Publications
2026
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Tissue-specific insulin sensitivity in anorexia nervosa: A cross-sectional positron emission tomography (PET) study in female adults
Anorexia nervosa (AN) has been linked to both impaired and improved whole-body insulin sensitivity, but tissue-specific metabolic alterations remain unexplored. To address this gap, we studied 12 female volunteers with recently diagnosed AN and 13 healthy, lean female controls in a cross-sectional design using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the glucose analogue [^(18)F]FDG tracer under hyperinsulinemic conditions. We show that tissue-specific glucose uptake during... -
Segmentation-based morphometric analysis of neck abscesses on MRI: associations with disease severity
CONCLUSION: Segmentation-derived abscess volume, sphericity, and compactness provide complementary prognostic information beyond conventional diameter measurement for assessing neck infection severity. -
The clinical benefit of routine PET/CT imaging in asymptomatic head and neck squamous cell cancer patients one year post-treatment
CONCLUSIONS: Although routine PET imaging identified some asymptomatic recurrences amenable to curative treatment, it did not improve long-term survival, questioning its value in routine follow-up of asymptomatic HNSCC patients. -
Long-term recovery and microbiota-gut-brain axis disruption after traumatic brain injury (OVERCOME-TBI): protocol for a prospective, observational clinical study
INTRODUCTION: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of long-term disability worldwide, but the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying its chronic sequelae remain incompletely understood. In addition to persistent neuroinflammation, evidence suggests that dysregulation of the gut microbiota influences brain recovery. The OVERCOME-TBI study investigates the long-term functional, cognitive, imaging, biochemical and gastrointestinal outcomes after TBI of all severities, with the aim of... -
Concurrent emergency head and cervical spine CT utilization: temporal trends, diagnostic yield, and clinical implications
CONCLUSIONS: Despite a five-fold increase in concurrent head and cervical spine CT utilization, diagnostic yields declined markedly over the 10-year period, primarily driven by the growing dominance of low-energy ground-level falls. These findings highlight significant overutilization of routine concurrent imaging. -
Emergency MRI in acute dizziness and headache: current insights and future directions
Acute dizziness and headache are common yet diagnostically complex symptoms in emergency departments, with causes ranging from benign to life-threatening. MRI reveals a broad spectrum of pathologies, though accessibility constraints and challenges in patient selection currently limit its use in emergency settings. This narrative review explores the role of emergency MRI in acute dizziness and headache, discusses its diagnostic impact and outlines priorities for future research. -
Deep learning-based automated segmentation of neck abscesses on multiparametric MRI
CONCLUSION: Automated DL segmentation of neck abscesses on multiparametric MRI is feasible and yields volumetric and quantitative measurements in good to excellent agreement with manual segmentation. The T1C-only model was non-inferior to the three-channel fusion model, offering a parsimonious single-sequence alternative that avoids registration-related confounds. -
Deficits in episodic memory and executive functions in relation to CB1 receptor availability in Parkinson's disease
BackgroundThe endocannabinoid system (ECS) is important for several neurophysiological functions, including the regulation of emotions and cognitive processes. The most abundant brain cannabinoid receptor is cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R). Several preclinical studies in Parkinson's disease (PD) models suggest that modulating CB1R may impact cognitive processing. However, there are very limited studies of the relation between CB1R and cognitive processing in PD patients.ObjectiveTo explore... -
Cerebral glucose utilisation during musical emotions: A multimodal functional PET/MRI study
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have demonstrated music-induced activation of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal across brain networks associated with auditory perception, motor control, and emotion. However, BOLD-fMRI reflects vascular responses that may not fully capture underlying neural activity. Here, we used simultaneous [^(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) functional positron emission tomography (fPET) and fMRI to examine glucose metabolism closely linked to... -
AI detection of knee joint effusion from radiographs: Comparative accuracy of two commercial algorithms
CONCLUSIONS: Two commercially available AI algorithms demonstrated different operating points for knee joint effusion detection: BoneView achieved high specificity, while RBfracture achieved higher sensitivity. Combining injury and effusion predictions increased sensitivity at the cost of specificity.
