Biomedical subjects

Jean-Luc Daire

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Luc Daire.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Microstructural development of human brain assessed in utero by diffusion tensor imaging.

BACKGROUND: Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) has been shown to be a great tool to assess white matter development in normal infants. Comparison of cerebral diffusion properties between preterm infants and fetuses of corresponding ages should assist in determining the impact of premature ex utero life on brain maturation. OBJECTIVE: To assess in utero maturation-dependent microstructural changes of fetal cerebral white matter using diffusion tensor MR imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An echoplanar sequence with diffusion gradient (b=700 s/mm(2)) applied in six non-colinear directions was performed between 31 and 37(+3) weeks of gestation in 24 fetuses without cerebral abnormality on T1- and T2-weighted images. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured in the white matter. RESULTS: Mean ADC values were 1.8 microm(2)/ms in the centrum semiovale, 1.2 microm(2)/ms in the splenium of the corpus callosum and 1.1 microm(2)/ms in the pyramidal tract. The paired Wilcoxon rank test showed significant differences in ADC between these three white matter regions. Mean FA values were 1.1%, 3.8% and 4.7%, respectively, in the centrum semiovale, corpus callosum and pyramidal tract. A significant age-related decrease in ADC and an increase in FA towards term were demonstrated in the pyramidal tract and corpus callosum. CONCLUSION: Diffusion tensor imaging in utero can provide a quantitative assessment of the microstructural development of fetal white matter. Anisotropic parameters of the diffusion tensor should improve with technical advances.

Anisotropy↗

PubMed2004

Fetal brain MRI: segmentation and biometric analysis of the posterior fossa.

This paper presents a novel approach to fetal magnetic resonance image segmentation and biometric analysis of the posterior fossa's midline structures. We developed a semi-automatic segmentation method (based on a region growing technique) and tested the algorithm on images of 104 normal fetuses. Using the segmented regions of interest (posterior fossa, vermis, and brainstem), we computed four relative area ratios. Statistical and clinical analysis of our results showed that the relative development of these structures appears to be independent of pregnancy term. In an additional study of 23 pathological cases, one of the four measurements was always significantly different from the corresponding value observed in normal cases.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2004

Gestational hypoxia induces white matter damage in neonatal rats: a new model of periventricular leukomalacia.

In the premature infant, periventricular leukomalacia, usually related to hypoxicischemic white matter damage, is the main cause of neurological impairment. We hypothesized that protracted prenatal hypoxia might induce white matter damage during the perinatal period. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were placed in a chamber supplied with hypoxic gas (10% O2-90% N2) from embryonic day 5 (E5) to E20. Neonatal rat brains were investigated by histology, immunocytochemistry, western blotting, in situ hybridization, DNA fragmentation analysis, and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Body weight of pups subjected to prenatal hypoxia was 10 to 30% lower from P0 to P14 than in controls. Specific white matter cysts were detected between P0 and P7 in pups subjected to prenatal hypoxia, in addition to abnormal extra-cellular matrix, increased lipid peroxidation, white matter cell death detected by TUNEL, and increased activated macrophage counts in white matter. Subsequently, gliotic scars and delayed myelination primarily involving immature oligodendrocytes were seen. In vivo MRI with T1, T2, and diffusion sequences disclosed similar findings immediately after birth, showing strong correlations with histological abnormalities. We speculate that protracted prenatal hypoxia in rat induces white matter damage occurring through local inflammatory response and oxidative stress linked to re-oxygenation during the perinatal period.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Evaluation of liver diffusion isotropy and characterization of focal hepatic lesions with two single-shot echo-planar MR imaging sequences: prospective study in 66 patients.

PURPOSE: To (a) evaluate liver diffusion isotropy, (b) compare two diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequences for the characterization of focal hepatic lesions by using two or four b values, and (c) determine an apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) threshold value to differentiate benign from malignant lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-six patients were examined with two single-shot echo-planar diffusion-weighted MR sequences. In the first sequence, liver diffusion isotropy was evaluated by using diffusion gradients in three directions with two b values. In the second sequence, a unidirectional diffusion gradient was used with four b values. ADCs were measured in 43 patients with 52 focal hepatic lesions more than 1 cm in diameter and in 23 patients with 14 normal and nine cirrhotic livers and were compared by using nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Diffusion in the liver parenchyma was isotropic. ADCs of focal hepatic lesions were significantly different between sequences (P <.01). The mean (+/- SD) ADCs in the first sequence were 0.94 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.60 for metastases, 1.33 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.13 for HCCs, 1.75 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.46 for benign hepatocellular lesions, 2.95 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.67 for hemangiomas, and 3.63 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.56 for cysts. There was a significant difference between benign (2.45 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.96, isotropic value) and malignant (1.08 x 10(-3) mm(2)/sec +/- 0.50) lesions (P <.01 for both sequences). CONCLUSION: Diffusion-weighted MR imaging can help differentiate benign from malignant hepatic lesions. The use of two b values in one direction could be sufficient for the design of MR sequences in the liver.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Patterns of excitotoxin-induced brain lesions in the newborn rabbit: a neuropathological and MRI correlation.

There is pressing need to employ new advances in structural MR brain imaging to better diagnose brain damage in newborn infants. Timely application of such technology will enable improved therapeutic interventions. Diffusion-weighted sequences are a sensitive marker of very early neuronal injury, the spatial pattern of which provides critical information regarding the underlying pathophysiology. We have modified our murine model of excitotoxic neonatal brain injury to the rabbit, an animal whose brain is larger and where the neuroanatomic organization of the subcortical white matter more closely resembles that of the human. Utilizing this rabbit model, we undertook an MRI/histopathologic correlation. We found that as with the mouse, there is a spatiotemporal selectivity to the pattern of brain injury, and that the period from postnatal day (P) 7 to P9 in rabbits corresponds to the time of maximum vulnerability of the brain to excitotoxic white matter damage, which neuropathologically simulates periventricular leukomalacia (PVL). We additionally noted that diffusion-weighted imaging provided the most sensitive means of detecting such lesions and that this method was sensitive to structural maturational changes accompanying the normal cortical ontogeny. Taken together, our findings suggest that this rabbit model of perinatal excitotoxic brain injury will be a valuable addition to experimental approaches to further our understanding of perinatal brain damage, that diffusion-weighted imaging will be an invaluable adjunct to the diagnosis of such injury, and that therapeutic strategies aimed at interrupting the evolution of PVL should include targeting the pathophysiologic cascade induced by excitotoxic neonatal brain injury.

Animals↗