The volume reduction of the gray matter structures in patients with Alzheimer's disease is often accompanied by an asymmetric increase in the number of white matter fibers located close to these structures. The present study aims to investigate the white matter structure changes in the motor basal ganglia in Alzheimer's disease patients compared to healthy controls using diffusion tensor imaging. The amounts of tracts, tract length, tract volume, quantitative anisotropy, and general fractional anisotropy were measured in ten patients with Alzheimer's disease and ten healthy controls. A significant decrease in the number of tracts and general fractional anisotropy was found in patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to controls in the right caudate nucleus, while an increase was found in the left and the right putamen. Further, a significant decrease in the structural volume of the left and the right putamen was observed. An increase in the white matter diffusion tensor imaging parameters in patients with Alzheimer's disease was observed only in the putamen bilaterally. The right caudate showed a decrease in both the diffusion tensor imaging parameters and the volume in Alzheimer's disease patients. The right pallidum showed an increase in the diffusion tensor imaging parameters but a decrease in volume in Alzheimer's disease patients.

• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc * diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• bílá hmota * diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• putamen diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• šedá hmota diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• zobrazování difuzních tenzorů metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

K exacerbaci myasthenia gravis (MG) dochází často při různých infekcích. Onemocnění COVID-19, které se vyznačuje postižením plic se selháním respirace, masivní zánětlivou reakcí a vysokou úmrtností, může vést ke zhoršení řady neuromuskulárních poruch vč. MG. Jednotlivé publikované soubory nemocných s MG a COVID-19 jsou značně variabilní a liší se tíží nemoci i zvoleným terapeutickým přístupem. V našem souboru 11 nemocných s MG se u 3 pacientů jednalo o výrazné zhoršení a u dalších 4 o mírné zhoršení klinických myastenických příznaků. U 3 nemocných byly intravenózně aplikovány vysoké dávky methylprednisolonu, u dvou nemocných byla zvýšena perorální dávka prednisonu na 40 mg/60 mg, jeden nemocný byl léčen imunoglobulinem intravenózně (2 g/kg) a jednomu byl podán remdesivir. U 88leté ženy byla MG diagnostikována až po prodělání infekce COVID-19. 77letý muž po 6 dnech mechanické ventilace zemřel. Infekce COVID-19 vede u značné části nemocných s MG k exacerbaci klinických příznaků. Jde zejména o poruchu ventilace, kdy se zvýšená svalová únavnost v rámci MG kombinuje se zánětlivými změnami plicního parenchymu.

Various infections can frequently lead to the exacerbation of myasthenia gravis (MG). COVID-19 infection characterized by lung impairment with respiration failure, massive inflammatory reaction and high mortality may lead to worsening of many neuromuscular disorders including MG. Published series of patients with MG and COVID-19 are considerably variable and differ in disease severity and selected therapeutic approach. In our group of 11 MG patients, substantial worsening was present in 3 patients, and in 4 there was a mild worsening of clinical myasthenic symptoms. In 3 patients, we used high doses of methylprednisolone intravenously, in 2 patients, the oral doses of prednisone were increased to 40 mg/60 mg a day, 1 patient was treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (2 g/kg), and 1 was treated with remdesivir. An 88-year-old woman was diagnosed with MG after COVID-19 infection. A 77-year-old man died after 6 days of mechanical ventilation. COVID-19 infection leads to an exacerbation of clinical symptoms in a large proportion of MG patients with ventilation disorder due to increased muscle fatigue and inflammatory changes in the lung parenchyma.

