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Open Access Review Article Issue
The development of visual neuroimaging research of acupuncture in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease
Brain Science Advances 2019, 5 (3): 161-168
Published: 17 April 2020
Downloads:19

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder commonly observed in middle-aged and elderly. Currently, its etiology and pathogenesis are still not completely understood. It is associated with many symptoms that severely affect patients’ health and quality of life. At present, the PD clinical treatment mainly aimed to alleviate symptoms, and both medicinal and surgical treatments have side effects and treatment blind spots. The use of acupuncture for the treatment of PD is relatively widespread, and its safety and efficacy have been gradually accepted by the public and medical professions. However, the efficacy of acupuncture in experimental studies remains controversial. Therefore, this paper reviews imaging studies on the use of acupuncture for the treatment of PD. From the study, it shows that acupuncture can improve the neuronal activity, activate the neuronal activity in damaged brain regions, affect relevant neural networks and brain circulation, improve cerebral metabolism, and cause structural changes in related brain regions. Intuitive and visible imaging studies provide objective bases on the use of acupuncture for the treatment of PD.

Open Access Review Article Issue
The impact of neuroimaging advancement on neurocognitive evaluation in pediatric brain tumor survivors: A review
Brain Science Advances 2019, 5 (2): 117-127
Published: 17 January 2020
Downloads:42

Pediatric brain tumors are a type of tumors that are commonly present in children and young adults. With the improvement of treatment, the quality of life, especially the cognitive functioning, is gaining increasingly more attention. Apart from cognitive evaluations, neuroimaging studies begin to play an important part in neurocognitive functioning investigation. In this way, the brain tissue changes caused by tumor variables (including tumor location and tumor size) and treatment variables (including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy) can be detected by neuroimaging. Recent advancement of neuroimaging techniques, such as functional- MRI (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), made great contributions to understanding cognitive dysfunction and quantifying the effects of tumor variables and treatment variables. In recent years, laminar-fMRI provided a potentially valuable tool for examining the exact origins of neural activity and cognitive function. On the other hand, molecular fMRI might guide diagnosis and treatment of brain disease in the future by using new biomarkers, and DTI can detect white matter changes and obtain some anatomically specific information.

Open Access Research Article Issue
Application of multishot diffusion tensor imaging in spinal cord tumors
Brain Science Advances 2019, 5 (1): 59-64
Published: 19 December 2019
Downloads:61
Objective:

To explore the usefulness of multishot diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for evaluating the neurological function of patients with spinal cord tumors

Methods:

Routine magnetic resonance imaging and multishot DTI were performed in five patients with spinal cord tumors. The values of fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) were analyzed.

Results:

Multishot DTI of spinal cord tumors allowed for defining the margins of tumors and determining the relationship of tumors with the adjacent white matter structures of the spinal cord. Multishot DTI demonstrated significantly increased RD and decreased FA of spinal cord tumors compared with those of the normal spinal cord.

Conclusions:

Multishot DTI is a potentially useful modality for differentiating resectable tumors from nonresectable ones based on preoperative imaging alone as well as for differentiating intramedullary tumors from extramedullary ones. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these results.

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