With the acceleration of global population aging， the assessment and prediction of brain aging have become an important research direction in neuroscience. Brain age， as an indicator for measuring the biological age of the brain， can be used to assess individual cognitive function and predict the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroimaging techniques can reveal the structure and functional state of the brain， providing an important basis for brain age prediction. The hypoxic environment at high altitudes may accelerate brain aging， and its neuroimaging features provide a unique perspective for assessing brain aging. This article reviews the latest research advances in brain aging and brain age prediction under a high-altitude hypoxia environment， with a focus on the construction of brain age prediction models， the application of sMRI/DTI/fMRI， and the impact of high-altitude hypoxia on brain structure， function， and mechanisms， in order to provide a reference and directions for future research.
Neuroimaging

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of TACE and apatinib combined with camrelizumab for treating giant hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods Totally 78 patients with giant HCC were retrospectively collected,including 22 cases received TACE and apatinib combined with camrelizumab(TACE+AC group)and 56 cases received TACE and apatinib(TACE+A group).Propensity score matching analysis was used to select 44 cases(TACE+A'group)from TACE+A group who were matched to those in TACE+AC group at 1:2 ratio.The overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS)and the adverse events were recorded and compared among groups.Results Patients in TACE+AC group had a median OS of 17.8(95％CI:17.5-18.1)months and a median PFS of 8.8(95％CI:5.4-12.3)months,which in TACE+A'group was 9.8(95％CI:7.6-12.1)months and 5.5(95％CI:2.7-8.3)months,respectively.The overall OS rate and PFS rate in TACE+AC group were significantly higher than those in TACE+A' group(both P<0.05).The incidences of thyroid dysfunction,immune pneumonia and reactive cutaneous capillary endothelial proliferation in TACE+AC group were significantly higher than those in TACE+A' group(all P<0.05).No death associated with adverse events occurred.Conclusion Compared with TACE and apatinib,further combining with camrelizumab could get better survival benefit for giant HCC patients with acceptable adverse events.

Cognition is the intelligent processing of the brain， which affects the acquisition and realization of knowledge in the body， including learning， memory， thinking， language， emotion， spirit， and other psychological and social activities. Cognitive impairment refers to abnormalities in the processing of higher-order intellectual activities in the brain， such as learning， memory， thinking， and judgment， which leads to severe learning and memory difficulties， and it is often accompanied by pathological developments including aphasia and apraxia， which is mainly caused by Alzheimer disease， cerebrovascular diseases， and traumatic brain injury. At present， the etiology of cognitive impairment remains unclear. Nowadays， with the continuous development of modern science and technology， proteomics technology has been widely used in the field of clinical medical research and can provide a scientific basis for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and the development of new drugs. This article reviews the research advances in proteomics technologies， humoral proteomics of cognitive disorders， brain tissue proteomics， and proteomics research in cognitive disorders at high altitude， in order to further reveal the application and development of proteomics in cognitive disorders.
Biomarkers

High-altitude headache （HAH） is a type of headache associated with disorder of homoeostasis， and it often appears after ascent to 2 500 m or higher and resolves within 24 hours after descent to below 2 500 m. HAH may occur independently or in association with the onset of acute mountain sickness and chronic mountain sickness. This article describes the clinical features of HAH and discusses the possible pathogenesis， risk factors， preventive measures， treatment， and prognosis of HAH， in order to provide a theoretical basis for further research on HAH.
Headache

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of TACE and apatinib combined with camrelizumab for treating giant hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods Totally 78 patients with giant HCC were retrospectively collected,including 22 cases received TACE and apatinib combined with camrelizumab(TACE+AC group)and 56 cases received TACE and apatinib(TACE+A group).Propensity score matching analysis was used to select 44 cases(TACE+A'group)from TACE+A group who were matched to those in TACE+AC group at 1:2 ratio.The overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS)and the adverse events were recorded and compared among groups.Results Patients in TACE+AC group had a median OS of 17.8(95％CI:17.5-18.1)months and a median PFS of 8.8(95％CI:5.4-12.3)months,which in TACE+A'group was 9.8(95％CI:7.6-12.1)months and 5.5(95％CI:2.7-8.3)months,respectively.The overall OS rate and PFS rate in TACE+AC group were significantly higher than those in TACE+A' group(both P<0.05).The incidences of thyroid dysfunction,immune pneumonia and reactive cutaneous capillary endothelial proliferation in TACE+AC group were significantly higher than those in TACE+A' group(all P<0.05).No death associated with adverse events occurred.Conclusion Compared with TACE and apatinib,further combining with camrelizumab could get better survival benefit for giant HCC patients with acceptable adverse events.

