention tasks. The results suggest that the composition of the cortical attention network is not significantly changed by PAE. Instead, the neural activity of some critical regions in this network (FEF and IPS) is significantly reduced, resulting in more involvement of other regions when PAE individuals are performing more difficult tasks. PAE individuals with or without external features may have different functional reorganization and compensation mechanisms.

14:00         4459.     Neural Underpinning from Goal-Directed Drug Seeking to Dysfunctional Stimulus-Response Habit: Increased Nucleus Accumbens – Caudate Connectivity in Heroin Addicts

Alexander D. Cohen¹, Chunming Xie², Wenjun Li¹, Theodore Tianrun Zhang¹, Zheng Yang³, Shi Jiang Li¹

¹Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States; ²Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee , WI, United States; ³Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Science, Beijing, China

This abstract compares resting state functional connectivity (FC) in heroin addicts to matched-control subjects using the nucleus accumbens (NAc) as a seed in an attempt to better understand the underlying processes of addiction.  Correlation values were obtained for each subject on a voxelwise basis in 13 addiction associated regions, and then compared via t-test between groups.  Increased positive correlation was seen in the left insula, left precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex, and bilateral caudate body in heroin subjects vs. controls.  These results suggest increased NAc – caudate connectivity may underlie the shift from goal directed to habitual behavior in drug addiction.

14:30         4460.     Cocaine Exposure History Leads to Distinct Spatial and Temporal Response Patterns to Acute Cocaine Challenge in Rats

Hanbing Lu¹, Svetlana Chefer¹, Pradeep Kurup¹, Karine Guillem², D. Bruce Vaupel¹, Thomas J. Ross¹, Yihong Yang¹, Laura L. Peoples², Elliot A. Stein¹

¹Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Drug abuse remains a serious social problem. Long-lasting neuroadaptations following repeated drug exposure are thought to mediate compulsive drug seeking and taking behavior. In the present study, rats were trained to self-administered (SA) either I.V. cocaine (n=10) or oral sucrose (n=13) for 20 days using a long-access exposure regimen (6-h sessions), followed by 30 days of abstinence. A third untreated group (naïve rats, n=10) served as a control. Following an acute cocaine challenge, rats with repeated cocaine exposure history demonstrate significantly reduced response. In particular, in such regions as the prelimbic cortex, the infralimbic cortex and the ACC, cocaine SA rats have negative fMRI response, in contrast to positive response in cocaine naïve rats. These findings reinforce the role of prefrontal cortex in translation of motivational stimuli into adaptive motor response.

15:00         4461.     Altered Prefrontal-Amygdala Structural Connectivity in Adolescents Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine

Priya Santhanam¹, Zhihao Li¹, Longchuan Li¹, Claire Coles², Mary Ellen Lynch², Xiaoping Hu¹

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University

As prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) is known to affect emotional regulation, and since we have previously shown a functional disconnect in the PCE group between regions responsible for such regulation (VMPFC: ventral medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral amygdala), the present study examined the effect of PCE on structural connectivity between the VMPFC and amygdala. Using probabilistic tractography to identify tracts, results showed significantly lower tract volume and FA along the tracts connecting the VMPFC and left amygdala in the PCE group versus controls. This reduced structural integrity may affect functional connectivity and thus emotional regulation in individuals with PCE.

13:30         4462.     Evidence for a Decreased Activity of the Resting State Motor Network in Patients with ALS

Massimo Filippi¹, Martina Absinta¹, Federica Agosta¹, Maria A: Rocca¹, Paola Valsasina¹, Stefania Sala¹, Nilo Riva², Alessandro Prelle³, Domenico Caputo⁴, Michele Perini⁵, Raffaella Fazio², Giancarlo Comi²

¹Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ²Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; ³Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Neuroscience, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; ⁴Department of Neurology, Scientific Institute Fondazione Don Gnocchi, Milan, Italy; ⁵Department of Neurology, Ospedale di Gallarate, Gallarate, Italy

Functional connectivity within the sensorimotor networks during rest were explored in 19 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. Relationship between resting state (RS) fMRI and corticospinal tract (CST) damage was assessed. ICA analysis revealed two networks related to the sensorimotor system. ALS patients had voxels of decreased RS connectivity in the left primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC). Compared with controls, ALS patients also showed decreased average percentage RS signal change in several sensorimotor regions. Decreased RS activity in the SMC correlated with CST damage. Dysfunction of RS sensorimotor connectivity in ALS is likely to be a response to a selective CST damage.

14:00         4463.     Comparison of Cortical Stimulation and FMRI for Language and Motor Localization in Pediatric Patients

Andrew Poliakov¹, Dennis Shaw², Hillary Shurtleff³, Molly Warner³, Russell Saneto⁴, John Kuratani⁴, Edward Novotny, Jeff Ojemann⁵

¹Radiology , Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ²Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ³Neurology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ⁴Clinical&Translational Science, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ⁵Neurological Surgery, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States

We review our experience comparing fMRI to ESM for surgical planning in pediatric patients with intractable epilepsy.

14:30         4464.     Clinical FMRI Memory Evaluation in Pediatric Patients

Andrew Poliakov¹, Hillary Shurtleff², Molly Warner², Dennis Shaw³, Sumit Pruthi¹, Samuel Browd⁴, Edward Novotny⁴, Jeff Ojemann⁴

¹Radiology , Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ²Neurology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ³Radiology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; ⁴Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States

We developed a evaluated and fMRI paradigm for visual-spatial memory testing in pediatric patients

15:00         4465.     Altered Brain Activity of Defautl Mode Network in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Tun Wei Hsu^1,2, Wei Che Lin^1,3, Ching Po Lin¹

¹Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; ²Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; ³Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is one of the major complications of liver cirrhosis and a complex neurophysiological syndrome. It will be acts of confusion, personality changes, conscious changes and ups and downs of the neurological manifestations. Our purpose of this study is to investigate abnormalities of default mode networks in patients with liver cirrhosis.

13:30         4466.     fMRI in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Aziz M. Ulug¹, An Vo¹, Elisabeth Kozora^2,3, Glendalee Ramon⁴, Joann Vega⁴, Robert D. Zimmerman⁵, Doruk Erkan⁴, Michael D. Lockshin⁴

¹The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, United States; ²National Jewish Heath, Denver, CO, United States; ³University of Colorado Medical Center, Denver, CO, United States; ⁴Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States; ⁵Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, United States

Fourteen SLE patients, five APL patients and four normal controls were studied using fMRI and DTI.  We found significant DTI and fMRI differences among three groups.  In both patient groups, word generation task shows abnormal activation patterns in the frontal areas suggestive of recruitment of these areas during these tasks.  In the hippocampal area, there is a significant difference between APL and SLE group during N-back, word generation and rhyming tasks. In addition to regional differences, there is also whole brain diffusion changes between the patient groups and controls.

14:00         4467.     Retinotopy Extension in Primary Visual Cortex Associated with Perimetry Improvement in a Case of Hemianopia After Visual Restoration Therapy

Yi-Ching Lynn Ho^1,2, Amandine Cheze², Esben Thade Petersen^2,3, Albert Gjedde^1,4, Kong-Yong Goh⁵, Yih-Yian Sitoh², Xavier Golay^2,6

¹CFIN, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; ²Neuroradiology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore, Singapore; ³Clinical Imaging Research Centre, NUS, Singapore; ⁴University of Copenhagen, Denmark; ⁵Eye Institute, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore; ⁶Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, United Kingdom

So far, no clear physiological correlates have been given for the apparent visual field improvements of patients with post-chiasmal lesions after treatment, such as Visual Restoration Therapy (VRT). Using fMRI retinotopic mapping, we assessed a patient with complete homonymous hemianopia before and after VRT. The patient demonstrated residual neurovascular function and limited retinotopic organization around the lesion before therapy. Post therapy, the retinotopic representation around the lesion was modestly extended along with perimetry improvements, which may, to our knowledge, be the first report on primary visual cortex retinotopy recovery via ad hoc treatment of a patient with visual field loss.

14:30         4468.     fMRI Study of Sound-Color Synesthesia

Jianli Wang¹, Melissa Robinson-Long², Khristy Thompson³, Paul J. Eslinger^2,4, Catherine Lemley⁵

¹Radiology, Penn State University College of Medcine, Hershey, PA, United States; ²Neurology, Penn State University College of Medcine, Hershey, PA, United States; ³Biology, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, United States; ⁴Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, United States; ⁵Psychology, Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA, United States

Synesthesia is a condition that stimulation of one sensory modality will automatically trigger another un-stimulated perception modality. Here we reported the first fMRI study on sound-color synesthesia. The result shows that color center, angular gyrus and superior parietal cortex are involved in some sound-color photisms. Background noise control is critical in the study of sound-color synesthesia using fMRI. Our observation suggests that there may be different levels or subcategories of sound-color synesthesia and attention distraction may be an effective method for defining subcategories of this synesthesia.

