Diffusion tensor imaging has prognostic value on return to play in hamstring injuries: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Predicting an accurate return to play (RTP) time after hamstring injury remains difficult. The ability of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to detect muscle micro-trauma may help to overcome this limitation.

Purpose: To investigate the predictive value of DTI-derived parameters for RTP prognosis following hamstring injury.

Aortic Function in a Longitudinal 4D Flow MRI Study in Marfan Syndrome Patients Receiving Resveratrol.

Background: New treatment strategies are required to reduce aortic events in Marfan syndrome (MFS). Resveratrol is a dietary supplement that intervenes in aortic wall cellular metabolism and may benefit MFS patients.

Purpose: To evaluate whether treatment with Resveratrol affects aorta hemodynamics derived from 4D flow MRI in MFS.

Assessment of neurocognitive functioning in sickle cell disease and thalassaemia and the association with silent cerebral infarcts, cerebral haemodynamics and oxygen metabolism.

Neurocognitive impairment is a key concern in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, affecting several factors including academic performance, employment and quality of life. While the exact causes remain unclear, correlations with silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs) and abnormal perfusion and oxygenation have been reported in paediatric SCD populations. This study aimed to examine these associations in adults with SCD, including 70 severe SCD patients (HbSS & HbSβ-thal), 22 mild SCD patients (HbSC & HbSβ-thal), 16 thalassaemia patients and 29 healthy controls.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors Impact Brain Volume and White Matter Hyperintensities: A Multiethnic Cohort Study.

Background And Purpose: Brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are established markers of cerebrovascular disease, yet most evidence comes from older populations of predominantly European descent. We prospectively examined the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and brain volumes and WMHs in middle-aged participants in a multiethnic cohort and examined ethnic differences in these associations.

Methods: Baseline data (2011-2015) were collected from 562 participants of Moroccan, South-Asian Surinamese, and Dutch descent, with 3 Tesla brain MRIs conducted between 2021 and 2022 (median follow-up 8.

Compressed Sensing-Accelerated Free-Breathing Liver MRI at 7 T.

Ultra-high field MRI facilitates imaging at high spatial resolutions, which may become important for detailed anatomical and pathological assessment of the human liver. Therefore, we aimed to advance structural liver imaging at 7 T by implementing a high-resolution, phase-shimmed, free-breathing liver scan. Six healthy participants underwent liver MRI scans at 7 T, utilizing an eight-channel parallel transmission system for phase shimming.

The value of MR spectroscopy and MR elastography in assessing hepatic involvement of chronic visceral acid sphingomyelinase deficiency in adults.

Hepatic involvement is one of the main visceral manifestations of Acid Sphingomyelinase Deficiency (ASMD). It can lead to liver fibrosis and liver failure in a subset of patients. Better understanding of the boundary between reversible and irreversible liver involvement is important to initiate enzyme replacement therapy at the right moment.

Mid-life association between cardiovascular risk factors and cerebral blood flow in a multi-ethnic population.

Background: Cardiovascular (CV) risk factors are associated with cerebrovascular damage and cognitive decline in late-life. However, it is unknown how different ethnic CV risk profiles relate to cerebral haemodynamics in mid-life. We aimed to investigate associations of CV risk factors with cerebral haemodynamics at two timepoints and examine the impact of ethnicity on these measures.

Native T1 mapping times are strongly influenced by elite athlete status.

Aims: Limited data indicates that athletes' hearts demonstrate decreased native T1, but this assertion has not been replicated in large cohorts of extreme phenotypes of elite athletes. Therefore, we investigated differences in native T1 between elite athletes and healthy non-athletic controls.

Methods And Results: Cross-sectional analysis comparing native T1 between elite athletes (≥16 years; ≥10 h of exercise/week) and age-matched healthy non-athletic controls.

High-Resolution 3D Turbo Spin-Echo Wrist MRI at 7T Accelerated by Compressed Sensing.

This study aimed to obtain high-resolution 3D isotropic turbo spin-echo (TSE) wrist MRI acquisitions at 7T, with and without fat suppression, facilitated by compressed-sensing (CS) acceleration. In 16 healthy subjects, fat-suppressed (FS) and nonfat-suppressed (NFS) TSE wrist images were obtained. The protocol consisted of a SENSE-accelerated scan, with an isotropic voxel size of 0.

Association between statin adherence and arterial stiffness in young adult patients with familial hypercholesterolemia: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) causes elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, leading to an increased risk for premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). To prevent ASCVD, lipid-lowering therapy (LLT), such as statins, is needed from childhood on, to lower LDL-C levels. Arterial stiffness can serve as a surrogate marker for atherosclerosis.

Association Between Lipoprotein(a) and Arterial Stiffness in Young Adults with Familial Hypercholesterolemia.

: Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) are both inherited dyslipidemias that are independently associated with cardiovascular disease. Surrogate markers to assess signs of atherosclerosis, such as arterial stiffness, might be useful to evaluate the cardiovascular risk in young patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the contribution of Lp(a) to arterial stiffness, as measured by carotid pulse wave velocity (cPWV) in young adults with FH.

