Novel Imaging Technologies in Traumatic Brain Injury

A special issue of Medical Sciences (ISSN 2076-3271). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 10627

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rodolfo Gabriel Gatto

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Guest Editor

Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Interests: traumatic brain injury; neuroimaging techniques; experimental animal models; axonal connectivity; traumatic axonal injury; neuroprotective agents

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered as one of the most damaging diseases with a significant worldwide incidence among the most productive segments of the population. TBI may lead to a variety of outcomes, ranging from the loss of axonal function and cognitive decline to the irreversible damage and neuronal death. However, after two decades into the 21^st century, the surge of new therapeutical approaches to reduce TBI neuronal damage and associated clinical sequalae are still limited. Hopefully, new strategies integrating different research field could bring a new hope to improve our understanding of this disease and plan better treatments.

During the last decades, the increasing in development and refinement of imaging systems has been a critical to discover new molecular and structural mechanism, accelerating pharmacological outcomes and validate novel animal models. Hence, the improvements of neuroimaging systems and the incorporation of multi-modal approaches are making possible the detection of new bioimaging markers monitoring the effects of novel neuroprotective agents aiming to reduce the cellular damage and preserve axonal connectivity.

In this research topic, we are welcoming authors to contribute with original research articles that will demonstrate the growing effort in the development and application of novel imaging technologies to solve bassic, trasnlational or clinical research questions in the topic of TBI. The overall goal of this theme is to provide the reader with an update of the current imaging technologies as well as other related scienticic aspects listed above.

Dr. Rodolfo Gabriel Gatto
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Neuroimaging Technologies in Traumatic Brain Injury
Bioimaging and Molecular Markers in Traumatic Brain Injury
Neuroprotective Agents in Traumatic Brain Injury
Experimental Animal Models of Traumatic Brain Injury
Axonal Connectivity and Traumatic Injury
Molecular Mechanism Associated to Traumatic Injury

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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30 pages, 8515 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Symptom-Dependent Changes in MEG-Derived Neuroelectric Brain Activity in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients with Chronic Symptoms

by Don Krieger, Paul Shepard, Ryan Soose, Ava M. Puccio, Sue Beers, Walter Schneider, Anthony P. Kontos, Michael W. Collins and David O. Okonkwo

Med. Sci. 2021, 9(2), 20; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medsci9020020 - 25 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2916

Abstract

Neuroelectric measures derived from human magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings hold promise as aides to diagnosis and treatment monitoring and targeting for chronic sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study tests novel MEG-derived regional brain measures of tonic neuroelectric activation for long-term test-retest reliability and sensitivity to symptoms. Resting state MEG recordings were obtained from a normative cohort, Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (CamCAN), baseline: n = 619; mean 16-month follow-up: n = 253) and a chronic symptomatic TBI cohort, Targeted Evaluation, Action and Monitoring of Traumatic Brain Injury (TEAM-TBI), baseline: n = 64; mean 6-month follow-up: n = 39). For the CamCAN cohort, MEG-derived neuroelectric measures showed good long-term test-retest reliability for most of the 103 automatically identified stereotypic regions. The TEAM-TBI cohort was screened for depression, somatization, and anxiety with the Brief Symptom Inventory and for insomnia with the Insomnia Severity Index. Linear classifiers constructed from the 103 regional measures from each TEAM-TBI cohort member distinguished those with and without each symptom, with p < 0.01 for each—i.e., the tonic regional neuroelectric measures of activation are sensitive to the presence/absence of these symptoms. The novel regional MEG-derived neuroelectric measures obtained and tested in this study demonstrate the necessary and sufficient properties to be clinically useful—i.e., good test-retest reliability, sensitivity to symptoms in each individual, and obtainable using automatic processing without human judgement or intervention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Imaging Technologies in Traumatic Brain Injury)

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Review

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10 pages, 843 KiB

Open AccessReview

Emerging Utility of Applied Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury

by Jeffrey Nadel, Joseph Scott McNally, Anthony DiGiorgio and Ramesh Grandhi

Med. Sci. 2021, 9(1), 10; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medsci9010010 - 14 Feb 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3448

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a widespread and expensive problem globally. The standard diagnostic workup for new TBI includes obtaining a noncontrast computed tomography image of the head, which provides quick information on operative pathologies. However, given the limited sensitivity of computed tomography for identifying subtle but meaningful changes in the brain, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown better utility for ongoing management and prognostication after TBI. In recent years, advanced applications of MRI have been further studied and are being implemented as clinical tools to help guide care. These include functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, MR perfusion, and MR spectroscopy. In this review, we discuss the scientific basis of each of the above techniques, the literature supporting their use in TBI, and how they may be clinically implemented to improve the care of TBI patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Imaging Technologies in Traumatic Brain Injury)

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15 pages, 1195 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Magnetoencephalography in the Detection and Characterization of Brain Abnormalities Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comprehensive Review

by Geoffrey W. Peitz, Elisabeth A. Wilde and Ramesh Grandhi

Med. Sci. 2021, 9(1), 7; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medsci9010007 - 04 Feb 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3650

Abstract

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a functional brain imaging technique with high temporal resolution compared with techniques that rely on metabolic coupling. MEG has an important role in traumatic brain injury (TBI) research, especially in mild TBI, which may not have detectable features in conventional, anatomical imaging techniques. This review addresses the original research articles to date that have reported on the use of MEG in TBI. Specifically, the included studies have demonstrated the utility of MEG in the detection of TBI, characterization of brain connectivity abnormalities associated with TBI, correlation of brain signals with post-concussive symptoms, differentiation of TBI from post-traumatic stress disorder, and monitoring the response to TBI treatments. Although presently the utility of MEG is mostly limited to research in TBI, a clinical role for MEG in TBI may become evident with further investigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Imaging Technologies in Traumatic Brain Injury)

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