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Methodological credit reporting throughout feasibility studies: any detailed overview of the actual nursing jobs treatment study books.
Graph theory has been applied to study the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) since it provides global and focal measures of brain networks properties that are affected by MS. Typically, the connections strength and, consequently, the network(s) properties are computed by counting the number of streamlines (NOS) connecting couples of grey matter regions. However, recent studies have shown that this method is not quantitative.

We evaluated diffusion-based microstructural measures extracted from three different models to assess the network properties in a group of sixty-six MS patients and sixty-four healthy subjects. Besides, we assessed their correlation with patients' disability and with a biological measure of neuroaxonal damage.

Graph metrics extracted from connectomes weighted by intra-axonal microstructural components were the most sensitive to MS pathology and the most related to clinical disability. On the other hand, measures of network segregation extracted from the connectomes weighted by maps describing extracellular diffusivity were the most related to serum concentration of neurofilament light chain. Network properties assessed with NOS were neither sensitive to MS pathology nor correlated with clinical and pathological measures of disease impact in MS patients.

Using tractometry-derived graph measures in MS patients, we identified a set of metrics based on microstructural components that are highly sensitive to the disease and that provide sensitive correlates of clinical and biological deterioration in MS patients.
Using tractometry-derived graph measures in MS patients, we identified a set of metrics based on microstructural components that are highly sensitive to the disease and that provide sensitive correlates of clinical and biological deterioration in MS patients.Introduction Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows noninvasive assessment of white matter connectivity in typical development and of changes due to brain injury or pathology. Probabilistic white matter atlases allow diffusion metrics to be measured in specific white matter pathways, and are a critical component in spatial normalization for group analysis. However, given the known developmental changes in white matter it may be suboptimal to use an adult template when assessing data acquired from children. Methods By averaging subject-specific fiber bundles from 28 children aged from 6 to 8 years, we created an age-specific probabilistic white matter atlas for 12 major white matter tracts. Using both the newly developed and Johns Hopkins adult atlases, we compared the atlas with subject-specific fiber bundles in two independent validation cohorts, assessing accuracy in terms of volumetric overlap and measured diffusion metrics. Results Our age-specific atlas gave better overall performance than the adult atlas, achieving higher volumetric overlap with subject-specific fiber tracking and higher correlation of fractional anisotropy (FA) measurements with those measured from subject-specific fiber bundles. Specifically, estimates of FA values for corticospinal tract, uncinate fasciculus, forceps minor, cingulate gyrus part of the cingulum, and anterior thalamic radiation were all significantly more accurate when estimated with an age-specific atlas. Discussion The age-specific atlas allows delineation of white matter tracts in children aged 6-8 years, without the need for tractography, more accurately than when normalizing to an adult atlas. To our knowledge, this is the first publicly available probabilistic atlas of white matter tracts for this age group.Background Tractography based on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) models the structural connectivity of the human brain. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the subthalamic nucleus is an effective treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease, but may induce adverse effects. This study investigated the relationship between structural connectivity patterns of DBS electrodes and stimulation-induced side effects. read more Materials and Methods Twenty-one patients with Parkinson's disease treated with bilateral subthalamic DBS were examined. Overall, 168 electrode contacts were categorized as inducing or noninducing depending on their capability for inducing side effects such as motor effects, paresthesia, dysarthria, oculomotor effects, hyperkinesia, and other complications as assessed during the initial programming session. Furthermore, the connectivity of each contact with target regions was evaluated by probabilistic tractography based on DWI. Finally, stimulation sites and structural connectivity patterns of inducing and noninducing contacts were compared. Results Inducing contacts differed across the various side effects and from those mitigating Parkinson's symptoms. Although contacts showed a largely overlapping spatial distribution within the subthalamic region, they could be distinguished by their connectivity patterns. In particular, inducing contacts were more likely connected with supplementary motor areas (hyperkinesia, dysarthria), frontal cortex (oculomotor), fibers of the internal capsule (paresthesia), and the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuitry (dysarthria). Discussion Side effects induced by DBS seem to be associated with distinct connectivity patterns. Cerebellar connections are hardly associated with side effects, although they seem relevant for mitigating motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease. A symptom-specific, connectivity-based approach for target planning in DBS may enhance treatment outcomes and reduce adverse effects.
The use of manual therapy as an intervention has garnered intense debate - often mired in a straw man argument that manual therapy is a purely passive intervention. When passive interventions are equated with low-value care, it is easy to deride manual therapy as "low-value" care. However, manual therapy describes a wide variety of different treatments. Manual therapy can have passive components and even be primarily passive in some scenarios. But manual therapy can also form an integral part of highly active treatment strategies. We implore investigators to describe manual therapy interventions used in trials in sufficient detail that can be reproduced, to help end-users of research (including clinicians) make better decisions when assessing the value of treatments. This viewpoint challenges the assumption that manual therapy is always a passive treatment of low value.
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The use of manual therapy as an intervention has garnered intense debate - often mired in a straw man argument that manual therapy is a purely passive intervention.
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