15:00         4469.     fMRI in Patients with Lumbar Disc Disease: A Paradigm to Study Patients Over Time

Harish A. Sharma¹, Raj Gupta², William Olivero³

¹Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States; ²University of Illinois College of Medicine; ³Neurosurgery, Carle Foundation Hospital

Using fMRI to study pain has revealed new information about how the brain responds to painful stimuli and what regions of the brain are activated during pain. Unfortunately, many of the paradigms that are used in fMRI studies either fail to replicate the subject’s pain or painful stimuli is used in volunteers without pain. Moreover, longitudinal fMRI studies that follow patients who develop chronic pain from the acute phase of pain have not been performed.We developed an fMRI paradigm that reliably mimics a clinical pain syndrome in patients who have low back pain and leg pain from acute lumbar radiculopathy and lumbar degenerative disc disease.

DTI - Clinical Applications

14:00         4470.     Relationship Between Diffusion Entropy and Axonal Density in Human Brain

Quan Jiang^1,2, Niloufar Fozouni^1,2, Siamak Pourabdollah-Nejad¹, Zheng Gang Zhang¹, Norman L. Lehman³, Steven Gu⁴, Jiani Hu⁵, Hassan Bagher-Ebadian¹, Michael Chopp^1,2

¹Neurology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States; ²Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States; ³Pathology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States; ⁴Cornell University; ⁵MR Center, Wayne State University, Detroit

To overcome errors introduced via the assumption of a Gaussian diffusion tensor model when dealing with multiple fiber orientations, a diffusion entropy measurement is introduced to evaluate its relationship with axonal density and its ability to characterize brain tissues in different brain structures. Entropy appears not only to exhibit enhanced dynamic range of contrast compared with FA but also demonstrated a significant correlation with axonal density measured from immunohistological analysis. Our data suggest that entropy may provide important information on axonal reorganization in neurological diseases.

14:30         4471.     Comparison of FA Values from TBSS Vs Manual ROI

Nancy Rollins^1,2, Michael Morriss¹, Jonathan Chia³, Zhiyue Jerry Wang

¹Radiology, Childrens Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ²Radiology, University Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ³Philips HealthCare Systems

Operator-indepedant computerized analysis of FA and manual ROI analysis may be complimentary.  However, aalues derived from these 2 techniques may not be in agreement in all regions of the brain and the “gold standard” for determination of FA has not been determined.

15:00         4472.     Method for Assessing  Reproducibility of  Tractography Methods : Comparison Between Algorithms Used in Clinical Routine - not available

Fatima Tensaouti^1,2, Ihssan Lahlou², Jean Albert Lotterie^1,2, Isabelle Berry^1,2

¹Service Biophysique et Médecine Nucléaire, CHU Toulouse Rangueil,, Toulouse, France; ²Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III, Toulouse, France

The aim of the study is to evaluate the fiber tracking strategy in terms of acquisition schemes in conjunction with four algorithms: three deterministic (tensor deflection, tensor lines, streamlines) and statistical algorithm. The pyramidal tract was investigated in 12 healthy subjects. Quantitative comparison between tracts was calculated by using boolean operators on tractus volumes. Inter-exam reproducibility was evaluated by comparing fiber tracking results from the same acquisition scheme on the first and second exam. The study highlights growing reliability of reproducibility results based on the number of directions employed during the acquisition and the method of tractography used.

15:30         4473.     Novel Standardization Algorithm GAMA for Repetitive Evaluation of Fractional Anisotropy in Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Akira Matsushita¹, Satoru Osuka¹, Yasushi Shibata¹, Kousaku Saotome², Yasushi Nagatomo³, Yoji Komatsu⁴, Satoshi Ayuzawa¹, Akira Matsumura¹

¹Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; ²Dept. of Radiological Technology, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; ³Dept.of Neurosurgery, Mito Gamma House, Katsuta, Ibaraki, Japan; ⁴Dept. of Neurosurgery, Tsukuba Medical Center Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

It is important that the region of interest (ROI) has enough repeatability especially for serial measurement. We developed the novel algorithm and software GAMA using diffusion tensor imaging. The GAMA can point out the regions as corpus callosum or pyramidal tract automatically. Therefore, we can use GAMA with very brief handling. Additionally, GAMA could evaluate FA in that region with higher reproducibility than the conventional ROI methods with the free-handed ROI or the size-fixed sphere ROI.

13:30         4474.     White Matter Integrity Analyzed by Tract-Based Spatial Statistics in Elderly Subjects Without White Matter Lesions

Daniel Han-en Chang¹, L Tugan Muftuler¹, Huali Wang^2,3, Orhan Nalcioglu¹, Min-Ying Lydia Su¹

¹Tu & Yuen Center for Functional Onco-Imaging, University of California, Irvine, CA, United States; ²Dementia Care Research Center, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, China; ³Key Laboratory for Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Beijing, China

Subjects with Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment have decreased white matter integrity in comparison to healthy controls, which can quantified as fractional anisotropic (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values by DTI methods. Tract-based-spatial-statistics (TBSS) is a frequently used robust method for comparing FA maps between different subject groups; however, most published studies analyzed subjects without excluding subjects with white matter lesions, which may have an effect on FA and MD values. In order to examine this possible effect, we excluded subjects with white matter lesions from our study cohort and performed TBSS. Our results were consistent with what literature reports.

14:00         4475.     Probabilistic Fiber Tracking from the Pre-SMA and SMA Proper: Implications for Language and Motor White Matter Networks

Kyung K. Peck¹, Seyedeh Jenabi², Robert Young, Lucas Parra², Andrei Holodny

¹Medical Physics and Radiology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States; ²City University of New York

In this study, we seek to expand on this study by using diffusion tensor imaging to compare the pattern of white matter fibers originating from two different fMRI guided seed regions; the pre-SMA and the SMA-proper defined by fMRI language and motor paradigm respectively. We hypothesized that pre-SMA seed derived from the language paradigm will connect more readily to the frontal areas known to be associated with language function including Broca’s Area

14:30         4476.     Correlation of Quantitative Sensori-Motor Tractography with Clinical Grade of Cerebral Palsy

Richa Trivedi¹, Shruti Agarwal², Vipul Shah³, Puneet Goyal⁴, Vimal K. Paliwal⁵, Ram KS Rathore⁶, Rakesh Kumar Gupta⁷

¹NMR Research Centre, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, India; ²Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; ³3Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery unit, Bhargava Nursing Home, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁴Anesthesiology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁵Neurology, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁶Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology, , Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁷Radiodiagnosis, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Diffusion tensor tractography using FACT algorithm was performed on 39 children with different grades of cerebral palsy (CP) defined using the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) to look for probable correlation between tract-specific DTI metrics in sensorymotor pathways and clinical grades. A significant inverse correlation was observed between fractional anisotropy (FA) in both sensory and motor pathways and clinical grades. In this study we extend our understanding of the pathophysiology of CP by showing that DTI measures in both motor and sensory pathways reflects the degree of motor deficits.

15:00         4477.     Study of Neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with DTI and FAIR

Xiaozhen Li¹, Zhengguang Chen²

¹Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China; ²Radiology, First Hospital of Tsinghua, Beijing, China

Conventional neuroimaging cannot help us either to differentiate between chronic and acute brain lesions or to improve in our understanding of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis because of the high probability of a Neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE) event. The fMRI including DTI, which demonstrates the tissue water mobility in brain tissue, and flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR), which reveals the relative cerebral blood flow, may help to further assess the possible abnormality in neuronal and neural vascular reactivity in NPSLE. In this study we found in combination of ADC, FA, rCBF have high sensitivity in detecting earlier pathologic changes in NPSLE.

13:30         4478.     Diffusion Tensor Imaging Permits Detection of Disjunct MD and FA Changes in the Basal Ganglia in Patients with Susac’s Syndrome

Michael Deppe¹, Ilka Kleffner¹, Siawoosh Mohammadi¹, Wolfram Schwindt², Katja Deppe³, Simon S. Keller¹, E. Bernd Ringelstein¹

¹Neurology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany; ²Radiology, University of Münster, Münster; ³Neurology, Franz Hospital Dülmen

By employing a highly effective spatial normalization technique for diffusion weighted images we found evidence that DTI is sensitive in detecting damage to white matter that is of normal appearance in Susac's Syndrome using conventional MRI methods. Grey matter (GM) alterations in Susac's syndrome are also detectable by DTI as circumscribed FA and MD increases in the basal ganglia that are also not observed using conventional MRI. The alterations in basal ganglia MD and FA are differentially localized to the pallidum and putamen, respectably.

