Objective To study the imaging characteristics of intracranial dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors(DNT),and to evaluate the role of CT and MRI in their diagnosis.Methods We presented 8 DNTs cases confirmed histopathologically after operation.CT and MRI features were retrospectively analyzed(3 cases received MR scan only and 5 had both studies),compared with the surgical findings and pathological appearance.Results Eight patients had totally 11 tumors with multifoci in 2 cases.Six DNTs were located in the temporal lobe,1 lesion involved the parietal lobe,1 in the frontal lobe,1 in the brain stem,1 in the cerebellum,and 1 in the frontal and temporal lobe simultaneously.All lesions were observed intracortically,and partial of them extended into the subcortical location.On 5 non-contrast CT scans,3 DNTs were homogeneously hypodense;1 case contained isodense nodules within the hypodense focus.Peripheral spotty calcification was found in 1 case.On pre-contrast MR images,all lesions showed hypointense on T_1-weighted images,moreover,multicystic change with more markedly decreased signal intensity was observed.The DNT had a well-demarcated,multinodular gyriform configuration,or a soap bubble appearance at the cortical margin.On T_2-weighted images,high signal intensity of the tumors was seen except for hypointense calcification.The bone remodeling of the adjacent calvaria was noticed in(1 case.) The tumors had slightly increased signal intensity on FLAIR(fluid attenuated inversion recovery) in 2 cases,and homogeneously mild hyperintense on PDW(proton density weighted imaging),while the isointense focus was observed in one case on DWI(diffusion weighted imaging).No obvious enhancement was identified except 1 lesion with mild enhancement following intravenous administration of contrast material.3 tumors had ill-defined contours,whereas the others showed well-demarcated margins.No surrounding vasogenic edema was present except 2 foci with slight edema.Conclusion DNT usually shows characteristic radiologic findings,in combination with the clinical presentation and history,the diagnostic accuracy should be improved,and,as such,unnecessary radiation and/or chemotherapy may be avoided.

Objective To compare the effects of truncated therapy and conventional therapy on the lung tissue inflammation of mice with pneumonia induced by influenza virus,so as to explore the mechanism of truncated therapy superior to conventional therapy and its relationship with inflammatory cascade after vi-ral infections. Methods 192 Balb/c mice were randomly divided into healthy group, model group, con-ventional therapy group and truncated therapy group. Except for the healthy group, the mice of the other three groups were infected with 50μL 30 LD50 mouse lung-adapted influenza virus strain (FM1) by inoc-ulating intranasally. After 1 h of inoculation, healthy group and model group were administered intragas-trically ( i. g. ) distilled water; conventional therapy group was administered i. g. twice daily Yinqiao Powder for the first three days, then Xijiao Dihuang Decoction for the next four days ( totae seven days);truncated therapy group was administered i. g. Xijiaodihuang Decoction twice daily for consecutive seven days. Then the mice were sacrificed by taking the eyeballs on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th day for sampling and detecting. The WBC count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF) was detected, the levels of IL-1βand IL-18 in the supernatants of lung homogenate were measured by ELISA and NOD-like receptor fam-ily mem NOD-, LRR-and pyrin domain containing 3 ( NLRP3 ) mRNA in the lung tissue were detected by quantitative realtime-PCR. Results Compared with the model group, the WBC counts of BALF, IL-1β, IL-18 and NLRP3 mRNA in truncated therapy group and conventional therapy group decreased( P<0 . 01 ) . WBC counts , IL-1β and IL-18 began to show the remarkable differences from that of model group since the 2nd day, while conventional therapy group didn’ t. On 8th day, WBC count in truncated group was lower significantly than that in the conventional group(P<0. 01). On the 4th day of being in-fected, NLRP3 mRNA of mice lung tissue expressed highly in the model group , while decreased signifi-cantly in the truncated group only. Conclusion The truncated therapy which may inhibit the inflamma-tory reaction induced by innate immunity at the early phase of infection, can prevent the inflammatory cascade, and can truncate the progress of the disease. The potential mechanism is linked to inhibiting the formation of NLRP3 inflammasome, interfering the mature and secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 .

Establishing an effective three-dimensional (3D) culture system to better model human neurological diseases is desirable, since the human brain is a 3D structure. Here, we demonstrated the development of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pillar-based 3D scaffold that mimicked the 3D microenvironment of the brain. We utilized this scaffold for the growth of human cortical glutamatergic neurons that were differentiated from human pluripotent stem cells. In comparison with the 2D culture, we demonstrated that the developed 3D culture promoted the maturation of human cortical glutamatergic neurons by showing significantly more MAP2 and less Ki67 expression. Based on this 3D culture system, we further developed an disease-like model of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which showed a robust increase of glutamate-release from the neurons, in response to mechanical impacts, recapitulating the critical pathology of TBI. The increased glutamate-release from our 3D culture model was attenuated by the treatment of neural protective drugs, memantine or nimodipine. The established 3D human neural culture system and TBI-like model may be used to facilitate mechanistic studies and drug screening for neurotrauma or other neurological diseases.