EDITORIAL The triumph of an idea […]

EDITORIAL Magnetic resonance imaging and Psychiatry: past, present and future […]

EDITORIAL Neuroscience and the Brain Institute of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein […]

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of a statistical tool (Principal Component Analysis – PCA) for the recognition of patterns and compression, applying these concepts to digital images used in Medicine. METHODS: The description of Principal Component Analysis is made by means of the explanation of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix. This concept is presented on a digital image collected in the clinical routine of a hospital, based on the functional aspects of a matrix. The analysis of potential for […]

OBJECTIVE: The hippocampus has an important role in the acquisition and recall of aversive memories. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship among hippocampal rhythms. METHODS: Microeletrodes arrays were implanted in the hippocampus of Wistar rats. The animals were trained and tested in a contextual fear conditioning task. The training consisted in applying shocks in the legs. The memory test was performed 1 day (recent memory) or 18 days (remote memory) after training. We proposed a measure […]

OBJECTIVE: Morphological study that searched to authenticate the presence of sinoaortic baroreceptor inputs within the dorsolateral medullary nucleus under electron microscopy analysis. METHODS: After a 5-day survival period, 9 baroreceptor-denervated rats deeply anaesthetized with equithesin were transcardially perfused and their brains were histologically processed. RESULTS: The neuronal cytoarchitecture of the paratrigeminal nucleus comprehends afferent projections from other nuclei that have a distributive character regarding visceral and nociceptive functions in the cardiovascular reflex integration response. CONCLUSION: The medial portion of the […]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate tools for the fusion of images generated by tomography and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS: Magnetic resonance and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed while a volunteer who had previously undergone cranial tomography performed motor and somatosensory tasks in a 3-Tesla scanner. Image data were analyzed with different programs, and the results were compared. RESULTS: We constructed a flow chart of computational processes that allowed measurement of the spatial congruence between the methods. There was […]

OBJECTIVE: To propose an automatic brain tumor segmentation system. METHODS: The system used texture characteristics as its main source of information for segmentation. RESULTS: The mean correct match was 94% of correspondence between the segmented areas and ground truth. CONCLUSION: Final results showed that the proposed system was able to find and delimit tumor areas without requiring any user interaction.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to monitor the migration of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION)-labeled C6 cells, which were used to induce glioblastoma tumor growth in an animal model, over time using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with the goal of aiding in tumor prognosis and therapy. METHODS: Two groups of male Wistar rats were used for the tumor induction model. In the first group (n=3), the tumors were induced via the injection of SPION-labeled C6 cells. In […]

OBJECTIVE: To identify the effect of levodopa in language areas in Parkinson’s disease patients. METHODS: We evaluated 50 patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease, age and gender paired to 47 healthy volunteers. We selected two homogeneous groups of 18 patients taking levodopa and 7 no levodopa patients. The functional magnetic resonance imaging verbal fluency task, with low and high cognitive demands, was performed at a 3T magnetic resonance imaging equipment. Data was analyzed with XBAM software for group maps […]

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the labeling of umbilical cord vein derived mesenchymal stem cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with dextran and complexed to a non-viral transfector agent transfector poly-L-lysine. METHODS: The labeling of mesenchymal stem cells was performed using the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran complexed and not complexed to poly-L-lysine. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles/dextran was incubated with poly-L-lysine in an ultrasonic sonicator at 37°C for 10 minutes for complex formation […]

OBJECTIVE: To analyze multimodal magnetic nanoparticles-Rhodamine B in culture media for cell labeling, and to establish a study of multimodal magnetic nanoparticles-Rhodamine B detection at labeled cells evaluating they viability at concentrations of 10µg Fe/mL and 100µg Fe/mL. METHODS: We performed the analysis of stability of multimodal magnetic nanoparticles-Rhodamine B in different culture media; the mesenchymal stem cells labeling with multimodal magnetic nanoparticles-Rhodamine B; the intracellular detection of multimodal magnetic nanoparticles-Rhodamine B in mesenchymal stem cells, and assessment of the […]

