Resting state functional connectivity predictors of treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy in depression.

There is increasing focus on use of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses to subtype depression and to predict treatment response. To date, identification of RSFC patterns associated with response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remain limited, and focused on interactions between dorsal prefrontal and regions of the limbic or default-mode networks. Deficits in visual processing are reported in depression, however, RSFC with or within the visual network have not been explored in recent models of depression. Here, we support prior studies showing in a sample of 18 patients with depression that connectivity between dorsal prefrontal and regions of the limbic and default-mode networks serves as a significant predictor. In addition, however, we demonstrate that including visual connectivity measures greatly increases predictive power of the RSFC algorithm (>80% accuracy of remission). These exploratory results encourage further investigation into visual dysfunction in depression, and use of RSFC algorithms incorporating the visual network in prediction of response to both ECT and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), offering a new framework for the development of RSFC-guided TMS interventions in depression.

Intrinsic functional architecture in the anaesthetized monkey brain.

The traditional approach to studying brain function is to measure physiological responses to controlled sensory, motor and cognitive paradigms. However, most of the brain's energy consumption is devoted to ongoing metabolic activity not clearly associated with any particular stimulus or behaviour. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in humans aimed at understanding this ongoing activity have shown that spontaneous fluctuations of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal occur continuously in the resting state. In humans, these fluctuations are temporally coherent within widely distributed cortical systems that recapitulate the functional architecture of responses evoked by experimentally administered tasks. Here, we show that the same phenomenon is present in anaesthetized monkeys even at anaesthetic levels known to induce profound loss of consciousness. We specifically demonstrate coherent spontaneous fluctuations within three well known systems (oculomotor, somatomotor and visual) and the 'default' system, a set of brain regions thought by some to support uniquely human capabilities. Our results indicate that coherent system fluctuations probably reflect an evolutionarily conserved aspect of brain functional organization that transcends levels of consciousness.

Comparison between serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen, sialic acid and phosphohexose isomerase in lung cancer.

The identification and application of quantifiable tumor markers as adjuncts to clinical care is a story of both success and failure. The present study compared serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) with total sialic acid/total protein (TSA/TP) ratio and phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) in 192 untreated lung cancer patients as well as 80 age and sex matched controls (44 non-smokers and 36 smokers). CEA values were significantly raised (p < 0.001) in smokers as compared to the non-smokers; whereas, TSA/TP and PHI values were comparable between the two groups of the controls. All the biomarkers were significantly elevated (p < 0.001) in untreated lung cancer patients as compared to the controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed higher sensitivities of TSA/TP and PHI as compared to CEA at different specificity levels between 60% and 95%. Mean values of CEA, TSA/TP and PHI were higher in non-responders compared to the responders. The results indicate that TSA/TP and PHI are superior tumor markers than CEA for lung cancer patients.

Assessing benefits of combining biochemical and immunological markers in patients with lung carcinoma.

Establishment of a simple biochemical index for diagnosis of cancer and management of patients with neoplastic diseases remains one of the important goals to be achieved in cancer research. The current investigation determined serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), total sialic acid (TSA) and lipid bound sialic acid (LSA) in 192 untreated lung cancer patients and compared with 80 age- and sex-matched controls (44 non-smokers and 36 smokers). The levels of all the markers were significantly elevated (P < 0.001) in lung cancer patients compared to the controls. CEA and LSA values were significantly raised (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively) in smokers compared to non-smokers. TSA and LSA values were more sensitive than CEA for diagnosis of lung cancer. Mean values of the three markers were higher in non-responders (n = 5) compared to the responders (n = 10). The results suggest that along with CEA, TSA and LSA might be included as routine parameters in lung cancer patients.