14:00         4479.     Voxel-Based Analysis of High- And Standard B-Value Diffusion Weighted Imaging and Voxel-Based Morphometry in Inherited Prion Disease - not available

Enrico De Vita^1,2, Harpreet Hyare^1,3, Gerard Ridgway⁴, Simon Mead³, Peter Rudge³, John C. Collinge³, Tarek A. Yousry^1,2, John S. Thornton^1,2

¹Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, United Kingdom; ²Academic Neuroradiological Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; ³MRC Prion Unit, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; ⁴Dementia Research Centre. Dept. of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) is the most sensitive MRI sequence for diagnosis in human prion disease. High-b-value (b~3000s/mm2; b3k) DWI was shown to be more sensitive to pathology in sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease than standard DWI (b~1000s/mm2; b1k). Most previous prion disease studies used region of interest analyses. We employed operator-independent voxel-based morphometry and voxel-based analysis (VBA) of DWI (b1k and b3k) to characterise structural parenchymal changes in inherited prion disease (iPD) patients. In this cohort, DWI-VBA resulted more sensitive than VBM, potentially indicating microstructural changes occurring before grey matter atrophy becomes detectable; b1k acquisitions resulted relatively more sensitive vs b3k.

14:30         4480.     Mapping the Distribution of Local Cross-Term Gradients Using DTI in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Songfan Xu², Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Dal-Mo Yang¹, Dong-Wook Sung³, Dong Ho Lee³, Seungjoon Park⁴

¹Radiology, East West Neo Medical Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ²Biomedical Science, Graduate School of Medicine,  Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ³Radiology, KHU Hospital, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of; ⁴Pharmacology and and Biomedical Science, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

To map the strength of a local cross-term gradient among diffusion, imaging, and background gradients in groups of AD,  MCI, and cognitive normal (CN), two DT-MRI sets with positive and negative polarities of diffusion-sensitizing gradients were obtained in 15 AD and18 MCI patients and 16 CN controls with four b-values. The cross-term b-value (bc) maps for each subject group were calculated. The bc differs locally between AD patient and MCI or CN subjects, but not between MCI and controls and we may obtain the strength of a local background gradient using DTI data.

15:00         4481.     Lateralisation of Perisylvian Pathways with Age in Asperger’s Syndrome – a Cross-Sectional DTI Study

Sanja Budisavljevic¹, Flavio Dell'Acqua, Stephanie Forkel, Michel Thiebaut de Schotten, Marco Catani

¹Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, United Kingdom

Using DT-MRI tractography we investigated lateralisation of perisylvian pathways with age in Asperger’s Syndrome. We observed that the indirect pathway of the arcuate fasciculus shows abnormal development with age in people with Asperger’s syndrome compared to controls. This suggests that abnormalities in white matter development may be a key feature of autism spectrum disorders and may explain impairments in language and communication.

13:30         4482.     Longitudinal Changes of DTI Parameters During Acute and Sub-Acute Phase Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Analysis: The Preliminary Results

Tong Zhu¹, Jeffrey Bazarian², Jianhui Zhong¹

¹Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States; ²Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States

DTI studies of both human mTBI subjects and animal TBI models have shown different alteration patterns of tensor derived parameters, such as fractional anisotropy (FA), axial and radial diffusivity, with the accompanying neurological impairments following initial concussions. In this study, we performed a prospective longitudinal study of mTBI patients with three DTI scans for each subject to characterize the acute (within 24 hrs), late acute (1 week) and sub-acute (1 month) phase following mTBI. The tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was performed to achieve voxelwise statistical comparisons of longitudinal changes of DTI parameters for quantification of white matter micro-structural alterations. In 13 mTBI patients and 21 healthy controls analyzed so far we observed decreased FA and increased radial diffusivity in several major white matter tracts such as the genu corpus callosum, the anterior corona radiata and the internal capsule, although our findings are only approaching significance (p<0.1) due to the small number of subjects and subtle DTI changes in acute mTBI. Different from increased radial diffusivity due to demyelination in the recovery phase (9-15 months) of TBI, increased radial diffusivity as well as consequently decreased FA in the acute phase of mTBI may reflect possible neurofilament misalignments which create projections of the principal diffusivity onto the transverse plane.

14:00         4483.     Deformable Registration and Tract-Based Spatial Analysis of Diffusion Tensor MR Images in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury of Military-Related Blast Injury

Ping-Hong Yeh¹, Binquan Wang, Terrence R. Oakes, ², Louis M. French³, David F. Moore³, Gerard Riedy, ^2,4

¹Henry Jackson Foundation for Military Medicine, Rockville, MD, United States; ²National Capital Neuroimaging Consortium, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC; ³Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center,; ⁴Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Uniformed Services University

Evaluating the white matter disruption in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is challenging. The study investigated mTBI in military-related blast injury using diffusion tensor imaging. High-dimensional spatial normalization of diffusion tensor images, atlas reconstruction and tract-based spatial analysis were applied to assess the physiological and geometric changes in mTBI, and their relationships with neuropsychopathic symptoms. The features of micro- and macro-structural changes varied within the mTBI group. Greater severity of neuropsychopathic symptoms was associated with the disconnection in fronto-(sub)cortical, fronto-limbic and inter-hemispheric circuitry. Optimizing spatial normalization method can help detect white matter disruption in mTBI using a low field clinical scanner.

14:30         4484.     Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging of Deep Gray Matter in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Elan J. Grossman¹, Yulin Ge¹, Jens H. Jensen¹, James S. Babb¹, Joseph Reaume¹, Jonathan A. Silver², Robert I. Grossman¹, Matilde Inglese¹

¹Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States; ²Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, United States

While conventional imaging has been unsuccessful detecting cerebral damage in mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), investigations using DTI report evidence of diffuse axonal injury. The purpose of the current study is to assess whether DKI, which measures non-Gaussian diffusion of water, can provide additional complimentary information about MTBI pathology. In addition to white matter regions we investigated thalamus and basal ganglia in patients with MTBI using DKI and DTI. Differences from controls were observed in thalamus and posterior internal capsule of acute and chronic MTBI patients. This suggests that DKI and DTI might be prognostic markers of persistent post-concussive syndrome.

15:00         4485.     Combined Quantitative Diffusion Tensor and 1H Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging Findings in Patients with Persistent Neurocognitive Deficits Following a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Brenda Bartnik Olson¹, Kimberly Conley², Karen Tong¹, Sarah Uffindell³, Valerie Wong⁴, Barbara Holshouser¹

¹Dept. of Radiology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States; ²School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States; ³Dept. of Neurology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States; ⁴Redlands Pediatric and Adult Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, United States

Neurocognitive deficits occur in approximately 50-80% of mild TBI patients, which may persist for several years after injury even though conventional imaging is normal.  In this study we used diffusion tensor and 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to evaluate if microstructural and/or metabolic abnormalities are present in mTBI subjects with persistent neurocognitive deficits. Our findings show that regions of neuronal loss or dysfunction are present in the left anterior internal capsule and left occipital white matter of mild TBI patients. In addition, increased fractional anisotropy in the left anterior internal capsule may be related to an increase in extracellular space adjacent to remaining axons after the loss of a subset of corticospinal tract fibers. Our findings suggest that both metabolic and ultrastructural changes persist following a mild TBI which may relate to continued neurocognitive deficits seen in these subjects.

Animal Models of Stroke & Ischemia

14:00         4486.     Serial MR Analysis of Permanent and Transient Cerebral Ischemia in a Rat Model: High and Low B Value Diffusion – Weighted Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Ji-hoon Kim¹, Kee-Hyun Chang, Chul Ho Sohn, Sung Hong Choi, Yoo Jung Yim, Chang Min Park, In Chan Song

¹Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

We tried to determine the serial changes in FA, ADC and DWI signal intensity at high and low b values during early cerebral ischemia and transient ischemia and investigated their relationships. With 30 male Sprague-Dawley rats of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) of the suture occlusion model, PWI, DTI, high and low b value DWI were performed for hyperacute (n=9) and acute (n=13) permanent ischemia groups and transient (n=8) ischemia group. Although time-ADC curve showed early initial decrease until 3 hour and then increasing tendency, Time – FA curve showed initial increase, transient plateau until 1 hour, and then sequential decrease in permanent ischemia group. In transient ischemia group, FA showed transient reversibility and secondary decay in transient ischemia group, correlating with ADC change. Although the lesion contrast ratio of DWI in early ischemic tissue was larger at high b value. But, the lesion contrast ratio of ADC map was smaller at high b value than low b value. These results might be related to the initial shift of water from extracellular to intracellular space and biexponential decay of cerebral water diffusion.

