Introduction A magnetic resonance image (MRI) study recently described greater improvements in gray matter volume and cortical thickness in post‐stroke patients with upper‐limb spasticity treated with surgery versus botulinum toxin‐A (BoNT‐A). Objective To compare changes in the white matter of these patients after surgical versus BoNT‐A treatment and to relate findings to upper‐limb function and quality‐of‐life. Methods In a two‐arm randomized controlled clinical trial, 30 post‐stroke patients (>12 months) with spastic upper limbs were recruited and randomly assigned (1:1) to surgery or BoNT‐A treatment (controls). Functional and quality‐of‐life parameters were studied at baseline (pre‐intervention) and at 6 months, while brain MRI scans of the white matter were taken at the same time points using a Siemens 3T Prisma MRI scanner. Although baseline MRI scans were obtained in all 30 participants, complete longitudinal MRI data were available for only 14 participants because of contraindications or refusal of follow‐up imaging. Therefore, the imaging analyses were considered only exploratory and hypothesis‐generating. Results Increased post‐ versus pre‐surgery fractional anisotropy (FA) values were associated with Carer Burden and House functional scale scores, and decreased FA values with Ashworth, Fugl‐Meyer, pain visual analogue scale, and SF‐36 scores. Reduced mean diffusivity (MD) values for inferior fronto‐occipital fasciculus, cingulum parahippocampal parietal, uncinate fasciculus, and reticular tract were associated with improvements in Fugl‐Meyer motor recovery scores. Conclusion The post–pre increase in FA of white matter tracts in the experimental versus control group may suggest differences in white matter microstructure between treatment groups, potentially reflecting neuroplastic changes. These findings suggest that changes in white matter microstructure might be associated with improvements in motor function, independence, and caregiver burden. However, given the small longitudinal MRI sample, the tract‐specific findings should be considered hypothesis‐generating and require confirmation in larger studies.
Objective To investigate the temporal dynamics of cerebral blood flow (CBF) responses to Japanese‐style acupuncture in patients with episodic migraine using arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to compare these responses with those of healthy controls. Methods Patients with episodic migraine were recruited according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD‐3), and healthy volunteers without migraine served as controls. Japanese‐style acupuncture was administered for 10 min at four clinically relevant cranio‐cervical acupoints (ST8, ST6, GB21, and GB12) using nonmagnetic silver needles (0.2 mm in diameter). All acupuncture procedures were performed by the same licensed acupuncturist. CBF was assessed during the interictal period using repeated ASL MRI at baseline, during acupuncture stimulation (early and late phases), immediately after needle removal, and 15 and 30 min after stimulation. Results Eleven patients with episodic migraine (3 men and 8 women; mean age, 39.1 ± 4.6 years) and 11 healthy volunteers (4 men and 7 women; mean age, 32.3 ± 9.2 years) were included in the final analysis. Both groups demonstrated increased cerebral perfusion within the operculum, insula, cingulate cortex, and thalamus during acupuncture stimulation. In healthy controls, these perfusion changes gradually returned toward baseline following stimulation. In contrast, patients with episodic migraine exhibited more prolonged cerebral perfusion responses that persisted after needle removal and extended into frontal cortical regions. Compared with healthy controls, migraine patients demonstrated greater temporal persistence of cerebral perfusion modulation. Conclusions Temporally organized cerebral perfusion changes were observed during and after Japanese‐style acupuncture in both healthy controls and patients with episodic migraine. Compared with healthy controls, patients with episodic migraine exhibited cerebral perfusion changes that remained evident during the poststimulation period. These exploratory findings suggest differences in the temporal dynamics of cerebral perfusion between the two groups. Further controlled studies are required to determine the specificity and physiological significance of these responses. Trial Registration : UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN‐CTR): UMIN000005644
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience abnormalities in the central nervous system via the gut-brain axis (GBA), leading to changes in brain structure and function. Butyrate has been shown to influence the central nervous system via the GBA, with potential benefits for neurological issues in IBD. However, directly assessing butyrate's impact on the central nervous system in IBD patients is difficult due to confounding factors in human studies. This study employed a mouse model to investigate the effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) on brain structure and function in IBD through multimodal MRI. Fifteen mice were equally divided into three groups: a healthy control group, an IBD group and an IBD + NaB group (NaB group). All three groups underwent scanning with a 9.4T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The scanning sequences included diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), three-dimensional T2-weighted imaging and functional MRI (fMRI), respectively, to assess alterations in white matter integrity, grey matter nucleus volume and neural activity among the different groups. Compared with the IBD group, the NaB group exhibited reduced inflammation. In both the IBD and NaB groups, the mean diffusivity (MD) values of white matter fibre tracts in the left inferior cerebellar peduncle (restiform body) region were lower than those in the HC group. Differences in nucleus volume were observed among the groups in two regions: an undefined region and the left caudoputamen. Differences in neural activity were observed among the groups in the right pontine reticular nucleus, lateral posterior nucleus of the thalamus, left simple lobule and right midbrain reticular nucleus. Furthermore, alterations in neural local activity coherence were noted in the right nucleus accumbens, left intermediate reticular nucleus, and right hippocampal CA3 region. These results suggest that NaB alleviates the degree of inflammation in IBD mice and induces alterations in brain structure and function via the GBA.
Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder for which effective treatments in adults are limited due to reduced cortical plasticity. Environmental enrichment (EE) can partially restore this plasticity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated whether the miR-132/HDAC3 pathway is associated with EE-induced visual recovery in adult amblyopic mice. An adult amblyopia model (n = 64) was established via monocular deprivation (MD). Amblyopic mice were assigned to untreated, standard housing (SH), or EE groups, with normal mice as controls. Visual function was assessed using flash visual evoked potentials (fVEP), and molecular analyses of miR-132 and HDAC3 in the primary visual cortex (V1) were performed. In vitro studies included a dual-luciferase assay to verify miR-132-HDAC3 targeting and evaluated the effects of miR-132/HDAC3 overexpression on cortical neurons. Compared to SH, EE-reared amblyopic mice showed (1) increased N1-P2 wave amplitude in fVEP and (2) upregulated miR-132 and downregulated HDAC3 in V1. In vitro, HDAC3 was confirmed as a direct miR-132 target, and miR-132 overexpression suppressed HDAC3 while promoting structural remodeling in visual cortical neurons. These findings suggest that the miR-132/HDAC3 pathway potentially contributes to EE-induced visual restoration in adult amblyopia.