OBJECTIVE: To establish the method of isolation and culture of human glioblastoma neurospheres, and the purification of their stem cells, followed by the process of obtaining tumor subspheres, immunophenotypically characterizing this clonogenic set. METHODS: Through the processing of glioblastoma samples (n=3), the following strategy of action was adopted: (i) establish primary culture of glioblastoma; (ii) isolation and culture of tumor neurospheres; (iii) purify cells that initiate tumors (CD133+) by magnetic separation system (MACS); (iv) obtain tumor subspheres; (v) study the […]

OBJECTIVE: To establish a routine for the extraction of the total levels of CoQ10 in human plasma through the Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC). METHODS: Two extraction protocols were tested: a) methanol: hexane and b) 1-propanol. The following parameters were analyzed: extraction temperature (19ºC and 4ºC), extraction tubes (glass and polypropylene), and surfactants (SDS, Triton X-100, Tween-20) at different concentrations, i.e., 1%, 3%, 5% and 10%. RESULTS: The results showed that the method of extraction of CoQ10 in a […]

OBJECTIVE: To describe the Single Photon Emission Microscope (SPEM), a state-of-the-art instrument for small animal SPECT imaging, and characterize its performance presenting typical images of different animal organs. METHODS: SPEM consists of two independent imaging devices based on high resolution scintillators, high sensitivity and resolution Electron-Multiplying CCDs and multi-pinhole collimators. During image acquisition, the mouse is placed in a rotational vertical holder between the imaging devices. Subsequently, an appropriate software tool based on the Maximum Likelihood algorithm iteratively produces the […]

OBJECTIVE: To assess intracellular labeling and quantification by magnetic resonance imaging using iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles coated with biocompatible materials in rat C6 glioma cells in vitro. These methods will provide direction for future trials of tumor induction in vivo as well as possible magnetic hyperthermia applications. METHODS: Aminosilane, dextran, polyvinyl alcohol, and starch-coated magnetic nanoparticles were used in the qualitative assessment of C6 cell labeling via light microscopy. The influence of the transfection agent poly-L-lysine on cellular uptake was […]

OBJECTIVE: To propose a measure (index) of expected risks to evaluate and follow up the performance analysis of research projects involving financial and adequate structure parameters for its development. METHODS: A ranking of acceptable results regarding research projects with complex variables was used as an index to gauge a project performance. In order to implement this method the ulcer index as the basic model to accommodate the following variables was applied: costs, high impact publication, fund raising, and patent registry. […]

The Sneddon’s syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by the occurrence of cerebrovascular disease associated with livedo reticularis. The antiphospholipid syndrome is the most frequent type of acquired thrombophilia, defined by the occurrence of thrombosis or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of persistently positive antiphospholipid antibodies. Approximately 80% of Sneddon’s syndrome patients have an antiphospholipid antibody marker. These antibodies may play a pathogenetic role in some cases of Sneddon’s syndrome, and many authors consider these two syndromes as the same […]

Krabbe disease (globoid cell leukodystrophy) is an inherited recessive autosomal leukodystrophy caused by deficiency of the enzyme galactocerebrosidase. The lack of this enzyme leads to the build-up of galactolipids that will promote the death of oligodendrocytes and the demyelination of the central and peripheral nervous systems. There are two clinical forms: early onset and late onset. This article reports a case of late onset Krabbe disease and discusses the importance of early diagnosis for its prognosis.

Pilomyxoid astrocytoma, an entity described as a histological variant of pilocytic astrocytoma, is a rare primary tumor of the central nervous system. It is usually located in the hypothalamic-chiasmatic area, affecting children with a mean age of 10 months. It has a high rate of recurrence and cerebrospinal fluid dissemination, which may be present throughout the neuroaxis. Due to its topography, it may present developmental delay in childhood and diencephalic syndrome, characterized by extreme weight loss, lack of fat accumulation, […]