Objective To explore the correlation between diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and intravoxel incoherent motion(IVIM)imaging parameter values in the marginal and central areas of cervical cancer tissue and the pathological characteristics of cervical cancer.Methods Forty-six patients with cervical cancer were selected and classified based on pathology results.Region of interest(ROI)were drawn in the marginal and central areas of each lesion on DWI and IVIM images respectively.And the statistical significance of each parameter of the lesion was compared and analyzed.Results The apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and D values measured in the marginal area between different groups were statistically significant than those in the central area(P＜0.05).The ADC and D values of cervical squamous cell carcinoma in the marginal area were lower than those of adenocarcinoma,the D value had the best discrimination ability.In distinguishing moderate and low differentiation of cervical squamous cell carcinoma,the D value of the marginal area had the best discriminative ability.In distinguishing high and low differentiation of cervical squamous cell carcinoma,the ADC and D values of the marginal area had equivalent discriminative ability.Conclusion The parameter values in the marginal area of cervical cancer lesions are statistically significant than those in the central area.Among the different pathological classifications of cervical cancer,the D value in the marginal area has better discrimination ability and can more truly reflect the pathological characteristics of cervical cancer.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of resting-state mirror homotopic connectivity and the gray matter volume of brain in patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE).Methods:From June 2020 to March 2023, a total of 35 NPSLE patients (NPSLE group) and 30 non-NPSLE patients (non-NPSLE group) were selected from Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, another 31 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy controls(HC group). All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) assessments. The patients in NPSLE and non-NPSLE groups were additionally assessed using the fatigue scale for motor and cognitive functions (FSMC) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS).The DPABI V7.0 toolkit based on the MATLAB platform was used to preprocess the rs-fMRI data and calculate the voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity(VMHC) indexes, and the differences in VMHC between groups were evaluated by covariance analysis in SPM12.0 software, and the VMHC values of brain regions with significant differences were extracted for further comparison between the two groups.Partial correlation analysis was performed to investigate the association between VMHC values and clinical parameters in NPSLE patients.The brain regions with significant differences between NPSLE patients and non-NPSLE patients were used as region of interest (ROI), and gray matter volumes within these ROIs were then calculated by VBM8 toolbox.Results:(1)There were statistically significant differences in the VMHC values of bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, bilateral medial and paracingulate gyrus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus, bilateral postcentral gyrus, and bilateral superior temporal gyrus among the 3 groups( F=11.246-14.102, all P<0.05). The NPSLE group exhibited significantly lower VMHC values in these regions compared to both the non-NPSLE group and HC group (all P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in these regions between the non-NPSLE group and HC group (all P>0.05).(2) The gray matter volumes of bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus(right: (0.57±0.11)mm 3, (0.65±0.08)mm 3, t=-3.409, P=0.001; left: (0.53±0.10)mm 3, (0.60±0.07)mm 3, t=-3.082, P=0.003), bilateral precentral gyrus(right: (0.32±0.06)mm 3, (0.35±0.04)mm 3, t=-2.044, P=0.045; left: (0.39±0.06)mm 3, (0.42±0.04)mm 3, t=-2.505, P=0.015), right medial and paracingulate gyrus((0.66±0.08)mm 3, (0.70±0.07)mm 3, t=-2.491, P=0.015) and left superior temporal gyrus((0.57±0.09)mm 3, (0.61±0.06)mm 3, t=- 2.344, P=0.022) in the NPSLE group were smaller than those of non-NPSLE group.(3)Correlation analysis showed that the VMHC value of dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with IgA level in NPSLE patients ( r=0.353, P=0.047). Conclusion:Patients with NPSLE generally have decreased mirror homotopy functional connectivity in the cerebral hemispheres, accompanied by a decrease in gray matter volume in some brain regions, which can provide a certain neuroimaging basis for the pathogenesis of brain injury.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of resting-state mirror homotopic connectivity and the gray matter volume of brain in patients with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE).Methods:From June 2020 to March 2023, a total of 35 NPSLE patients (NPSLE group) and 30 non-NPSLE patients (non-NPSLE group) were selected from Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, another 31 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy controls(HC group). All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) assessments. The patients in NPSLE and non-NPSLE groups were additionally assessed using the fatigue scale for motor and cognitive functions (FSMC) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS).The DPABI V7.0 toolkit based on the MATLAB platform was used to preprocess the rs-fMRI data and calculate the voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity(VMHC) indexes, and the differences in VMHC between groups were evaluated by covariance analysis in SPM12.0 software, and the VMHC values of brain regions with significant differences were extracted for further comparison between the two groups.Partial correlation analysis was performed to investigate the association between VMHC values and clinical parameters in NPSLE patients.The brain regions with significant differences between NPSLE patients and non-NPSLE patients were used as region of interest (ROI), and gray matter volumes within these ROIs were then calculated by VBM8 toolbox.Results:(1)There were statistically significant differences in the VMHC values of bilateral precentral gyrus, bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, bilateral medial and paracingulate gyrus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus, bilateral postcentral gyrus, and bilateral superior temporal gyrus among the 3 groups( F=11.246-14.102, all P<0.05). The NPSLE group exhibited significantly lower VMHC values in these regions compared to both the non-NPSLE group and HC group (all P<0.05), but there were no significant differences in these regions between the non-NPSLE group and HC group (all P>0.05).(2) The gray matter volumes of bilateral dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus(right: (0.57±0.11)mm 3, (0.65±0.08)mm 3, t=-3.409, P=0.001; left: (0.53±0.10)mm 3, (0.60±0.07)mm 3, t=-3.082, P=0.003), bilateral precentral gyrus(right: (0.32±0.06)mm 3, (0.35±0.04)mm 3, t=-2.044, P=0.045; left: (0.39±0.06)mm 3, (0.42±0.04)mm 3, t=-2.505, P=0.015), right medial and paracingulate gyrus((0.66±0.08)mm 3, (0.70±0.07)mm 3, t=-2.491, P=0.015) and left superior temporal gyrus((0.57±0.09)mm 3, (0.61±0.06)mm 3, t=- 2.344, P=0.022) in the NPSLE group were smaller than those of non-NPSLE group.(3)Correlation analysis showed that the VMHC value of dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with IgA level in NPSLE patients ( r=0.353, P=0.047). Conclusion:Patients with NPSLE generally have decreased mirror homotopy functional connectivity in the cerebral hemispheres, accompanied by a decrease in gray matter volume in some brain regions, which can provide a certain neuroimaging basis for the pathogenesis of brain injury.

