Plos One
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Double inversion recovery (DIR) detects only a minority (<20%) of cortical lesions (CL) in multiple sclerosis (MS). Phase-sensitive inversion recovery (PSIR) was suggested to be substantially superior to DIR in the detection of cortical lesions (CL). These two sequences might be complementary. ⋯ Our study confirms the higher ability of PSIR in disclosing and classifying CL. The presence of CL in all CIS patients further points out the relevance of cortical pathology in MS. Whether the parallel analysis of DIR and PSIR images may be useful for diagnostic purposes, especially when a diagnosis of MS is suspected but not confirmed by routine MRI, needs to be evaluated in larger patient series. The analysis of the cortex by DIR and PSIR may also allow a better stratification of the patients for prognostic and counseling purposes, as well as for their inclusion in clinical studies.
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Emerging evidence suggests that meditation engenders prosocial behaviors meant to benefit others. However, the robustness, underlying mechanisms, and potential scalability of such effects remain open to question. The current experiment employed an ecologically valid situation that exposed participants to a person in visible pain. ⋯ Participants' levels of empathic accuracy was also assessed. As predicted, participants assigned to the mindfulness meditation condition gave up their seats more frequently than did those assigned to the active control group. In addition, empathic accuracy was not increased by mindfulness practice, suggesting that mindfulness-enhanced compassionate behavior does not stem from associated increases in the ability to decode the emotional experiences of others.
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Truncating titin (TTN) mutations, especially in A-band region, represent the most common cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Clinical interpretation of these variants can be challenging, as these variants are also present in reference populations. We carried out systematic analyses of TTN truncating variants (TTNtv) in publicly available reference populations, including, for the first time, data from Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC). The goal was to establish more accurate estimate of prevalence of different TTNtv to allow better clinical interpretation of these findings. ⋯ A-band TTNtv are more rare in the general population than previously reported. Based on this analysis, one in 500 carries a truncation in TTN A-band suggesting the penetrance of these potentially harmful variants is still poorly understood, and some of these variants do not manifest as autosomal dominant DCM. This calls for caution when interpreting TTNtv in individuals and families with no history of DCM. Considering the size of TTN, expertise in DNA library preparation, high coverage NGS strategies, validated bioinformatics approach, accurate variant assessment strategy, and confirmatory sequencing are prerequisites for reliable evaluation of TTN in clinical settings, and ideally with the inclusion of mRNA and/or protein level assessment for a definite diagnosis.
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The aims of this study were to investigate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment at various stages following chronic constriction injury (CCI) and to explore the underlying mechanisms of HBO treatment. ⋯ HBO treatment at various stages following CCI can produce antinociceptive effects via different mechanisms. Early HBO treatment is associated with inhibition of P2X4R expression, and late HBO treatment is associated with inhibition of cell apoptosis.
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To determine the metabolically active whole-body tumor volume (WB-MTV) on F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18-FDG PET/CT) in individuals with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) using a three-dimensional (3D) segmentation and computerized volumetry technique, and to compare PET WB-MTV between patients with benign and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs). ⋯ WB-MTV and WB-TLG may identify malignant change and may have the potential to provide a basis for investigating molecular biomarkers that correlate with metabolically active disease manifestations. Further evaluation will determine the potential clinical impact of these PET-based parameters in NF1.