Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a significant challenge in modern medicine due to its unclear underlying causes. Brain network dysfunction is believed to play a key role in its pathophysiology. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), a neuroimaging technique, enables the in vivo assessment of functional connectivity (FC) between brain regions, offering insights into these network dysfunctions. The aim of this study was to evaluate abnormalities in FC within major brain networks in patients with drug-resistant MDD. Methods: The study group consisted of 26 patients with drug-resistant MDD and an age-matched control group (CG) of 26 healthy subjects. The rs-fMRI studies were performed on a 3T MR scanner (Philips, Ingenia) using a 32-channel head and neck coil. Imaging data were statistically analyzed, focusing on the intra- and inter-network FC of the following networks: default mode (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), visual (VN), salience (SN), cerebellar (CN), dorsal attention (DAN), language (LN), and frontoparietal (FPN). Results: In patients with MDD, the intra-network analysis showed significantly decreased FC between nodes within VN compared to CG. In contrast, the inter-network analysis showed significantly increased FC between nodes from VN and SN or VN and DAN compared to CG. Decreased FC was found between SN and CN or SN and FPN as well as VN and DAN nodes compared to CG. Conclusions: Patients with MDD showed significant abnormalities in resting-state cortical activity, mainly regarding inter-network functional connectivity. These results contribute to the knowledge on the pathomechanism of MDD and may also be useful for developing new treatments.

Objectives: Assessment of sensorimotor cortex and tracts degeneration using novel diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) templates in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) and its correlation with clinical and neurophysiological findings. Methods: Sex and age-matched 29 patients with chronic SCI (paraplegic: p-SCI; tetraplegic: t-SCI) and 29 healthy controls underwent neurophysiological assessment including motor evoked potentials (MEP). DTI was performed on 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scanner and postprocessed using Human Motor Area and Sensorimotor Area Tract Templates. DTI parameters were compared using analysis of covariance with post hoc Scheffé and Bonferroni corrections. Spearman’s rank test was used for correlations with P < .05 considered significant. Results: Compared to controls, all SCI patients showed significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in several tracts (primary motor [M1], somatosensory [S1], pre-supplementary motor area [preSMA], and dorsal premotor [PMd]) and cortices (M1, pre-SMA, and S1). There were no differences in DTI parameters between p-SCI and t-SCI or p-SCI and controls. Compared to controls, t-SCI showed significantly decreased FA within M1 and S1 tracts. In t-SCI higher motor scores were associated with higher FA from ventral premotor area (PMv) tracts and cortex; higher sensory scores were associated with higher FA from S1 tracts. Positive correlations were found between MEP amplitudes from rectus femoris muscles and FA for M1, PMd, PMv, pre-SMA, SMA tracts, and PMv cortex. Conclusions: DTI shows remote degeneration of sensorimotor cortex and supraspinal tracts in SCI correlating with several clinical motor and sensory scores, and MEP parameters. DTI metrics have the potential to become biomarkers of remote degeneration.

Invasive aspergillosis is a severe fungal infection that primarily affects individuals with weakened immune systems. This report presents the case of a 20-year-old male diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed invasive aspergillosis following an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Despite aggressive antifungal treatment, the infection progressed to the central nervous system, ultimately leading to the patient’s death. This case highlights the challenges associated with diagnosis and treatment of invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised individuals and underscores the need for advancements in both diagnostic techniques and therapeutic strategies.