• MeSH
• COVID-19 * MeSH
• imunosupresivní léčba MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• myasthenia gravis * MeSH
• progrese nemoci MeSH
• retrospektivní studie MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Introduction: Measurement of an- hippocampal area or volume is useful in clinical practice as a supportive aid for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Since it is time-consuming and not simple, it is not being used very often. We present a simplified protocol for hippocampal atrophy evaluation based on a single optimal slice in Alzheimer's disease. Methods: We defined a single optimal slice for hippocampal measurement on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the plane where the amygdala disappears and only the hippocampus is present. We compared an absolute area and volume of the hippocampus on this optimal slice between 40 patients with Alzheimer disease and 40 age-, education- and gender-mateched elderly controls. Furthermore, we compared these results with those relative to the size of the brain or the skull: the area of the optimal slice normalized to the area of the brain at anterior commissure and the volume of the hippocampus normalized to the total intracranial volume. Results: Hippocampal areas on the single optimal slice and hippocampal volumes on the left and right in the control group were significantly higher than those in the AD group. Normalized hippocampal areas and volumes on the left and right in the control group were significantly higher compared to the AD group. Absolute hippocampal areas and volumes did not significantly differ from corresponding normalized hippocampal areas as well as normalized hippocampal volumes using comparisons of areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves. Conclusion: The hippocampal area on the well-defined optimal slice of brain MRI can reliably substitute a complicated measurement of the hippocampal volume. Surprisingly, brain or skull normalization of these variables does not add any incremental differentiation between Alzheimer disease patients and controls or give better results.

• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• hipokampus diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• interpretace obrazu počítačem metody   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie metody   MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• zobrazování trojrozměrné metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Micro-CT imaging is a well-established morphological method for the visualization of animal models. We used ethanol fixation of the mouse brains to perform high-resolution micro-CT scans showing in great details brain grey and white matters. It was possible to identify more than 50 neuroanatomical structures on the 5 selected coronal sections. Among white matter structures, we identified fornix, medial lemniscus, crossed tectospinal pathway, mammillothalamic tract, and the sensory root of the trigeminal ganglion. Among grey matter structures, we identified basal nuclei, habenular complex, thalamic nuclei, amygdala, subparts of hippocampal formation, superior colliculi, Edinger-Westphal nucleus, and others. We suggest that micro-CT of the mouse brain could be used for neurohistological lesions evaluation as an alternative to classical neurohistology because it does not destroy brain tissue.

• MeSH
• ethanol chemie   MeSH
• fixace tkání * MeSH
• mozek diagnostické zobrazování   MeSH
• myši MeSH
• rentgenová mikrotomografie * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer disease is traditionally conceptualized as a disease of brain gray matter, however, studies with diffusion tensor imaging have demonstrated that Alzheimer disease also involves alterations in white matter integrity. We measured number of tracts, tracts length, tract volume, quantitative anisotropy and general fractional anisotropy of neuronal tracts in subcallosal area, paraterminal gyrus and fornix in patients with Alzheimer disease and healthy age-matched controls. Our hypothesis was that patients with Alzheimer disease should exhibit decrease in the integrity of these white matter structures that are crucial for semantic memory function. METHODS: For our study were selected 24 patients with confirmed Alzheimer disease diagnosis and 24 healthy controls (AD center, Department of Neurology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic). Statistically significant differences between the patients with Alzheimer disease and the control group were found both on the left and right fornices but only concerning the tract numbers and tract length. The subcallosal area and paraterminal gyrus showed statistically significant differences between the patients with Alzheimer disease and the control group, but only on the left side and only associated with the tract volume and quantitative anisotropy. CONCLUSION: Our explanation for these findings lies in the severe hippocampal atrophy (and subsequent loss of function) with compensatory hypertrophy of the subcallosal area and paraterminal gyrus neuronal fibers that occurs in Alzheimer's disease, as an adaptation to the loss of projection from the hippocampal formation via fornix.

• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc diagnostické zobrazování   patologie   MeSH
• atrofie MeSH
• bílá hmota diagnostické zobrazování   patologie   MeSH
• fornix cerebri diagnostické zobrazování   patologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• velikost orgánu MeSH
• zobrazování difuzních tenzorů * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

• Publikační typ
• abstrakt z konference MeSH