Due to its great clinical significance, brain injury following cardiac arrest (CA) has attracted more attention now. Meanwhile, there are currently no approved real time objective methods used to monitor brain injury following CA. In this study, we adopt the method of nonextensive Kullback-Leibler Entropy in investigating the HRV signals from brain injury and compare the result with that of corresponding EEG analysis. The comparative analysis shows that Kullback-Leibler Entropy can reveal the injury level of brain following CA. And we propose a novel quantitative approach for monitoring brain injury.
Algorithms ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Brain Ischemia ; physiopathology ; Electroencephalography ; Heart Arrest ; complications ; Heart Rate ; physiology ; Humans

Brain Neoplasms ; pathology ; physiopathology ; DNA Repair ; genetics ; Glioma ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Statistics as Topic ; Targeted Gene Repair

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by decreased neuronal activity and atrophy, while hyperactivity of neurons seems to make them resistant to aging and neurodegeneration, a phenomenon which we have paraphrased as 'use it or lose it'. Our hypothesis proposes that (1) during their functioning, neurons are damaged; (2) accumulation of damage that is not repaired is the basis of aging; (3) the vulnerability to AD is determined by the genetic background and the balance between the amount of damage and the efficiency of repair, and (4) by stimulating the brain, repair mechanisms are stimulated and cognitive reserve is increased, resulting in a decreased rate of aging and risk for AD. Environmental stimulating factors such as bilingualism/multilingualism, education, occupation, musical experience, physical exercise, and leisure activities have been reported to reduce the risk of dementia and decrease the rate of cognitive decline, although methodological problems are present.
Animals ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Dementia ; genetics ; pathology ; physiopathology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Models, Neurological

OBJECTIVEFollowing traumatic brain injury (TBI), brain tissue that surrounding the regional primary lesion is known as traumatic penumbra; this region may undergo secondary injury and is considered to have the potential to recover. This review aimed to reveal the existence and significance of traumatic penumbra by analyzing all relevant studies concerning basic pathologic changes and brain imaging after TBI.

DATA SOURCESWe collected all relevant studies about TBI and traumatic penumbra in Medline (1995 to June 2013) and ISI (1997 to March 2013), evaluated their quality and relevance, then extracted and synthesized the information.

STUDY SELECTIONWe included all relevant studies concerning TBI and traumatic penumbra (there was no limitation of research design and article language) and excluded the duplicated articles.

RESULTSThe crucial pathological changes after TBI include cerebral blood flow change, cerebral edema, blood-brain barrier damage, cell apoptosis and necrosis. Besides, traditional imaging method cannot characterize the consequences of CBF reduction at an early stage and provides limited insights into the underlying pathophysiology. While advanced imaging technique, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and positron emission tomography (PET), may provide better characterization of such pathophysiology.

CONCLUSIONSThe future of traumatic brain lesions depends to a large extent on the evolution of the penumbra. Therefore, understanding the formation and pathophysiologic process of the traumatic penumbra and its imaging research progress is of great significant for early clinical determination and timely brain rescue.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; physiology ; Brain ; pathology ; Brain Injuries ; complications ; pathology ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; physiology ; Humans ; Necrosis ; physiopathology

BACKGROUNDDysconnectivity hypothesis of schizophrenia has been increasingly emphasized. Recent researches showed that this dysconnectivity might be related to occurrence of auditory hallucination (AH). However, there is still no consistent conclusion. This study aimed to explore intrinsic dysconnectivity pattern of whole-brain functional networks at voxel level in schizophrenic with AH.

METHODSAuditory hallucinated patients group (n = 42 APG), no hallucinated patients group (n = 42 NPG) and normal controls (n = 84 NCs) were analyzed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The functional connectivity metrics index (degree centrality [DC]) across the entire brain networks was calculated and evaluated among three groups.

RESULTSDC decreased in the bilateral putamen and increased in the left superior frontal gyrus in all the patients. However, in APG, the changes of DC were more obvious compared with NPG. Symptomology scores were negatively correlated with the DC of bilateral putamen in all patients. AH score of APG positively correlated with the DC in left superior frontal gyrus but negatively correlated with the DC in bilateral putamen.

CONCLUSIONOur findings corroborated that schizophrenia was characterized by functional dysconnectivity, and the abnormal DC in bilateral putamen and left superior frontal gyrus might be crucial in the occurrence of AH.