2025
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Endogenous opioid system modulates proximal and distal threat signals in the human brain
Fear promotes rapid detection of threats and appropriate fight-or-flight responses. The endogenous opioid system modulates responses to pain and psychological stressors. Fear and anxiety constitute major psychological stressors for humans, yet the contribution of the opioid system to acute human fear remains poorly characterized. We induced intense unconditioned fear in the subjects by gradually exposing them to a living constrictor snake (threat trials) versus an indoor plant (safety trials).... -
MRI edema patterns in acute neck infections: A multicenter and multidisciplinary interobserver study
CONCLUSION: Physicians reliably detect MRI edema patterns across expertise levels, validating their use for risk stratification in acute neck infections and supporting broader adoption in clinical practice where MRI is available. -
ESR Essentials: thyroid imaging-practice recommendations by the European Society of Head and Neck Radiology
Thyroid nodules are frequently encountered at imaging, yet most are benign and do not require intervention. The clinical challenge lies in distinguishing nodules that warrant further investigation from those that do not, to avoid unnecessary biopsies, anxiety, and overtreatment. Ultrasound (US) is the primary imaging modality for thyroid nodule evaluation, supported by structured risk stratification systems such as ACR TI-RADS and EU-TIRADS, which incorporate specific sonographic features and... -
Clinical and radiological outcomes of hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for arteriovenous malformations: A retrospective analysis
CONCLUSIONS: HSRT provided limited long-term efficacy in complex AVMs, with a high rate of treatment failure. Smaller AVM volumes and higher BED were associated with better outcomes. -
Factors associated with research activity among radiologists: results of a Nordic survey
CONCLUSIONS: We identified several differences between radiologists who are active in research and those who are not. The participants identified time, financial means, and motivation as key factors that could increase research involvement. -
Aberrant type 2 dopamine and mu-opioid receptor availability in autism spectrum disorder
CONCLUSIONS: These alterations may translate to disrupted modulation of social motivation and reward in ASD. -
Deep learning-based 3D classification of head and neck cancer PET/MRI: Radiologist comparison and Grad-CAM interpretability
CONCLUSION: The PET-based model demonstrated high sensitivity, indicating its potential as a pre-screening tool for HNC. However, specificity requires improvement to reduce false-positive rates. Enhanced datasets and refinement of model architecture will be crucial before clinical adoption. Grad-CAM provides valuable insights into model decisions, aiding clinical integration. -
Widespread and progressive brain atrophy is a common feature in patients with mitochondrial disease
CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral atrophy is a common and often progressive feature of mitochondrial disease, even in patients without clinical brain symptoms. Atrophy predominantly affects posterior brain regions, and its progression is particularly evident in patients with SLEs. These findings underline the neurodegenerative nature of mitochondrial disease and highlight the need to develop neuroprotective therapies. -
Exposure to Bullying Engages Social Distress Circuits in the Adolescent and Adult Brain
Despite advances in understanding the psychological and social consequences of peer victimization, the immediate effects of bullying on the central nervous system remain elusive. Here we mapped the neural, affective, and attentional responses to simulated bullying in adolescents and adults and tested whether these responses are associated with real-life victimization experiences. Fifty-one adolescents (29 females, 22 males) aged 11-14 years and 47 adults (29 females, 18 males) underwent a... -
Interactive 3D segmentation for primary gross tumor volume in oropharyngeal cancer
Radiotherapy is the main treatment modality of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC), in which an accurate segmentation of primary gross tumor volume (GTVt) is essential but also challenging due to significant interobserver variability and the time consumed in manual tumor delineation. For such a challenge an interactive deep learning (DL) based approach offers the advantage of automatic high-performance segmentation with the flexibility for user correction when necessary. In this study, we investigate an...
