Cortical thickness of the rostral anterior cingulate gyrus is associated with frailty in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis in Korea: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is defined as a condition of being weak and delicate, and it represents a state of high vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. Recent studies have suggested that the cingulate gyrus is associated with frailty in the elderly population. However, few imaging studies have explored the relationship between frailty and the cingulate gyrus in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. METHODS: Eighteen right-handed patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis were enrolled in the study. We used the FreeSurfer software package to estimate the cortical thickness of the regions of interest, including the rostral anterior, caudal anterior, isthmus, and posterior cingulate gyri. The Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and laboratory tests were also conducted. RESULTS: The cortical thickness of the right rostral anterior cingulate gyrus (ACG) was significantly correlated with the Fried frailty index, age, and creatinine level. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the cortical thickness of the right rostral ACG was associated with frailty after controlling for age and creatinine level. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the cortical thickness of the rostral ACG may be associated with frailty in patients with ESRD on hemodialysis and that the rostral ACG may play a role in the frailty mechanism of this population.

White matter microstructure of superior longitudinal fasciculus II is associated with intelligence and treatment response of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Although the potential role of superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) in intellectual deficits and treatment response (TR) in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) has been previously described, little is known about the white-matter (WM) integrity of SLF subcomponents (SLF I, II, III, and arcuate fasciculus) and their particular relationships with the clinical presentations of the illness. This study examined the associations between fractional anisotropy (FA) of SLF subcomponents and intelligence level and 6-month treatment response (TR) of negative symptoms (NS) in patients with SZ. At baseline, 101 patients with SZ and 101 healthy controls (HCs) underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Voxel-wise group comparison analysis showed significant SLF FA reductions in patients with SZ compared with HCs. Voxel-wise correlation analyses revealed significant positive correlations of FAs of right SLF II with Korean-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale at baseline and the percentage reduction of negative syndrome subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales at 6 months. These findings suggest that aberrance in WM microstructure in SLF II may be associated with intellectual deficits in patients with SZ and TR of NS, which may support the potential role of SLF II as a novel neuroimaging biomarker for clinical outcomes of the illness.

Novel hyaluronate-atelocollagen/beta-TCP-hydroxyapatite biphasic scaffold for the repair of osteochondral defects in rabbits.

The authors devised a novel biphasic scaffold combining hyaluronic acid and atelocollagen for the chondral phase and combining hydroxyapatite (HA) and beta-tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) for the osseous phase. The biphasic scaffold was fabricated by placing the freeze-dried chondral phase over the HA/beta-TCP scaffold prewetted with hyaluronate/atelocollagen solution. Chondrocytes were isolated in 28 rabbits, expanded, injected inside the chondral phase of the biphasic scaffold, and then cultured in chondrogenic medium. After 2 weeks of in vitro culture, chondrocytes had evenly infiltrated inside the chondral phase and produced extracellular matrix. For in vivo study, a large osteochondral defect was made on the patellar groove of the right distal femur and managed using one of the following methods: filling with cell-biphasic scaffold composite (group I); implanting only biphasic scaffold (group II); placing the removed osteochondral fragments back into the defect (group III, positive control); leaving empty (group IV, negative control). Seven rabbits were allocated to each group. After 12 weeks, the International Cartilage Repair Society Macroscopic Score was highest in group III, followed by group I, group II, and lastly group IV. Depression of the defect was greatest in group IV. There were three rabbits (two in group I and one in group II) that were completely denuded of the chondral phase. The junction to adjacent native cartilage was distinct in rabbits of all groups. The International Cartilage Repair Society Visual Histological Score was highest in group III, followed by groups II and I, and lastly group IV. In conclusion, our results suggest that a biphasic osteochondral composite using a chondral phase consisting of hyaluronate and atelocollagen and an osseous phase consisting of HA and beta-TCP holds the promise for repair of osteochondral defects.