Magnetom trio tim mri system

Clinical data were collected for all enrolled patients. Electroencephalography (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and lumbar puncture were performed during hospitalization. All participants were administered the Barthel Index, a measure of functional severity commonly used to evaluate prion diseases (18 (link), 19 (link)). MRI scans were performed on a 3.0 Tesla MRI system (Siemens Magnetom Trio Tim MRI system, Germany) using standard coil. T1-weighted, T2-weighted, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted image (DWI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) data were acquired. EEG monitoring was performed using a 32-channel digital EEG system (DAVINCI-SAM, Micromed, Mogliano Veneto, Italy). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples were collected by the medical staff in our hospital and transferred to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, where CSF 14-3-3 protein was detected by western blot and the prion protein gene (PRNP) was analyzed (20 (link)). Typical MRI imaging for CJD diagnosis was defined as the high signal of DWI or FLAIR in caudate/putamen or at least two cortical regions (temporal, parietal, occipital). Typical EEG pattern was defined as periodic sharp wave complexes (PSWCs) (17 (link)).

Clinical information including sex, age, disease severity, survival time and results of auxiliary examination (neuron-specific enolase [NSE] levels in plasma, 14–3-3 protein in CSF, electroencephalography [EEG] and MRI) were collected for all enrolled patients. The disease severity was quantified by Barth Index [21 (link), 22 (link)]. Survival time was defined as the time between the date of initial symptom onset to the date of death. MRI scans were conducted on a 3.0 Tesla MRI system (Siemens Magnetom Trio Tim MRI system, Germany) using standard coil. The high signal of DWI or FLAIR in caudate/putamen or at least two cortical regions (temporal, parietal or occipital) were indicative of CJD. Since previous studies have shown the presence of diffusion restriction in basal ganglia in the later stage of CJD and correlated it with faster disease progression [23 (link), 24 (link)], we also considered basal ganglia hyperintensity as a marker of more severe disease stage. EEG was performed using a 32-channel digital EEG system (DAVINCI-SAM, Micromed, Mogliano Veneto, Italy). Periodic sharp wave complexes (PSWCs) were described as the typical EEG pattern. CSF 14–3-3 protein was detected by western blotting as described previously [25 (link)]. PRNP gene and polymorphism of codon 129 were also tested [26 (link)].

All participants were imaged with a 3.0 Tesla MR imager (Siemens Magnetom Trio Tim MRI system, Germany) using a standard head coil. Resting-state blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals were collected using an echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence with the following parameters: 28 axial slices; repetition time (TR) = 2,000 ms; echo time (TE) = 40 ms; flip angle (FA) = 90°; slice thickness = 4.0 mm; gap = 0.8 mm; matrix = 64 × 64; and field of view (FOV) = 256 × 256 mm. All participants were asked to keep their eyes closed and mind relaxed with as little motion as possible during the scan, which lasted for 8 min. In addition to rs-fMRI scans, T1-weighted images were acquired for anatomical reference. T1-weighted MR images were obtained by a 3D magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) with the following parameters: slices = 176, thickness = 1.0 mm, TR = 1,900 ms, TE = 2 ms, inversion time (TI) = 900 ms, FA = 9°, FOV = 224 × 256 mm, and matrix = 448 × 512.

All participants were imaged with a 3.0 Tesla MR imager (Siemens Magnetom Trio Tim MRI system, Germany) using a standard head coil. Cushions and earplugs were used to reduce subject motion and scanner noise. Before imaging, subjects were asked to keep their eyes closed and relaxed, but not to fall asleep and to move as little as possible during the imaging. The echo plane imaging sequence was applied to collect functional images. The scanning parameters were as follows: repetition time (TR) = 2000 ms, echo time (TE) = 40 ms, flip angle (FA) = 90°, field of view (FOV) = 240 mm × 240 mm, number of layers = 28, layer thickness = 4 mm, matrix = 64 × 64, voxel size = 3.75 mm × 3.75 mm × 4 mm, layer interval = 1 mm, bandwidth = 2232 Hz per pixel. The sequence lasted for 478 s, so each scan of a subject included 239 phases. In addition, a T1-weighted image was acquired as an anatomical reference. T1-weighted MR images were obtained by a 3D magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) with the following parameters: slices = 176, TR = 1900 ms, TE = 2 ms, inversion time (TI) = 900 ms, FA = 9°, FOV = 224 mm × 256 mm, acquisition matrix = 448 × 512, no gap, and thickness = 1.0 mm.