14:30         4487.     Diffusion Tensor Imaging  Indices  in a Model of  Focal Ischemia in Rats

Usama Abo-Ramadan^1,2, Miia pitkonen², Eric Pedrono², Ivan Marinkovic^1,2, Aysan Durukan^1,2, Turgut Tatlisumak^1,2

¹Dept of Neurology, Helsinki Uiversity Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; ²Experimental MRI Laboratory, Biomedicum Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

We measure the DT indices changes in stroke model from the hyperacute to chronic phase. Rats are sub-jected to focal cerebral ischemia  for 90 minutes followed by reperfusion. DT imaging  studies were performed with a 4.7 T scanner. Significant DT indices changes were related to the evolution of the transient MCAO. DTI indices may allow separate evaluation of the treatment response of white and gray matter to neuroprotective therapy. DTI analysis of directional diffusivities could provide additional information to FA and MD, and may reflect more specifically the histological changes of reduced mye-lination and axonal injury.

15:00         4488.     Unique Pattern of Diffusion Metrics Sheds Light on Cellular Changes During Hypoxic-Ischemia

Ahmed Shereen¹, Diana Lindquist², Chia-Yi Kuan³

¹Department of Physics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ²Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, United States; ³Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we characterized an animal model of leukoaraiosis, a condition caused by chronic hypoxic-hypoperfusion which often leads to post-stroke dementia.  We observed radial diffusivity decrease in white matter, contrary to previous findings of increases in radial diffusivity attributed to demyelination after hypoxic-ischemia.  Further examination using electron microscopy revealed rapid separation of myelin sheaths and protrusion of myelin-coated vesicles which created multiple intercellular compartments to restrict radial and axial diffusion with minimum change in fractional anisotropy.  These results suggest a biophysical mechanism behind leukoaraiosis which may be inferred from unique patterns in DTI metrics.

15:30         4489.     Progression of MRI Changes and Their Correspondence with Histological Changes in the Descending Corticospinal Tract Following Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Infarction.

Ursula I. Tuor¹, Sanju Lama², Edwin Cheng³, Dave Kirk, Tadeusz Foniok⁴

¹Institute for Biodiagnostics (West), National Research Council of Canada , Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ²Medical Science, University of Calgary; ³Experimental Imaging Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ⁴Institute for Biodiagnostics (West), National Research Council of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In the present study we investigate both the acute and chronic changes in T2 and diffusion weighted images containing the descending corticospinal tract following a unilateral cerebral hypoxic-ischemic insult in neonatal rats.   Diffusion weighted and T2 increases along with ADC decreases occur at relatively acute times post hypoxia-ischemia whereas both T2 and ADC are increased more chronically. The corresponding axonal changes detected using immunohistochemistry for neurofilaments and silver staining provides corresponding evidence for Wallerian degeneration.   These results should assist in the diagnosis and timing of MR imaging changes detected clinically in human neonates following stroke.

13:30         4490.     Spatial-Temporal MRI Responses of Stroke Rats to Oxygen Challenge

Qiang Shen^1,2, Shiliang Huang¹, Fang Du¹, Timothy Q. Duong^1,2

¹Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States; ²Department of Ophthalmology/Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, United States

The identification of ischemic penumbra is of utmost importance for the initiation of treatment strategies. Although diffusion/perfusion MRI mismatch has been used to be an estimate of penumbra, it has been demonstrated overestimation of penumbra. Beside perfusion deficit, a marker of metabolism is essential to better define penumbra. In this study, the spatial and temporal responses of stroke rats to 100% oxygen challenge were investigated. DWI/PWI mismatch region showed significant higher than normal T2*-weighted signal increase. Tissue with higher than normal T2*-weighted signal increase during OC and spatially around the ischemic core could be a better estimation of penumbra.

14:00         4491.     T2 Component “area Fractions”: A Possible Marker for Ischemic Penumbra

Jeff F. Dunn^1,2, Thorarin A. Bjarnason³, Tonima Ali³, Ying Wu^1,2, Cheryl R. McCreary^1,2, Ross J. Mitchell, ^2,4

¹Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ²Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; ³Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary; ⁴Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Quantitative T2 (qT2) has been used to identify a range of pathophysiology in brain including multiple sclerosis. We have extended the application of qT2 to that of assessing heterogeneity of stroke within an experimental infarct in a rat brain. We have applied a recently published voxel-based approach, which allows for assessment of heterogeneity of T2 components. It was determined that the proportion of the total T2 which relates to the 50-60ms range results in visualization of the periphery of the infarct. This type of approach may be useful in identification of the ischemic penumbra.

14:30         4492.     Characterization of Mild Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury in Multiple White Matter Tracts in a Neonatal Rat Model by Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging

Silun Wang^1,2, ED X. WU³, Ho-fai Lau³, Jing Gu¹, Jinyuan Zhou², Pek-lan Khong¹

¹Diagnostic Radiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong; ²Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

We evaluated hypoxic-ischemic (HI)-induced white matter (WM) injury in a mild HI neonatal rat model from Day1 to 90 post-HI by DTI.  Results showed that significantly decreased FA in multiple injured WM tracts, including external capsule (EC), fornix (F), cerebral peduncle (CP) and optical tracts (OT), at different time points, but no differences were demonstrated in anterior commissure (AC).  Our results support the use of DTI as an imaging biomarker to non-invasively monitor the severity and longitudinal changes of mild HI-induced WM injury. Different severity and patterns of WM tract injury may reflect disturbances of cerebral blood supply in this ischemic animal model.

15:00         4493.     DTI of Adult Visual Pathways After Severe Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Cerebral Injury

Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Abby Y. Ding^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

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

This study employs in vivo diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine the long-term outcomes of microstructural integrity along the visual pathways after severe neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury to the entire ipsilesional visual cortex in rats at postnatal day 7. Quantitative analyses showed that, compared to age-matched normal brains, a significantly lower FA but higher λ//, λ┴ and diffusion trace value were observed in the ipsilesional posterior optic tract in the HI-injured brains at postnatal day 60, whereas significantly lower FA but mildly lower λ// and higher λ┴ and trace were observed in the ipsilesional prechiasmatic optic nerve and contralesional anterior and posterior optic tracts. The results of this study are potentially important in determining and improving the functional consequences of the brain lesion after most compensatory and reparative phases have been passed.

13:30         4494.     Comparison of MRI Measured Mean Micro-Vessel Segment Length and Micro-Vessel Radius and Laser Scan Confocal Microscopy After Embolic Stroke

Asamoah Bosomtwi^1,2, Quan Jiang^2,3, Li Zhang², Zheng Gang Zhang^2,3, Michael Chopp^2,3

¹Yerkes Imaging Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Neurology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, United States; ³Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States

We investigated vascular remodeling after stroke using MRI mean segment length (MSL) and vessel size index (VSI) measurement and correlate the results with measurements using Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM). We demonstrate that MRI MSL and VSI can detect the microvascular status of brain tissue with different ischemic damage. The MSL and VSI measured by MRI were highly correlated with LSCM histological measurements. Our data demonstrate that these MRI measurements can quantitatively evaluate microvascular remodeling after stroke.

14:00         4495.     Cell-Based Treatment Induced White Matter Reorganization After Traumatic Brain Injury Measured by Gaussian, Q-Space DTI, and Histology

Quan Jiang^1,2, Guang Liang Ding, Siamak Pourabdollah-Nejad¹, Chang Sheng Qu³, Asim Mahmood³, Li Zhang¹, Zheng Gang Zhang¹, Jiani Hu⁴, Nassan Bagher-Ebadian¹, James R. Ewing¹, Michael Chopp^1,2

¹Neurology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States; ²Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States; ³Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, United States; ⁴MR Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States

We investigated cell-based treatment induced white matter remodeling after traumatic brain injury (TBI) using Gaussian, q-ball, standard deviation (SD) DTI, and immuno-histochemistry staining. We demonstrate that in brain tissue with a preponderance of single oriented fibers, Gaussian DTI can correctly identify white matter reorganization and detect changes of axonal orientation in the boundary recovery region after TBI. However, SD and q-ball need to be employed to measure WM reorganization if substantial fiber crossing is present in the recovery tissue. Our data suggest that combination SD and FA data may provide information about the stage of white matter remodeling after TBI.

14:30         4496.     Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Cerebral Microvascularisation in a Rat Model of Stroke: MRI Study

Anaick Moisan¹, Emmanuelle Grillon¹, Emmanuel L. Barbier¹, Florence De Fraipont², Chantal Remy¹, Marie-Jeanne Richard^2,3, Olivier Detante^1,4

¹INSERM U836 / Joseph Fourier University (Functional and Metabolic Imaging), Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences (GIN), Grenoble, France, Metropolitan; ²INSERM U823 / Joseph Fourier University, Albert Bonniot Institute, Grenoble, France, Metropolitan; ³Cell and Tissue Therapy Unit, University Hospital, Grenoble, France, Metropolitan; ⁴Stroke Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Grenoble, France, Metropolitan

In a rat model of stroke, the effects of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) on the evolution of microvascularisation were studied. Seven days after transient cerebral ischemia, rats received a 10µL intracerebral administration of either cell culture medium or 4×105 hMSC. Two groups of healthy control rats underwent the same treatment. Groups were followed by MRI during 21 days (ADC, cerebral blood volume (CBV), vessel size (VSI)). One day after IC administration, hMSC abolish the CBV increase commonly observed after transient cerebral ischemia. VSI estimates suggest that hMSC also delay the vasodilation secondary to cerebral ischemia.