Investigating skeletal muscle micro-trauma with time-dependent diffusion and the random permeable barrier model.

Repeated muscle micro-trauma may cause severe muscle damage. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) exhibits sensitivity to microstructural changes in skeletal muscle. We hypothesize that longer diffusion times enhance sensitivity to micro-trauma and that membrane permeability increases with micro-trauma.

The effect of mobile phone electromagnetic fields on the human resting state wake EEG and event-related potential: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The rapid growth of mobile phone usage and its use of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) have raised concerns about potential health risks. Researchers have conducted studies to examine the effects of RF-EMF on the brain using electroencephalography (EEG). We conducted a systematic quality assessment and meta-analysis of published research in this field to establish high-quality studies as references for future protocols.

A signal model for fat-suppressed T-mapping and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI with interrupted spoiled gradient-echo readout.

The conventional gradient-echo steady-state signal model is the basis of various spoiled gradient-echo (SPGR) based quantitative MRI models, including variable flip angle (VFA) MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE). However, including preparation pulses, such as fat suppression or saturation bands, disrupts the steady-state and leads to a bias in T and DCE parameter estimates. This work introduces a signal model that improves the accuracy of VFA T-mapping and DCE for interrupted spoiled gradient-echo (I-SPGR) acquisitions.

Effect of voxelotor on cerebral perfusion and cerebral oxygen metabolism and cardiac stress in adult patients with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is complicated by silent cerebral infarcts (SCIs), for which anemia is an important risk factor. Despite normal oxygen delivery (OD), cerebral vascular reserve (CVR), and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO) are diminished in SCD, possibly causing the formation of SCIs. Voxelotor inhibits polymerization by increasing the hemoglobin oxygen binding, ameliorating hemolytic anemia.

Correction: A diffusion tensor-based method facilitating volumetric assessment of fiber orientations in skeletal muscle.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Effects of resveratrol on aortic growth in patients with Marfan syndrome: a single-arm open-label multicentre trial.

Background: Resveratrol, a dietary supplement that intervenes in cellular metabolism, has been shown to reduce aortic growth rate in a mouse model of Marfan syndrome (MFS), a condition associated in humans with life-threatening aortic complications, often preceded by aortic dilatation. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of resveratrol on aortic growth rate in patients with MFS .

Methods: In this investigator-initiated, single-arm open-label multicentre trial, we analysed resveratrol treatment in adults aged 18-50 years with MFS.

Assessing aortic motion with automated 3D cine balanced steady state free precession cardiovascular magnetic resonance segmentation.

Purpose: To apply a free-running three-dimensional (3D) cine balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) framework in combination with artificial intelligence (AI) segmentations to quantify time-resolved aortic displacement, diameter and diameter change.

Methods: In this prospective study, we implemented a free-running 3D cine bSSFP sequence with scan time of approximately 4 min facilitated by pseudo-spiral Cartesian undersampling and compressed-sensing reconstruction. Automated segmentation of the aorta in all cardiac timeframes was applied through the use of nnU-Net.

Clinical implications of different methods to assess left atrial remodeling: A comparative study between echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for left atrial volume index quantification.

Background: Left atrial volume index (LAVI) serves as a crucial marker for assessing left atrial (LA) remodeling, particularly in patients with mitral valve regurgitation (MR). Recent guidelines recommend a LAVI exceeding 60 mL/m as Class IIa recommendation for mitral valve repair surgery in asymptomatic MR patients with preserved left ventricular function. Traditionally, echocardiography is the standard for assessing LAVI in MR patients.

Free-breathing motion corrected magnetic resonance elastography of the abdomen.

Background: Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive method to measure the viscoelastic properties of tissue and has been applied in multiple abdominal organs. However, abdominal MRE suffers from detrimental breathing motion causing misalignment of structures between repeated acquisitions for different MRE dimensions (e.g.

Accumulation of Iron Oxide-Based Contrast Agents in Rabbit Atherosclerotic Plaques in Relation to Plaque Age and Vulnerability Features.

Purpose: In this study, a detailed characterization of a rabbit model of atherosclerosis was performed to assess the optimal time frame for evaluating plaque vulnerability using superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: The progression of atherosclerosis induced by ballooning and a high-cholesterol diet was monitored using angiography, and the resulting plaques were characterized using immunohistochemistry and histology. Morphometric analyses were performed to evaluate plaque size and vulnerability features.

Intestinal acetate and butyrate availability is associated with glucose metabolism in healthy individuals.

Animal studies suggest that short-chain fatty acids acetate and butyrate are key players in the gut-brain axis and may affect insulin sensitivity. We investigated the association of intestinal acetate and butyrate availability (measured by butyryl-coenzyme A transferase (ButCoA) gene amount) with insulin sensitivity and secretion in healthy subjects from the HELIUS cohort study from the highest 15% (N = 30) and the lowest 15% (N = 30) intestinal ButCoA gene amount. The groups did not differ in insulin sensitivity or secretion.