Huawei Jin

Various advanced diffusion models have shown robust diagnostic performance in glioma assessment, yet their relative efficacy has not been comprehensively evaluated. This study aimed to compare continuous-time random walk (CTRW), free water corrected-diffusion tensor imaging (FW-DTI), and mean apparent propagator (MAP) in predicting isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) status and Ki-67 levels of gliomas, investigate their associations with tumor microenvironment (TME) markers, and evaluate their prognostic value in IDH-wildtype patients. This retrospective study included 151 patients (83 men; mean age, 47.45 years) with gliomas. CTRW, FW-DTI, MAP, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were processed from diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI), and mean parameter values were extracted. Logistic regression assessed model performance for predicting IDH status and Ki-67 levels. Correlation and Cox regression analyses evaluated their associations with TME markers and prognosis, respectively. CTRW, FW-DTI, MAP, and the combined models showed higher diagnostic performance than ADC, with the combined models achieved the highest numerical AUCs (AUCs 0.930 and 0.859) in identifying IDH status and Ki-67 levels. Except for ADC, no statistically significant differences were observed in diagnostic performance among these models. Additionally, multiple advanced diffusion parameters showed correlations with TME markers, and MAP showed associations with overall survival for IDH-wildtype patients (HR = 4.070, P = 0.020). CTRW, FW-DTI, and MAP showed similar predictive performance and outperformed ADC for IDH status and tumor proliferation in gliomas. Their associations with TME markers and the prognostic relevance of MAP support the potential of advanced diffusion imaging for noninvasive pathological and prognostic assessment of gliomas.

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is critical for preventing disease progression, however, the diagnosis of AD remains challenging for most patients due to limitations of current sensing technologies. A common pathological feature found in AD-affected brains is the accumulation of Amyloid-β (Aβ) polypeptides, which lead to neurofibrillary tangles and neuroinflammatory plaques. Here, we developed a portable ultrasensitive FET biosensor chip based on a self-assembled nanoporous membrane for ultrasensitive detection of Aβ protein in complex environments. The microscale semiconductor channel was covered with a self-assembled organic nanoporous membrane modified by antibody molecules to pick up and amplify the Aβ protein signal. The nanoporous structure helps protect the sensitive channel from non-target proteins and improves its stability since no chemical functionalization process involved, largely reduces background noise of the sensing platform. When a bio-gated target is captured, the doping state of the polymer bulk could be tuned and amplified the strength of the weak signal, achieving ultrasensitive detecting performance (enabling the device to detect target protein less than 1 fg/ml in 1 µl sample). Moreover, the device simplifies the circuit connection by integrating all the connections on a 2 cm × 2 cm chip, avoiding expensive and complex manufacturing processes, and makes it usable for portable prognosis. We believe that this ultrasensitive, portable, low-cost Aβ sensor chip shows the great potential in the early diagnosis of AD and large-scale population screening applications.

As the most dangerous tumors, brain tumors are usually treated with surgical removal, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. However, due to the aggressive growth of gliomas and their resistance to conventional chemoradiotherapy, it is difficult to cure brain tumors by conventional means. In addition, the higher dose requirement of chemotherapeutic drugs caused by the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and the untargeted nature of the drug inevitably leads to low efficacy and systemic toxicity of chemotherapy. In recent years, nanodrug carriers have attracted extensive attention because of their superior drug transport capacity and easy-to-control properties. This review systematically summarizes the major strategies of novel nano-drug delivery systems for the treatment of brain tumors in recent years that cross the BBB and enhance brain targeting, and compares the advantages and disadvantages of several strategies.

Background: Advancement in the treatment of glioma has been vacant since temozolomide has proved its therapeutic value in glioblastoma in 2005. Aim: To help investigators understand the landscape of glioma clinical research, we analyzed the characteristics and trends of globally registered glioma trials in the past decades. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of glioma trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov between January 2006 and December 2021. Characteristics regarding phase, enrollment number, study design and type, funding source, tumor site, pathology, patient status, age of population, trial purpose, and participating country were abstracted, and chronological shifts were analyzed. Results: There were 1531 registered glioma trials involved 58 participating countries. The trial purpose concerning surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, tumor-treating fields, immunotherapy, other antiglioma therapy and non-antiglioma research trial accounts for 3.5%, 6.5%, 9.5%, 28.9%, 2.0%, 16.4%, 12.5%, and 20.6%, respectively. In the past 16 years, the numbers of chemotherapy and targeted therapy trials declined; tumor-treating fields and immune checkpoint inhibitor application trials sprang at the latter half period; Immunotherapy, other antiglioma therapy and non-antiglioma research trials escalated (all above p_trend < 0.005). The trend also showed the phased trials registered diminishingly and that the trials which focused on glioblastoma registered incrementally (those two p_trend < 0.05). Among 784 drug therapy trials, it was included 45 cytotoxic drugs, 186 targeted drugs, 19 immune checkpoint inhibitors, 78 other drugs, and five immunomodulatory drugs. Two trials belonged to Bayesian adaptive randomized design. By the end of December 2021, 309 trials had publications. Only everolimus and tumor-treating fields exhibited meaningful survival benefit in specific glioma patients in phase 3 trials. Conclusion: Meaningful effective treatments regarding drugs or methods for glioma were difficult to be found. Bayesian adaptive platform trials may accelerate clinical research in glioma. Development of novel treatment modalities for glioma is still challenged.

Background: A new type of epileptogenic tumor, the polymorphous low-grade neuroepithelial tumor of the young (PLNTY) was firstly reported by Jason T. Huse et al. at 2016. After that, only 1 case of PLNTY was reported by article. The radiological characteristics of PLNTY have not been concluded. The objective of our study was to report 3 cases of PLNTYs in details and to analyze the image characteristics and genetic alterations of PLNTYs by reviewing our cases and articles. Case presentation: There were 3 cases diagnosed as PLNTY by pathology in our hospital during the last 10 years, with the average age of 15. They were all suffered from different degrees of epilepsy. All of them underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and 2 of them underwent computer tomography (CT) imaging. The PLNTYs are all appearing as a solid or solid-cystic cortical mass with little mass effect and unclear boundary with normal brain tissue. They are all shown as hyperintensity in T2WI and iso−/hypointensity in T1WI with slight or no enhancement after contract enhanced in MR imaging. The “salt and pepper sign” in T2WI and grit calcification in CT images might be specific characteristics of PLNTY. All of them recovered after excision of the tumors. The gene tests revealed fibroblast growth factor receptors 3 (FGFR3)-TACC3 fusion and FGFR3 amplification in one case, and the B-Raf proto-oncogene (BRAF) V600E mutation in another case. Conclusion: In the image, the partial ill-marginated cortical mass with “salt and pepper sign” in T2WI or grit calcification in CT imaging might be the typical imaging characteristics of PLNTY. We also prove that the BRAF V600E mutation as well as the FGFR2 and FGFR3 have a close relationship with PLNTY.