Adult ; Brain Mapping ; Female ; Gyrus Cinguli ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Hallucinations ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Putamen ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Schizophrenia ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo examine the relationship between tic symptom severity and amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) brain functioning of the first-episode Tourette syndrome through resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

METHODSixteen subjects were all recruited from the outpatient department of pediatrics, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University and were all first-episode Tourette syndrome patients [male: 13, female: 3; age: 6-16 years; mean age: (11.00 ± 2.92) years]; mean education time: (5.06 ± 2.86) years; course: 14-104 months; mean (48.44 ± 25.00) months; scores of YGTSS at baseline: tic severity score: 37.88 ± 5.39; global damage score: 25.63 ± 12.63. All the subjects experienced resting-state fMRI scans and ALFF were calculated in three frequency ranges: 0.01-0.1 Hz, 0.01-0.027 Hz and 0.027-0.073 Hz. First-episode Tourette syndrome patients and 16 gender, age, and education-matched normal controls experienced resting-state fMRI scans. Correlation analysis was performed in between the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and the severity of tic symptom. P < 0.05 and k value ≥ 10 were considered to be of significance.

RESULTIn tic symptom patients, tic severity (total tic scores of YGTSS) was positively correlated with the ALFF values in the orbital part of left superior frontal gyrus (0.01-0.1 Hz:r = 0.83,0.027-0.073 Hz:r = 0.91, P < 0.05, respectively), right middle frontal gyrus (0.01-0.027 Hz:r = 0.85,0.027-0.073 Hz:r = 0.57, P < 0.05, respectively ) and orbital part of left middle frontal gyrus (0.01-0.027 Hz:r = 0.64, P < 0.05). Tic severity was negatively correlated with the ALFF values in the right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (0.01-0.1 Hz:r = -0.65,0.01-0.027 Hz:r = -0.69, P < 0.05, respectively ) and the left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (0.027-0.073 Hz:r = -0.81, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONTic symptom severity of the first-episode Tourette syndrome is associated with abnormal brain activity patterns of specific brain areas.

Adolescent ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Child ; Female ; Frontal Lobe ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; methods ; Male ; Parietal Lobe ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Rest ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tic Disorders ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Tourette Syndrome ; pathology ; physiopathology

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Brain ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Brain Edema ; etiology ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; chemically induced ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Collagenases ; Electroacupuncture ; Heparin ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

In the researches of biomechanics for child craniocerebral injury, the research progress of performance parameter detection for brain, skull, cranial suture and dura mater, and the finite element model construction for child's head were reviewed. Meanwhile, the shortcomings of the established finite element model construction of child's head were analyzed. Thus, it is necessary to strengthen the material properties parameter detection of child's head, and establish the relevant database, so as to lay the foundation for establishing an accurate finite element model of child's head.
Biomechanical Phenomena ; Brain/pathology* ; Child ; Craniocerebral Trauma/physiopathology* ; Finite Element Analysis ; Head/pathology* ; Humans ; Skull/pathology*

This experimental study was aimed to evaluate the injurious effects of chronic traumatic brain injury on cortex mitochondrial function in rats. The head of rat was impacted by a metal sphere in a weight-drop device twice per day for 30 days, cortex mitochondria were isolated. Then the mitochondria membrane fluidity, swelling, respiratory function, the activities of mitochondria respiratory enzymes and superoxide dismutase (SOD), the levels of phospholipid, malondial dehyde (MDA) and Ca2+ were determined to analyze the function of mitochondria. The data indicated that chronic closed traumatic brain injury caused severe neuronal mitochondrial injuries. The swelling of mitochondria was aggravated, the decomposability of mitochondrial membrane phospholipid was increased, the membrane fluidity of mitochondria was decreased; the chronic closed traumatic brain injury also significantly depressed the activities of respiratory enzymes and SOD of mitochondria, increased the level of MDA and Ca2+. The chronic closed traumatic brain injury induced damage to rat cortex mitochondria. The mechanisms may be derived from the secondary increase of free radicals induced by mitochondrial membrane injury and the obstacle of rat brain energy metabolism.
Animals ; Brain Injury, Chronic ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Male ; Mitochondria ; pathology ; physiology ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Adolescent ; Brain ; pathology ; Child ; Craniopharyngioma ; pathology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; pathology ; physiopathology ; therapy