15:00         4497.     Microvascular Density Quantitative Changes After Rat Embolic Stroke Using MRI

Asamoah Bosomtwi^1,2, Quan Jiang^2,3, Guanlian Ding², Li Zhang², Zheng Gang Zhang^2,3, Mei Lu⁴, James R. Ewing^2,3, Michael Chopp^2,3

¹Yerkes Imaging Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Neurology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, United States; ³Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States; ⁴Biostatistics and Research Epidemiology, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, United States

We investigated vascular remodeling after stroke using MRI microvascular density (MVD) measurement and gold standard immuno-histochemistry staining. We demonstrate that MRI MVD detect the microvascular status of brain tissue with different ischemic damage. The MVD measured by MRI was highly correlated with histological measures of MVD. Our data demonstrate that MRI MVD measurement can quantitatively evaluate microvascular remodeling after stroke.

13:30         4498.     Stem Cell Treatment of Hemorrhagic Lesions Investigated by Longitudinal DTI Study of a Monkey Model

Chenlu Feng¹, Qinyu Zeng¹, Zhengguang Chen², Tie-Qiang Li³, Xiaoming Yin¹, Jianwei Huo¹, Ming Feng⁴, Renzhi Wang⁴

¹Department of Radiology, Beijing Coal General Hospital, Beijing, China; ²Department of Radiology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; ³Department of Medical Physics, Karolinska  University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; ⁴Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

The treatment of hemorrhagic lesion with neuronal stem cell procedure was studied by diffusion tensor imaging in a monkey model using a clinical 3T MRI system. The longitudinal changes of the fractional anisotropy indicate that the procedure at the dosage of 0.5-2.5 million cells is very effective and DTI is a useful tool to monitor the time course of the neuronal repair and fiber track regeneration process.

14:00         4499.     Cerebral Blood Volume Imaging of Spreading Depression in S218L Mouse Model of Familial Hemiplegic Migraine Type 1

Kwangyeol Baek^1,2, Katherina Eikermann_Haerter³, Woo Shim^1,2, Cenk Ayata³, Guangping Dai¹, Jeong Kon Kim⁴, Bruce R. Rosen¹, Jaeseung Jeong², Young Ro Kim¹

¹Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States; ²Bio and Brain Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea, Republic of; ³Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; ⁴Radiology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

Spreading depression (SD) is a propagating wave of cellular depolarization, and implicated in pathophysiology of migraine and peri-infarct depolarization. In last decade, MRI started to be used for non-invasive imaging of SD, but not much is known about the neurovascular coupling in SD, especially for subcortical regions. We investigated CBV changes induced by SD in cortical and subcortical regions using intravenous contrast agent. We observed marked CBV increase (up to 20%) in cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, but not in thalamus. The CBV response gradually reached peak ~5 min after the neuronal depolarization, suggesting neurovascular coupling is largely modified in SD.

14:30         4500.     The Quantification of Tissue Sodium Concentration Using ²³Na-Magnetic Resonance Microscopy at 7 T:  Probing the Acute Stroke Phase

Friedrich Wetterling^1,2, Lindsay Gallagher³, Mhairi I. Macrae⁴, Sven Junge⁵, Andrew John Fagan, ^1,6

¹School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; ²Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; ³Glasgow Experimental MRI Centre, , Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; ⁴Glasgow Experimental MRI Centre, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; ⁵Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Ettlingen, Germany; ⁶Centre for Advanced Medical Imaging, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

The aim of this study was to accurately quantify subtle changes in Tissue Sodium Concentration (TSC) during the acute phase in a rodent stroke model.  A double-tuned ²³Na/¹H dual resonator system was developed and a 2D radial sequence optimized for qNa-MRM (voxel sizes of 1.2µl, TA = 10min).  A quantification accuracy of <10mM was achieved, which enabled the evolution of the TSC changes to be followed in the acute phase of stroke.  TSC maps were computed and analyzed for each of the investigated five stroke and two sham rats from 30mins up to 8h after MCAO

15:00         4501.     7 T ⁸⁷Rb MRI to Assess K⁺ Dynamics in Ischemic Rat Brain in Vivo

Victor E. Yushmanov¹, Alexander Kharlamov¹, Tamer S. Ibrahim^2,3, Tiejun Zhao⁴, Fernando E. Boada^2,3, Stephen C. Jones, ^3,5

¹Department of Anesthesiology, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; ²Department of Bioengineering; ³Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; ⁴Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; ⁵Departments of Anesthesiology and Neurology, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

To monitor K⁺ in the brain in vivo, ⁸⁷Rb MRI in a rat model of focal ischemic stroke was performed.  Rats pre-loaded with dietary Rb⁺ were subjected to MCAO, and ⁸⁷Rb MRI was implemented using a dedicated built in-house RF coil and a spiral ultrashort-TE sequence (TR/TE of 3/0.07 ms).  The data represent the world’s first successful ⁸⁷Rb MRI in vivo co-registered with an anatomic image, and demonstrate the potential of ⁸⁷Rb MRI at high fields (7 T) to quantitatively assess the dynamics of K⁺ efflux from the ischemic brain with 13-min temporal resolution in a single animal.

Applications of Manganese-Enhanced MRI/Animal Models of White Matter Disease

14:00         4502.     Limits of Mn Detection in Vivo: Spatial Segregation of Relaxation Behavior

Jessica A. M. Bastiaansen^1,2, Xiaowei Zhang¹, Russell E. Jacobs¹

¹Biological Imaging Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States; ²CIBM, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

In MEMRI, quantitative analysis of signal intensity is used to monitor Mn transport and accumulation, translating signal intensity into concentration. However, several factors may affect the relaxation behavior of Mn and little is known about the cellular uptake and distribution as well as whether the detection limit of Mn changes in different brain regions. Here we investigated changes in Mn relaxation behavior in cortical and striatal areas of the mouse brain in vivo and show that relaxation behavior is brain region-specific. The above has implications on the quantification of axonal transport rates and Mn concentration.

14:30         4503.     High-Throughput Manganese Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Newborn Rabbits for Olfactory Response to Nitric Oxide Stimulus

Yirong Yang¹, Alexander Drobyshevsky¹, Xinhai Ji¹, Lei Yu¹, Sidhartha Tan¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, NorthShore University HealthSystem and University of Chicago, Evanston, IL, United States

Different nitric oxide (NO) level in olfactory nerves may affect the activity of neurons. Mn2+ will move along appropriate neuronal pathways in an anterograde direction. The function of olfactory neurons can be monitored in vivo by manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI). To observe manganese enhanced process, MRI experiments need several hours or even several days. Therefore, multi animal imaging strategy is needed to provide an efficient way to perform experiments and acquire data with enough statistical power. This abstract presents a high-throughput MEMRI method to determine whether nitric oxide can affect olfactory neuronal function in newborn rabbits.

15:00         4504.     MEMRI Study of Mice Cerebellar Activation After Voluntary Wheel Running

Iris Y. Zhou^1,2, April Mei Kwan Chow^1,2, Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Condon Lau^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

In the present study, we use in vivo MEMRI to detect the cerebellar activation in mouse brain induced by voluntary wheel running. The preliminary result of our study shows that after voluntary wheel-running exercise, mouse cerebellum regions such as vermis, Crus I and II of ansiform lobule and caudal pontine reticular nucleus are significantly activated compared to the sedentary animals. This difference can be feasibly detected by MEMRI, suggesting the great potential of MEMRI as an in vivo probe for mapping neural activity.

15:30         4505.     Manganese-Enhanced MRI Detection of Neural Compensatory Changes After Neonatal Monocular Enucleation

Iris Y. Zhou^1,2, April M. Chow^1,2, Shu Juan Fan^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

In this study, in vivo MEMRI was introduced to investigate cellular alteration and manganese-induced signal intensity changes after neonatal monocular enucleation. With MEMRI, impaired superior colliculi with high spatial resolution revealing the laminar structure and enhancement of monocular area of primary visual cortex can be observed after neonatal monocular enucleation noninvasively. Such MEMRI approach may be useful in investigation of neural plasticity and the adaptive and compensatory modifications within the brain following neonatal monocular enucleation.

