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Objective Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the main cause of back pain, and its treatment is a serious socio‐economic burden. The safety and treatment of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been established. However, the relationship between FMT and IDD still unclear. We aimed to explore whether FMT plays a role in IDD to provide a reference for the treatment of IDD. Methods An experimental model of IDD was established using 2‐month‐old male Sprague–Dawley rats. FMT was performed by intragastric gavage of IDD rats with a fecal bacterial solution. Rat serum, feces, and vertebral disc tissue were collected after surgery for 2 months. The levels of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐3, MMP‐13, Collagen II, and aggrecan in the serum or vertebral disc tissue were measured by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemistry, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, or western blotting. We also examined the pathology of the vertebral disc tissue using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and safranin O‐fast green staining. Finally, we examined the gut microbiota in rat feces using 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. Results We found that the expression of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, MMP‐3, MMP‐13, NLRP3 and Caspase‐1 increased in the IDD group rats. In contrast, Collagen II and aggrecan levels were downregulated. Additionally, vertebral disc tissue was severely damaged in the IDD group, with disordered cell arrangement and uneven safranin coloration. FMT reversed the effects of IDD modeling on these factors and alleviated cartilage tissue damage. In addition, FMT increased the gut microbiota diversity and microbial abundance in rats treated with IDD. Conclusion Our findings suggest that FMT has a positive effect in maintaining cellular stability in the vertebral disc and alleviating histopathological damage. It affects the diversity and abundance of gut microbiota in rats with IDD. Therefore, FMT may serve as a promising target for amelioration of IDD.

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the human primary visual cortex is correlated with the loss of visual function in neuro-ophthalmological diseases. Advanced three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (3D pCASL), as a non-invasive method to access the CBF, can be a novel measurement to detect the visual cortex. The objective of the study was to assess the intra- and inter-scanner reliability of 3D pCASL of the visual cortex in healthy adults and suggest the selection of different post-labeling delay times (PLDs). For this reason, 3D pCASL was conducted in two 3.0T MR three times with twelve healthy volunteers at an interval of 10-15 days. The 1st and 3rd tests were performed on scanner-1, and the 2nd test was performed on scanner-2. The value of the CBF was abstracted from the visual cortex with two PLDs. The intra- and inter-scanner reliability and reproducibility were evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots. By estimating the mean value of the CBF in the visual cortex, the intra-scanner results demonstrated the higher reliability (ICC for PLD = 1.5 second presented at 0.743 compared with 0.829 for PLD = 2.5 seconds), and the Bland-Altman plots showed the reproducibility at a longer PLD. We conclude that the calibrated 3D pCASL approach provides a highly reproducible measurement of the CBF of the visual cortex that can serve as a useful quantitative probe for research conducted at multiple centers and for the long-term observation of the clinical effects of neuro-opthalmological diseases.

In this study, we have aimed to evaluate the relationship between the shape and location of superficial calcification and the presence of fibrous cap rupture and intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerotic carotid plaque. Sixty-three patients with carotid stenosis underwent contrast-enhanced high resolution MR examinations with a 3-T MR scanner and 226 slices with superficial calcification were evaluated in the study. The shape of superficial calcification was categorized as the irregular type (dotted/arcuated) and patchy type and the location of superficial calcification was categorized as the marginal type and central type. Intraplaque hemorrhage and fibrous cap rupture depicted on the same slice as superficial calcification were identified. The chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis. A total of 149 slices (65.9%) with intraplaque hemorrhage and 107 slices(47.3%)with fibrous cap rupture were detected. There were 191 slices with irregular type (dotted/arcuated) calcification and 166 slices with marginal type calcification. Irregular superficial calcification was found more frequently accompanied with intraplaque hemorrhage as compared to the patchy type (73.8 vs. 22.9%, P < 0.0001); there was a significant difference between the marginal type and the central type for the accompaniment of intraplaque hemorrhage (72.9 vs. 46.7%, P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between different shapes and locations of superficial calcification that accompanied with fibrous cap rupture ( P > 0.05). This study showed that superficial calcification is an important factor for determination of instability of atherosclerotic carotid plaque. The shape and location of superficial calcification are important features associated with the occurrence of intraplaque hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not uncommonly, differentiating multiple sclerosis (MS) from ischemic cerebral vascular disease is difficult based on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We aim to determine whether preferential occult injury in the normal-appearing corpus callosum (NACC) is more severe in patients with MS than symptomatic carotid occlusion by comparing fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Eighteen patients (eight men, ten women; mean age, 38.6 years) with MS and 32 patients (24 men, eight women; mean age, 64.0 years) with symptomatic unilateral internal carotid occlusion were included. DTI (1.5 T) were performed at corpus callosum which were normal-appearing on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI. Mean FA was obtained from the genu, anterior body, posterior body, and splenium of NACC. Independent-sample t test statistical analysis was performed. The FA values in various regions of NACC were lower in the MS patients than symptomatic carotid occlusion patients, which was statistically different at the anterior body (0.67 ± 0.12 vs 0.74 ± 0.06, P = 0.009), but not at genu, posterior body, and splenium (0.63 ± 0.09 vs 0.67 ± 0.07, P = 0.13; 0.68 ± 0.09 vs 0.73 ± 0.05, P = 0.07; 0.72 ± 0.09 vs 0.76 ± 0.05, P = 0.13). MS patients have lower FA in the anterior body of NACC compared to patients with symptomatic carotid occlusion. It suggests that DTI has potential ability to differentiate these two conditions due to the more severe preferential occult injury at the anterior body of NACC in MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motor neuron damage and cortical spinal tract (CST) degeneration are pathological features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We combined whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and three-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to study the CST at different locations. Eight ALS patients were compared with normal controls. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), and the ratio of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) to creatine (Cr) were measured at various locations in the CST, including the subcortical white matter (SWM), centrum semiovale (CS), periventricular white matter (PV), posterior limb of the internal capsule (PIC) and cerebral peduncle (CP). Patients showed significantly lower FA than controls in the CST, including the SWM, CS, PV and PIC. Although there was a trend towards elevated MD in ALS patients, this did not reach statistical significance. NAA/Cr ratios were also decreased in ALS patients compared with normal controls, with significant differences in the SWM and PV but not in PIC. Combined whole-brain DTI and MRSI can detect axonal degeneration in ALS. Measurements of FA obtained in the SWM, CS, PV and PIC, and NAA/Cr ratios in the SWM and PV yield the most robust results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]