Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Sofia H Eriksson

Publications and source records attributed to Sofia H Eriksson.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Reliable registration of preoperative MRI with histopathology after temporal lobe resections.

PURPOSE: Conventional and novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques can detect cerebral abnormalities in patients with refractory focal epilepsies. Correlation of preoperative MRI and histopathology is important to validate MRI findings, but in practice is far from straightforward. Peroperative neuronavigation and placement of markers on tissue is of limited use in temporal lobe resections. MRI scanning of the resected specimen for registration with in vivo MRI is complicated by anisotropic tissue deformation. We have developed a method to facilitate registration of preoperative MRI with the resected specimen and to enable correlation of MRI findings with histopathology. METHODS: Sixteen en bloc temporal lobe resections undertaken for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy were studied. The specimens were fixed in formalin and then cut coronally by using a cradle with parallel blades at 5-mm intervals to ensure evenly thick tissue slices in the same orientation. Volumetric T1-weighted preoperative MRIs were reformatted, and consecutive slices (0.94 mm) cut in the same orientation as the resected lobe were visually compared with photographs of tissue slices by two independent observers. RESULTS: In 15 (94%) of 16 cases, a <2-mm difference was found between the two observers' matches of MRI slices with tissue slices. In the last case, a 4-mm difference was noted. In all cases, a consensus was reached by the two observers. The suggested MRI-histology matches were within the resections seen on postoperative scans. CONCLUSIONS: Careful labelling and postoperative handling and slicing ensured histopathologic tissue slices of uniform thickness and slicing angle. This technique can be applied to a range of MRI datasets, enabling exploration of the pathologic basis of abnormalities on conventional and novel MRI acquisitions.

Anterior Temporal Lobectomy↗
PubMed2003

Evaluation of nerve cell distribution in cerebral cortex--a proposal for a new method applied to patients with epilepsy.

Microdysgenesis is a microscopic malformation of cortical development (MCD) associated with epilepsy, but its significance in epileptogenesis is debated. This is partly since the histopathological aberrations associated with microdysgenesis can also be found in normal brains. We here report a method for objective analysis of one criterion for microdysgenesis, irregular cortical nerve cell distribution. Tissue from the lateral temporal lobe from two epilepsy patients was compared with tissue from two post-mortem controls. An expansion/shrinkage factor was calculated to determine the change in tissue size during cutting and mounting. Neurons were identified and the positions of their nucleoli were marked and stored. The spatial distribution of neurons was analysed using distance to nearest neighbouring neuron and Voronoi tessellation. Specimens from the epilepsy patients expanded markedly during mounting compared with controls. Epilepsy specimens had shorter mean distances to nearest neighbour than controls and smaller Voronoi tessellation areas than controls. Both measurements suggest more densely packed neurons in epilepsy specimens. This pilot study describes a new objective method for identification of cortical neurons and their spatial distribution. Voronoi tessellation and distance to nearest neighbouring neuron might provide robust methods for objective analysis of cortical nerve cell distribution. The yield of such comparisons might be improved if each cortical layer is analysed separately.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Diffusion tensor imaging in refractory epilepsy.

Diffusion tensor imaging is an imaging method that is sensitive to the molecular movement of water, which indicates cellular integrity and pathology. A patient with refractory epilepsy and normal conventional MRI was examined with diffusion tensor imaging. An area of abnormal diffusion in the right frontal lobe was identified and surgically resected. The patient had a good clinical outcome. Histopathological examination of the resected tissue showed gliosis. Our findings may affect the investigation of similar patients, and provide histopathological confirmation of diffusion abnormalities.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Exploring white matter tracts in band heterotopia using diffusion tractography.

Band heterotopia is a malformation of cortical development characterized by bands of gray matter in the white matter parallel to the surface of the neocortex. Histopathological studies have suggested that small white matter tracts pass through the heterotopia, and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown activation in the malformation. We used diffusion tractography to explore the anatomical connectivity of band heterotopia and, in particular, whether in vivo white matter tracts traverse the heterotopic gray matter. Five patients with band heterotopia and five control subjects were scanned with whole brain diffusion tensor imaging. Anisotropy maps were calculated. Using fast marching tractography, we produced maps of connectivity and tract traces from two seed points, in the splenium of the corpus callosum and the right parietal lobe. Eigenvectors were found to pass through the band heterotopia in an aligned fashion. Patterns for maps of connectivity were similar in patients and control subjects. Areas of high connectivity were found in the band heterotopia and in cortical areas on the far side of the malformation from the seed point. The tracts hence appeared to traverse or end within the band heterotopia. The results are in agreement with previous histopathological studies and indicate the structural basis of the functional connectivity and absence of focal deficits in these patients.

Adult↗