Objective To explore the correlation between diffusion weighted imaging(DWI)and intravoxel incoherent motion(IVIM)imaging parameter values in the marginal and central areas of cervical cancer tissue and the pathological characteristics of cervical cancer.Methods Forty-six patients with cervical cancer were selected and classified based on pathology results.Region of interest(ROI)were drawn in the marginal and central areas of each lesion on DWI and IVIM images respectively.And the statistical significance of each parameter of the lesion was compared and analyzed.Results The apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and D values measured in the marginal area between different groups were statistically significant than those in the central area(P＜0.05).The ADC and D values of cervical squamous cell carcinoma in the marginal area were lower than those of adenocarcinoma,the D value had the best discrimination ability.In distinguishing moderate and low differentiation of cervical squamous cell carcinoma,the D value of the marginal area had the best discriminative ability.In distinguishing high and low differentiation of cervical squamous cell carcinoma,the ADC and D values of the marginal area had equivalent discriminative ability.Conclusion The parameter values in the marginal area of cervical cancer lesions are statistically significant than those in the central area.Among the different pathological classifications of cervical cancer,the D value in the marginal area has better discrimination ability and can more truly reflect the pathological characteristics of cervical cancer.

Objective:To explore the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) from imaging perspective by analyzing voxel-based morphology (VBM) and functional connectivity (FC) in resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).Methods:Thirty-five patients with NPSLE and 30 patients with non-NPSLE admitted to Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from June 2020 to March 2023 were enrolled; 31 healthy subjects were included as healthy control group during the same period. All subjects completed routine MRI and rs-fMRI, laboratory tests (C3, C4, IgA, IgM and IgG levels), mini-mental state examination (MMSE), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and fatigue scale for motor and cognitive functions (FSMC). Whole brain gray matter volume in subjects of the 3 groups was analyzed by VBM method, and the brain regions enjoying significant differences in gray matter volume between the NPSLE group and non-NPSLE group were selected as regions of interest (ROIs) for whole brain FC analysis. Partial correlation method was used to analyze the correlations of imaging indexes in brain regions enjoying significant differences with clinical indexes and imaging scores between NPSLE group and non-NPSLE group. Efficacy of imaging indexes in brain regions enjoying significant difference in differentiating NPSLE from non-NPSLE was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:(1) Covariance analysis among the 3 groups showed that the gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus of orbit, left superior frontal gyrus, right rectus gyrus, right transverse temporal gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus was significantly different among the 3 groups ( P<0.001, FDR corrected); compared with the healthy control group, the NPSLE group had significantly reduced gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus of orbit, left superior frontal gyrus of orbit, right rectus gyrus, right transverse temporal gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus ( P<0.001, FDR corrected); compared with the non-NPSLE group, the NPSLE group had significantly decreased gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus of orbit, right rectus gyrus, and right transverse temporal gyrus ( P<0.001, FDR corrected). (2) Whole brain FC analysis with brain regions enjoying significant differences as seed points showed that Fisher z-transformed FC (zFC) in the right transverse temporal gyrus and bilateral postcentral gyrus of the NPSLE group were significantly decreased ( P<0.001, FDR corrected). (3) Partial correlation analysis showed that, in the NPSLE group, zFC from the right transverse temporal gyrus to left posterior central gyrus was negatively correlated with disease course ( r=-0.390, P=0.027); gray matter volume in the right orbital superior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with FSMC-cognitive ( r=-0.401, P=0.023); the gray matter volume in the right orbital superior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with FSMC-motor ( r=-0.374, P=0.035). (4) ROC curve found that gray matter volume in the right rectus gyrus and zFC from the right transverse temporal gyrus to the right posterior central gyrus had relatively high efficacy in differentiating NPSLE from non-NPSLE, with AUC of 0.771 (95% CI: 0.658-0.885, P<0.001) and 0.794 (95% CI: 0.685-0.904, P<0.001), respectively. Conclusion:NPSLE patients have reduced gray matter volume in multiple brain regions (concentrating in the prefrontal limbic system); and reduced FC with some brain regions is noted; multiple indexes are correlated with clinical indexes.