13:30         4506.     Manganese-Enhanced MRI of Perilesion Cortex in Subchronic Focal Brain Ischemia

Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

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

In this study, MEMRI was employed to investigate into the late changes in Mn2+ enhancement in subchronic focal brain ischemia, with emphases on the temporal evolutions in different subregions of the perilesion cortex. The results of this study may provide a new tool for in vivo longitudinal monitoring of the of salvageable tissues and hence represent potential new therapeutic targets for improving the functional consequences after stroke.

14:00         4507.     Bimodal FMRI for Exploring Brain Activity: A Striatal CBV Response Accompanied by Enhanced Nigrostriatal Activity Detected by MEMRI

Chiao-Chi V. Chen¹, Yi-Hua Hsu², Chen Chang²

¹Functional and Micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center,, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan; ²Functional and Micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Brain activation can be evaluated by a bimodal fMRI protocol that utilizes hemodynamics based fMRI and manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) in combination. The present study demonstrates a striatal CBV response accompanied by enhanced nigrostriatal activity detected by MEMRI following peripheral electrical stimulation.

14:30         4508.     Regional Difference in Mn Uptake and Retention in Mouse Brain

Abu-Bakar-Md-Ali Asad¹, Kai-Hsiang Chuang¹

¹Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore

We compared the difference in Mn uptake and retention rates at various brain regions after systemic administration of MnCl2. By estimating Mn concentration with the change in T1 relaxation rate (ΔR1), it was observed that different brain regions have considerable difference in the time-to-peak and bioelimination rate of Mn. The ΔR1-time course was fitted to a gamma variate model which showed reasonable fit and provides estimation of time-to-peak, peak value and half-life. The olfactory bulb reached the peak earliest and highest, while regions like thalamus reached peak at day 2. Olfactory bulb had fastest clearance with a half-life of 6.6 days, and cerebellum had longer half-life of 11.5 days. This method can allow better estimate of the uptake and retention and can be used to maximize tissue contrasts or applied to studying of transporter mechanism in animal models.

15:00         4509.     Detection of Brain Activity During Chronic Pain Using Activity-Induced Manganese-Enhanced MRI in the Ra

Yuko Kawai¹, Masahiro Umeda¹, Yasuharu Watanabe¹, Toshihiro Higuchi², Shoji Naruse³, Chuzo Tanaka²

¹Medical Informatics, Meiji University of Integrative Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; ²Neurosurgery, Meiji University of Integrative Medicine, Kyoto, Japan; ³Radiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

�Introduction�zNerve injury occasionally induces neuropathic pain, which is a type of chronic pain. The cardinal symptom of neuropathic pain is spontaneous or touch-evoked pain. The purpose of this study is to detect brain activation during foot stimulation by using Activity-induced manganese-enhanced (AIM) MRI in a segmental spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model. �Methods� The right L5–L6 spinal nerves were ligated with 5–0 silk sutures. AIM MRI were acquired using a 4.7-T MRI system. �Results�Pain-induced brain activation was successfully visualized using AIM MRI. It suggested that the AIM MRI is useful for the depiction of the conducting pathway of pain.

13:30         4510.     In Vivo DTI-Derived Axial Diffusivity Correlates with Neurological Assessments in EAE-Affected Mice

Joong Hee Kim¹, Anne H. Cross², Sheng-Kwei Song³

¹Radiology, Washington University , St. Louis, MO, United States; ²Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States; ³Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to examine the spinal cords of mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of Multiple Sclerosis. Compared to age-matched controls, EAE-affected mice exhibited a statistically significant decrease in axial diffusivity in spinal cord white matter. The decrease of axial diffusivity was parallel to disease severity examined by clinical scoring of EAE mice. The axial diffusivity threshold analysis on EAE-affected mice enabled quantifying the extent of abnormal or damaged axons, which correlated with four independent neurological assessments.

14:00         4511.     Contrasting Roles for CD4 and CD8 T Cells in a Murine Model of T1 Black Hole Formation

Istvan Pirko¹, Jeremiah McDole², Yi Chen², Scott R. Dunn³, Diana M. Lindquist³, Aaron J. Johnson²

¹Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States; ²Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, United States; ³Imaging Research Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States

TMEV infection of mice is an accepted model of multiple sclerosis. In C57B6/J mice, the formation of T1 black holes (T1BH) is detectable in this model. In this study we confirmed that CD8 T cells are the main contributors to T1BH formation, whereas CD 4 T cells prevent T1BH formation. We also determined that the involved CD8 T cells are classic epitope specific cytotoxic T cells. T1BH formation is thought to represent neuronal/axonal damage in MS; therefore, it is plausible that CD8 T cells play an important effector role targeted at neurons and axons in MS-related neuroinflammatory diseases.

14:30         4512.     Monitoring Demyelination in a Cuprizone Mouse Model with Longitudinal and Quantitative MRI Measurements

Jonathan D. Thiessen¹, Yanbo Zhang², Handi Zhang², Lingyan Wang², Richard Buist³, Jiming Kong⁴, Xin-Min Li², Melanie Martin^1,5

¹Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; ²Psychiatry, University of Manitoba; ³Radiology, University of Manitoba; ⁴Human Anatomy and Cell Science, University of Manitoba; ⁵Physics, University of Winnipeg

Magnetic resonance imaging methods capable of quantifying changes due to demyelination can improve both the diagnosis and understanding of white matter diseases such as multiple sclerosis.  T₂-weighted and magnetization transfer images (MTI) were acquired weekly in control (n=4) and cuprizone-fed mice (n=4) from 2 to 6 weeks of treatment.  Diffusion tensor imaging, quantitative MTI, high-resolution T₂-weighted imaging, and histopathology were used to analyze ex vivo tissue.   All in vivo methods showed significant differences longitudinally in the corpus callosum of the cuprizone-fed mouse.  All in vivo and ex vivo methods showed significant differences in the corpus callosum between groups.

15:00         4513.     Correlation of Fractional Anisotropy (FA) Changes in Demyelination Lesion with Its Surrounding Edema in an Experimental Model

Krithika Balasubramanian¹, Senthil S. Kumaran¹, Uma Sharma¹, Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan¹

¹Department of NMR & MRI Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Evaluation of sequential changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) in demyelination lesion and associated edema in an experimental rat model of demyelination was carried out at 4.7T. Results showed that both FA(lesion) and FA(edema) decreased during demyelination till day 11. Decreased FA(lesion) is attributed to the damage of myelin which progressed till day 11 while reduced FA(edema) is due to breakdown of blood-brain barrier (BBB). From day 15 remyelination set in along with repair of BBB, which led to increased FA(lesion) and FA(edema). Our study thus showed that DTI may aid in better understanding of the pathophysiology of de- and re-myelination.

13:30         4514.     Study of the Pathophyisology of Demyelination in an Experimental Model: Correlation of Lesion Volume with T2, Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) and Fractional Anisotropy (FA)

Krithika Balasubramanian¹, Uma Sharma¹, Senthil S. Kumaran¹, Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan¹

¹Department of NMR & MRI Facility, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Evaluation of variation in T2, ADC and FA with the lesion volume at various stages of de- and re-myelination in a demyelinating rat model was carried out at 4.7 T. During demyelination lesion size, T2 and ADC increased while FA decreased indicating loss of myelin, while these values were reversed during remyelination. A strong positive correlation was observed between lesion volume and T2 and between lesion volume and ADC, while FA showed strong negative correlation. Our data thus indicated the potential of parameters in characterizing the various stages of the de- and re-myelination thus providing useful information on its pathophysiology.

14:00         4515.     Cross-Relaxation Imaging of Age-Related Changes in Myelin Mutant Shaking Pup

Alexey A. Samsonov¹, Andrew L. Alexander², Julia V. Velikina³, Ian D. Duncan⁴, Aaron S. Field¹

¹Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ²Departments of Medical Physics and Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ³Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ⁴School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States

We report results of studying of quantitative parameters of two-pool MT (cross-relaxation) model across ages in the shaking (sh) pup, a canine mutant with a profound paucity of myelin.  All qMT measures were sensitive to changes between dysmyelinated and myelinated dogs.  The bound pool fraction f provided the strongest discrimination between myelinated and dysmyelinated dogs confirming its high sensitivity to myelin content.  The observed qMT measures may represent a result of mixing several potentially distinguishable bound pools including myelin protons.  Including additional pool in a MT model may potentially help distinguishing myelin from other components of bound proton pool.

