Application of multi-modal neuroimaging three-dimensional reconstruction and virtual reality in neurosurgical specialists training / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Neurosurgery is considered as one of the most difficult areas in the field of medicine, and the complexity of nervous system is a leading cause. Therefore, it demands neurosurgeons possess basic knowledge, spatial thinking, and practical experiences. Here, we introduce a rapid developing technique applying multi-modal neuroimaging reconstruction and virtual reality, which constitutes a novel learning model for boosting the growth of neurosurgeons. The incorporation of multi-modal neuroimaging and virtual reality builds a bridge from two-dimensional image to actual surgical view. Neurosurgeons are able to perform surgical planning and simulation with naked eyes under the constructed three-dimensional hologram. The technique also provides evidence of accurate localization and guidance for operation. Therefore, multi-modal neuroimaging reconstruction and virtual reality are expected to tremendously promote the progress of young trainees, and can further enhance their all-round abilities. In short, this revolutionary learning model would impact the neurosurgical specialists training profoundly.

The Correlation Between Brain Performance Capacity and COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Survey and Canonical Correlation Analysis

ObjectiveTo generate a concept of brain performance capacity (BPC) with sleep, fatigue and mental workload as evaluation indicators and to analyze the correlation between BPC and the impact of COVID-19. MethodsA cluster sampling method was adopted to randomly select 259 civil air crew members. The measurements of sleep quality, fatigue and mental workload (MWL) were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) and NASA Task Load Index. The impact of COVID-19 included 7 dimensions scored on a Likert scale. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was conducted to examine the relationship between BPC and COVID-19. ResultsA total of 259 air crew members participated in the survey. Participants average PSQI score was 7.826 (SD = 3.796), with 49.8% reporting incidents of insomnia, mostly of a minor degree. Participants MFI was an average 56.112 (SD = 10.040), with 100% reporting some incidence of fatigue, mainly severe. The weighted mental workload (MWL) score was an average of 43.084 (SD = 17.543), with reports of mostly a mid-level degree. There was a significant relationship between BPC and COVID-19, with a canonical correlation coefficient of 0.507 (P=0.000), an eigenvalue of 0.364 and a contribution rate of 69.1%. All components of the BPC variable set: PSQI, MFI and MWL contributed greatly to BPC, with absolute canonical loadings of 0.790, 0.606 and 0.667, respectively; the same was true for the COVID-19 variable set, with absolute canonical loadings ranging from 0.608 to 0.951. ConclusionMultiple indicators to measure BPC and the interrelationship of BPC and COVID-19 should be used in future research to gain a comprehensive understanding of anti-epidemic measures to ensure victory in the battle against the spread of the disease.

L-Borneol induces transient opening of the blood-brain barrier and enhances the therapeutic effect of cisplatin.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) protects the central nervous system from external insults by limiting substance diffusion through the endothelial interface. The presence of the BBB makes drug delivery in neurological disorders very challenging. Cisplatin has been shown to be cytotoxic to glioma cells, but substantial limitations exist in its clinical applications due to difficulties in penetration across the BBB. Here, we show that L-borneol, a messenger drug widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, can induce transient disruption of the BBB after 20 min of oral administration. The permeability of the BBB began to recover within 1 h of the administration of L-borneol. Different dosages of L-borneol (100, 150, 300, 600, and 900 mg/kg) could induce significant Evans blue leakage (P<0.05). Oral administration of L-borneol elevated cisplatin concentrations in peritumoral tissue (1.24±0.12 µg/g) and tumor loci (1.41±0.13 µg/g), compared with those in the paraffin control (0.88±0.10 and 0.92±0.15 µg/g, respectively) (P<0.05). Furthermore, we found that the median survival period of tumor-bearing mice was significantly higher in the cisplatin plus L-borneol group (24.0±4.9 days) than in the cisplatin plus vehicle group (19.3±3.9 days) (P<0.05). The neurological deficits were more severe in the vehicle and cisplatin plus vehicle groups at 14 and 21 days after implantation of intracranial glioma cells than in the cisplatin plus L-borneol group. In conclusion, our results indicate that the transient opening of the BBB induced by L-borneol could enhance cisplatin accumulation within the glioma tissue and improve the survival of tumor-bearing mice.

Application value of MRI 3D-TOF combined with three dimensional reconstruction technique in trigeminal neu-ralgia / 局解手术学杂志

Objective To explore the value of 3D time-of-flight MRI ( MRI 3D-TOF) combined with 3D reconstruction technique for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular compression of trigeminal neuralgia by magnetic resonance angiography combined with three-dimen-sional reconstruction technique.Methods A total of 80 patients with vascular compression of the trigeminal neuralgia in our hospital from January 2012 to February 2014 were diagnosed by axial MRI 3D-TOF,combined with 3D vascular and nerve reconstruction in the anatomy Department for further diagnosis and treatment.Results The patients were diagnosed according to the trigeminal nerve and the typings of pe-ripheral vascular compression.The diagnosis results for 29 cases of typeⅠ,19 cases of typeⅡ,32 cases of typeⅢfrom physician 1,the di-agnosis results for 48 cases of typeⅠ,21 cases of typeⅡand typeⅢin 11 cases from physician 2,the difference of the diagnosis bwtween two physicians was statistical significance (P=0.00).Compared with intraoperative diagnosis,the diagnosis of 3D reconstruction results was similar to the intraoperative diagnosis,and the difference was no statistical significance (P=0.98).Conclusion MRI 3D-TOF combined with three-dimensional reconstruction technique in the diagnosis of vascular trigeminal neuralgia shows clear images of the nerve and its sur-rounding vessels,which can be applied to the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia.

The influence of the aqueous extract of ephedra sinica treating in brain damage after subarachnoid hemorrhage in rats / 重庆医学

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect and mechanism of the aqueous extract of ephedra sinica on brain damage after subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH)in rats.Methods Totally 50 rats of Sprague-Dawley were randomly divided into control group,model group and three groups treated with different concentrations(4,12,36 mg/kg).The changes of the cerebral water content,malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)and hydroxy radical of brain tissue were recorded,and he-matoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was used to test the subarachnoid haemorrhagia and oedema,and immunohistochemistry and western blot were carried out to assay the expression of complement C3 in brains of different animal in different group 3d after operation. Results On the postoperative 3 days,compared with the model group,the content of MDA、GSH-Px activity and hydroxyl radical of 12、36 mg/kg treatment groups significantly reduced(P 0.05),but GSH-Px activity and inhibition of hydroxyl radical significantly reduced(P <0.01),and the cerebral water content of 12,36 mg/kg groups were obviously lower compared with model group.The expression of complement C3 was significantly lower on 36 mg/kg treatment group and edema reduced.Conclusion The aqueous extract of ephedra could significantly inhibit the activity of complement C3,prevent the production of MDA、GSH-Px and hydroxyl radical,reduce the severity of cerebral edema and the in-flammatory response,which has a better therapeutic effect SAH animals.