14:30         4516.     Multicomponent Relaxometry (McDESPOT) in the Shaking Pup Model of Dysmyelination

Samuel Anthony Hurley¹, Pouria Mossahebi², Alexey A. Samsonov³, Andrew L. Alexander^1,4, Sean C.L. Deoni⁵, Ron Fisher⁶, Ian D. Duncan⁷, Aaron S. Field, ²³

¹Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ²Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ³Radiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ⁴Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ⁵Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States; ⁶Waisman Lab for Brain Imaging and Behavior, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States; ⁷Medical Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, United States

mcDESPOT is a recently proposed technique which provides two-component relaxometry using steady-state imaging.  The relative fraction of water in two microstructural compartments may be estimated via the myelin water fraction map.  We report initial results of this technique on the shaking pup myelin mutant.  The shaking pup is a canine model which suffers from dysmyelination without the confounding effects of inflammation or edema, and is thus an excellent model for investigating the sensitivity and specificity of mcDESPOT parameters to myelin content in the brain.

15:00         4517.     Myelin Visualization Using Q-Space MRI - not available

Keigo Hikishima^1,2, Kanehiro Fujiyoshi³, Masayuki Yamada^1,4, Yuji Komaki^1,2, Suketaka Momoshima⁵, Kazuo Yagi⁶, Norikazu Tamaoki¹, Yoshiaki Toyama³, Masaya Nakamura³, Hideyuki Okano²

¹Central Institute for Experimental Animals, Kasawaki, Kanagawa, Japan; ²Department of Physiology, Keio University; ³Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University; ⁴School of Health Science, Fujita Health University; ⁵Department of Radiology, Keio University; ⁶Graduate School of Health Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University

One of the most recently developed DWI methodologies is q-space imaging (QSI) which has been used to detect the size of microstructure using higher b-values. We developed the myelin mapping protocol using QSI by focusing on the strong restriction of water diffusion in myelin architecture. We compared myelin mapping with histological findings in spinal cords using dysmyelination mutant mice and monkeys with spinal cord injury. In this study we demonstrated that myelin mapping depicts the presence of myelin in spinal cord.

MRS of Animal Brain

14:00         4518.     In Vivo MRS Study of Adolescent Rhesus Monkeys with Early Life Stress Experience

Yumei Yan¹, Xiaodong Zhang¹, Brittany Howell^2,3, Mar Sanchez^2,3

¹Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States; ²Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; ³Psychobiology Division, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States

In vivo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) was used to investigate the metabolic changes in basal ganglia (BG) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of adolescent rhesus monkeys with Early Life Stress (ELS). The MRS findings suggest that ELS has an enduring impact on the brains of adolescent male monkeys, potentially reflecting neuropathological alterations or even neuronal loss in their BG (striatum). Males seem more vulnerable to these long-term alterations than females, supporting previous sex differences in vulnerability to ELS. The sex differences in Cho striatal concentrations could be due to differences in glial cell proliferation.

14:30         4519.     Metabolite Abnormalities in Rhesus Monkeys During Withdrawal of Methamphetamine: A ¹H MR Spectroscopy Study at 3T

Shaolin Yang¹, Svetlana Chefer¹, D. Bruce Vaupel¹, Xi Chen¹, Pradeep K. Kurup¹, Thomas J. Ross¹, Elliot A. Stein¹, Yihong Yang¹

¹National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, United States

A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-MRS) study was performed to examine the metabolite abnormalities in the Rhesus monkeys during the abstinence from a long history of methamphetamine (METH) self-administration. The ¹H-MRS spectral data were acquired from the frontal lobe and striatum of Rhesus monkeys at 3T in 5 separate sessions (1-day, 1-week, 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month abstinence, respectively). Compared to the control group (n=5), the total choline (tCho) level in the striatum is significantly elevated during the early abstinence (up to 1 month) and continued to be elevated after 3 months of drug withdrawal in the METH-abstinence group (n=10).

15:00         4520.     Brain Metabolites B1-Corrected Proton T1 Mapping in the Rhesus Macaque at 3T

Songtao Liu¹, Roman Fleysher², Lazar Fleysher², Chan-Gyu Joo³, Eva-Maria Ratai³, R Gilberto Gonzalez³, Oded Gonen²

¹National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD, United States; ²New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; ³Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States

The rhesus macaque brain is an advanced model system for the study of neurological diseases. To correct for unknown T1 weighting in MRS quantification, the B1 corrected T1s of NAA, Cho and Cr in gray and white matter structures of rhesus macaques were measured at 3T. Data was acquired with 3D multivoxel proton MRSI at 180uL resolution. The macaques’ NAA, Cr and Cho T1s are, 1232, 1238 and 1107ms. These values are in agreement with human 3T in vivo results.

15:30         4521.     High Spatiotemporal Resolution for Molecular Imaging with BIRDS

Daniel Coman^1,2, Robin A. de Graaf³, Douglas L. Rothman, ²³, Fahmeed Hyder, ²³

¹Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; ²Quantitative Neuroscience with Magnetic Resonance (QNMR), Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; ³Diagnostic Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States

Biosensor Imaging of Redundant Deviation in Shifts (BIRDS) is used for pH/temperature mapping in rat brain. The BIRDS method relies on strong dependence of non-exchangeable protons from thulium based macrocyclics, e.g., TmDOTP^5- and TmDOTMA^-, for temperature and pH. Although high speed 2D CSI allows ~10μL voxels in rat’s cerebral cortex within 5 minutes, many applications require whole brain coverage and high spatiotemporal resolution. Here we demonstrate a 3D CSI of a 2.5×2.5×2.5 cm field-of-view with 1μL voxels in 5 minutes using reduced k-space spherical encoding, which represents an order of magnitude sensitivity enhancement from the 2D CSI data acquisition.

13:30         4522.     Investigation of Spatial Distribution of Metabolites in Rat Brain at Elevated Plasma Glucose Levels

Vladimir Mlynarik¹, Cristina Cudalbu¹, Hanne Frenkel¹, Nicolas Costers^1,2, Rolf Gruetter^1,3

¹Laboratory of Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ²Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; ³Departments of Radiology, Universities of Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland

Absolute metabolic maps of 12 metabolites were obtained in rat brain at different plasma glucose (Glc) concentrations (6.4 – 19 mmol/L) using short-echo-time proton spectroscopic imaging. A satisfactory linear fit of brain Glc concentration versus plasma Glc concentration in cortex, hippocampus and thalamus was found. The slope of this fit was the same within experimental error in all measured brain structures. The linear fit of increased lactate concentrations at increased plasma Glc levels was poor, indicating that other factors such as stress or impaired metabolism during long-term anesthesia can affect the lactate concentration in brain. Concentrations of myo-inositol, taurine, ascorbate, phosphoethanolamine, glutamine, GABA, N-acetylaspartate, total creatine, total choline and macromolecules were not substantially affected by acute hyperglycemia.

14:00         4523.     The Effect of Electroconvulsive Shock on the Neurochemical Profile in the Live Rat: Neurogenesis & Glutamate

S. David Smith¹, June-Hee Park², Michael Ma³, Mei Yu⁴, Shaonan Zhang³, Mirjana Maletic-Savatic⁵, Annemie Van der Linden⁶, G. Enikolopov², Helene Benveniste⁴

¹Medical, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States; ²Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, United States; ³Stony Brook University, United States; ⁴Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States; ⁵Baylor College of Medicine, TX, United States; ⁶University of Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

We tested the hypotheses that 1) the electroconvulsive shock (ECS) induced increase in the 1.28ppm neural stem cell biomarker could be tracked using LCModel software and 2) that ECS being an effective anti-depressant treatment would result in changes in glutamate detectable by LCModel software. Analysis of our 1HMRS data acquired from the rat dentate gyrus before and after ECS demonstrated that the 1.28ppm signal was too low to be tracked by LCModel software (CRLB<30%). Further we show that glutamate increases significantly in rats exposed to ECS suggesting a role for glutamate as an anti-depressant and/or as an important instigator of synaptic plasticity.

14:30         4524.     In Vivo Studies on a Hyperpolarized Choline Contrast Agent: Design and Implementation of a New Biomarker

Hyla Allouche-Arnon¹, Aaron K. Grant², Elena Vinogradov², Xiaoen Wang³, Robert E. Lenkinski³, Ayelet Gamliel¹, Ruppen Nalbandian¹, Lucio Frydman⁴, John Moshe Gomori¹, Claudia Monica Barzilay⁵, Rachel Katz-Brull^1,6

¹Department of Radiology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; ²Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston,, MA, United States; ³Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; ⁴Department of Chemical Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; ⁵Medicinal Chemistry-School of Pharmacy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; ⁶BrainWatch Ltd., Tel-Aviv, Israel

Choline metabolism is known to be altered in neurodegeneration and malignancy. In order to enable the monitoring of choline metabolism in a direct and non-invasive manner in vivo, a stable-isotope labeled analog of choline namely, [1,1,2,2-D₄,2-¹³C]-choline chloride, was designed and implemented for hyperpolarized magnetic resonance applications. The position enriched with ¹³C in this molecule presents with both a long T₁ (35 sec) and a chemical shift that differentiates choline from its metabolites. Here we report on the first in vivo studies of carbon-13 hyperpolarized  [1,1,2,2-D₄,2-¹³C]-choline that suggest it is a promising new agent for metabolic imaging by MRI and MRSI.

15:00         4525.     Metabolite Profiling of Mild Hypothermia by 1H-MRS

Kannie W. Y. Chan^1,2, April M. Chow^1,2, L. Xiao^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

Hypothermia has a profound effect on the protection of brain. However, its exact mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Hypothermia induces changes in brain metabolites. 1H-MRS can detect changes in metabolites and hence help us to have a better understanding of hypothermia. Our data shows changes in several metabolites in the cortex and thalamus. These metabolites are associated with cascade of events that lead to neuroprotection and thermoregulation, which are similar to ex vivo and microdialysis findings. This real time and site specific monitor of metabolites at 7T gives insight into how hypothermia protects the brain from various insults.

13:30         4526.     Effects of Lactoferrin on Altered Brain Metabolism in Pup Rats After Prenatal Exposure to Dexamethasone

Yohan van de Looij^1,2, Pierre Larvaron¹, Emmanuel Somm¹, Bing Wang³, Rolf Gruetter^2,4, Stéphane V. Sizonenko¹, Petra S. Hüppi¹

¹Division of Child Growth & Development, Department of Pediatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; ²Laboratory for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; ³Department of Nutrition and Health, Nestlé Research Center, Lausanne, Switzerland; ⁴Department of Radiology, University of Geneva and Lausanne, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland

Rat model of glucocorticoids exposure during gestation has shown reduction in brain weight. At P7, alterations of cerebral metabolism in the cortex and the hippocampus have been observed by in vivo 1H-MRS. Lactoferrin (Lf) is an iron-binding glycoprotein secreted in milk which has an antioxidant activity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Lf following prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids by high field localized 1H-MRS. Neurochemical profiles of the pup rat brains confirmed the altered brain development after Dex exposure and revealed the potential protective effect of Lf given to gestational and lactating dams.

14:00         4527.     Proton MRS in the Late Stage of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Cerebral Injury

April M. Chow^1,2, Iris Y. Zhou^1,2, Shu Juan Fan^1,2, Kannie W.Y. Chan^1,2, Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) cerebral injury is major cause of permanent damage to neuronal cells. The neonatal brain undergoes regenerative processes late after HI injury. While ¹H MRS has been employed to investigate metabolic changes during acute-phase of HI injury, roles of major neurochemicals as markers for neurodegeneration and neuroprotection at late stage are also important for studying the neurophysiological changes. In this study, we showed that alteration in the metabolism at late stage in cortical and subcortical structures is associated with neonatal HI cerebral injury. This may provide insights into the plastic changes and adaptive modifications within brain following injury.

14:30         4528.     Localized in Vivo ¹H NMR Spectroscopy of the Rat Brain at 16.4T

Sung-Tak Hong¹, Dávid Zsolt Balla¹, Gunamony Shajan¹, Changho Choi², Kamil Ugurbil³, Rolf Pohmann¹

¹High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center , Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany; ²Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; ³Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States

In vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy has several problems including narrow spectral dispersion and low SNR. Increasing a static field strength could alleviate these problems, providing feasibilities of quantifying metabolites not observable at lower field strength. The acquisition of an enhanced neurochemical profile was obtained by minimizing TE up to 1.7 ms in a STEAM sequence at 16.4T. The technique demonstrated possibilities of quantification of additional metabolites, acetate and ethanolamine, in the rat brain in vivo.

15:00         4529.     A Multinuclear NMR Study of Glucose Metabolismin Thiamine-Deficient Cerebellar Granule Cells: New Mechanistic Insights

Abolghasem Mohammadi¹, Claudia Zwingmann¹

¹Département de médicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Wernicke's encephalopathy is a neurological disorder which is characterized by disturbances in consciousness and region-selective brain lesions. Brain damage is associated with a deficiency in thiamine, an essential vitamine in carbohydrate metabolism. Multinuclear NMR spectroscopy was used to assess carbon fluxes and cellular energy state of thiamine-deficient cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons. The data show that neuronal energy failure and death likely result from a primary impairment of neuronal a-KGDH causing impaired carbon flux from glucose/pyruvate through PDH, decreased catabolism of glutamine, and lactate accumulation. Under hyperglycemic conditions, however, alternative explanations to the lactic acidosis hypothesis have to be considered.

13:30         4530.     Taurine Change in Visual Cortex of Neonatal Monocular Enucleated Rat: A Proton MRS Study

April M. Chow^1,2, Iris Y. Zhou^1,2, Shu Juan Fan^1,2, Kannie W.Y. Chan^1,2, Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

¹Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Signal Processing, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China; ²Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China

Neonatal monocular enucleation has been used to study developmental mechanisms underlying visual perception and the cross-modal changes in the central nervous system caused by early loss of the visual input. In this study, we demonstrated that alteration in the metabolism of taurine in visual cortex accompanied with neonatal monocular enucleation could be monitored using ¹H MRS at 7 T. The change in taurine signal with respect to creatine signal may possibly due to the increased taurine signal in the right control visual cortex, likely caused by the plasticity resulted from recruitment of resources to the remaining left eye for adaptation.

14:00         4531.     Simultaneously Measuring Glucose Transport Constants and Cerebral Metabolic Rate of Glucose by in Vivo ¹H MRS in the Rat Brain - not available

Fei Du^1,2, Yi Zhang¹, Xiao-Hong Zhu¹, Wei Chen¹

¹Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; ²Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard University, Belmont, MA, United States

The basal brain activity and function depends upon a constant supply of glucose through the specific glucose transport mechanism mediated by transporter molecules, referred to as the blood-brain barierr (BBB). Therein the noninvasive method to reliably measure glucose cerebral metabolic rate and transport constants are of importance for understanding underlying glucose transport mechanism and energy consumption in the various physiological or pathological conditions. For instance, in our previous studies, we observed that compared to the light anesthesia (2% v-v isofulorane), brain glucose concentration significantly decreased although cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRglc) decreased 37% at the iso-electric condition. This observation of glucose reduction seemingly contradicted with other studies showing a decreased brain glucose concentration accompanied by the increased CMR_glc due to the elevated stimulations. This apparent discrepancy can be explained by the changes of blood plasma glucose concentrations, which were found to be substantially decreased under the iso-electric conditions. Another possible reason is alterations of glucose transport constants (K_T and T_max). It was reported that pentobarbital reduced blood-brain glucose transfer in the rat brain and the glucose transport constants decreased compared to the awaken condition. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to build-up a noninvasive method to reliably and simultaneously measure CMR_glc and transport constants for fully understanding brain glucose concentration changes with alterations of anesthesia depth. The method was introduced and implemented by simultaneously measuring plasma and brain tissue glucose concentration time courses after stopping glucose infusion.

14:30         4532.     1H MRS of Cortical and Subcortical Structures in Mild and Severe Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Cerebral Injuries

Kevin C. Chan^1,2, Ed X. Wu^1,2

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

This study employed in vivo 1H MRS to understand the metabolic alterations in cortical and subcortical structures during the recovery period upon mild and severe hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injuries to the neonatal rat brains. Relative to the Cr peak, results showed a further increase in Cho, Glu and Lac in the left cortex of severe HI group than mild HI group at 3 days after HI injury at postnatal day 7. These values then decreased slightly at 7 days after surgery in both HI groups. Tau also increased on both sides of the cortex at Day 3 and then drop at Day 7 for both HI groups. In the left thalamus of the severe HI group, NAA appeared to decrease transiently at Day 3 and normalize at Day 7, whereas Cho, Glu, Lac and Tau levels apparently peaked at Day 3. The results of this study may help to investigate potential therapies and the recovery mechanisms upon different severity of neonatal HI insults.

15:00         4533.     Early Metabolic Changes Following Focal Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats Measured Using  ¹H MRS

Su Xu^1,2, Steve Roys, ²³, Jennifer Racz⁴, Da Shi^1,2, Jiachen Zhuo^1,2, Rao Gullapalli, ²³, Gary Fiskum^1,4

¹Core for Translational Research in Imaging @ Maryland (C-TRIM), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Core for Translational Research in Imaging @  Maryland (C-TRIM), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ⁴Anesthesiology and the Center for Shock Trauma and Anesthesiology Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

Traumatic brain injury is characterized by acute physiological changes that may play a significant role in the final outcome resulting from the injury. Experimental models of TBI provide a useful tool for understanding the early cerebral metabolic changes induced by the damage. In this study, we investigate the early post-traumatic changes in neuro-metabolites in the rat brain following controlled cortical impact injury using in vivo ¹H MRS at 7 Tesla. Significant changes in N-acetylaspartate, glutamate and choline were observed within the first 3 hours after injury in the pericontusional area suggesting a possible temporal window for therapeutic intervention.