2024
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Odontogenic neck abscesses caused by Streptococcus anginosus group bacteria: emergency MRI findings
CONCLUSIONS: ME detected on emergency MRI is highly suggestive of the involvement of SAG in odontogenic neck abscesses. These findings highlight the clinical utility of emergency MRI in patients with acute neck infections. -
Correction: Huhtanen et al. Discrepancies between Radiology Specialists and Residents in Fracture Detection from Musculoskeletal Radiographs. Diagnostics 2023, <em>13</em>, 3207
Regarding our publication, entitled "Discrepancies between Radiology Specialists and Residents in Fracture Detection from Musculoskeletal Radiographs" [...]. -
Diagnostic Accuracy of MRI for Orbital and Intracranial Invasion of Sinonasal Malignancies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Background/Objectives: In this study, we review the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in detecting orbital and intracranial invasion of sinonasal malignancies (SNMs) using histopathological and surgical evidence as the reference standard. Methods: A systematic search of studies in English was conducted in MEDLINE and Embase, limited to articles published since 1990. We included studies using preoperative MRI to detect the intracranial and orbital invasion of SNMs, with... -
Clinical features and treatment of stroke-like episodes in mitochondrial disease: a cohort-based study
CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the importance of early recognition and prompt management of SLE symptoms, especially epileptic seizures, in this life-threatening entity. -
Imaging Outcomes of MRI After CT in Pediatric Spinal Trauma: A Single-center Experience
CONCLUSIONS: Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography were both highly accurate in detecting unstable pediatric spinal injuries requiring surgical treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging seems not to reveal additional unstable injuries after adequately interpreted spinal CT. -
Endogenous opioid receptor system mediates costly altruism in the human brain
Functional neuroimaging studies suggest that a large-scale brain network transforms others' pain into its vicarious representation in the observer, potentially modulating helping behavior. However, the neuromolecular basis of individual differences in vicarious pain and helping is poorly understood. We investigated the role of the endogenous μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system in altruistic costly helping. MOR density was measured using [^(11)C]carfentanil. In a separate fMRI experiment, participants... -
Impaired Gait, Postural Instability, and Rigidity in Relation to CB1 Receptor Availability in Parkinson's Disease
CONCLUSIONS: Gait, postural instability, and rigidity in PD are associated with decreased CB1R availability, unlike tremor or bradykinesia, suggesting that the endocannabinoid system has a role in the pathophysiology of different motor symptoms in PD. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. -
In Reply to the Letter to the Editor Regarding "Positive Correlation Between Thoracic Aortic Diameter and Intracranial Aneurysm Size-An Observational Cohort Study"
No abstract -
Brain metabolic response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to lesion network in cervical dystonia
CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide further evidence of abnormal sensory system function in CD and show that a single session of S1 cTBS is sufficient to induce measurable changes in brain glucose metabolism. These findings support target engagement, motivating therapeutic trials of cTBS to the S1 in CD. -
Effects of reducing sedentary behaviour on back pain, paraspinal muscle insulin sensitivity and muscle fat fraction and their associations: a secondary analysis of a 6-month randomised controlled trial
CONCLUSION: An intervention focusing on SB reduction may be feasible for preventing back pain worsening regardless of paraspinal muscle GU or FF.
2023
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Discrepancies between Radiology Specialists and Residents in Fracture Detection from Musculoskeletal Radiographs
(1) Background: The aim of this study was to compare the competence in appendicular trauma radiograph image interpretation between radiology specialists and residents. (2) Methods: In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, we collected radiology reports from radiology specialists (N = 506) and residents (N = 500) during 2018-2021. As a reference standard, we used the consensus of two subspecialty-level musculoskeletal (MSK) radiologists, who reviewed all original reports. (3) Results: A... -
Diagnostic performance of short noncontrast biparametric 3-T MRI for tonsillar infections: comparison with a full protocol including contrast-enhanced sequences
CONCLUSIONS: Short MRI protocol showed good-to-excellent accuracy for tonsillar abscesses. Contrast-enhanced images improved reader confidence but did not affect diagnostic accuracy or interobserver agreement. -
Detection Rates and Trends of Asymptomatic Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms From 2005 to 2019
CONCLUSION: The detection rate of asymptomatic UIAs, particularly in elderly patients, has increased significantly over the past 15 years, coinciding with the increased use of CTA/MRA imaging. Furthermore, the size of the identified UIAs has decreased. These findings raise concerns about the management strategies for UIAs, indicating the need for further research. -
Resident education in radiology in Europe including entrustable professional activities: results of an ESR survey
Entrustable professional activity (EPA) is a tool for comprehensively evaluating the level of confidence in resident performances across various competencies in medicine. The application of and attitudes towards EPAs in radiology across the European Society of Radiology (ESR) national institutional member societies is still to be determined. An online survey was conducted among ESR national institutional member societies to assess the current use of EPAs and other resident assessment forms among... -
Plasma neurofilament light admission levels and development of axonal pathology in mild traumatic brain injury
CONCLUSION: In patients with mTBI, the significant correlation between NF-L levels at admission and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements of diffuse axonal injury (DAI) over more than 3 months suggests that the early levels of plasma NF-L may associate with the presence of DAI at a later phase of TBI. -
Circulating Tumor DNA in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Association with Metabolic Tumor Burden Determined with FDG-PET/CT
CONCLUSIONS: A high metabolic tumor burden based on FDG imaging is associated with a positive liquid biopsy and high maximum VAF. Our findings suggest a complementary role of metabolic and genomic signatures in the pre-treatment evaluation of HNSCC. -
Clinical outcome following magnetic resonance imaging as first-line imaging in low-impact pediatric spine trauma: a single-center retrospective observational study
CONCLUSION: MRI can detect injuries requiring surgical treatment as a first-line imaging method in suspected low-impact pediatric spinal trauma and is safe to use in this selected population. -
Emergency MRI in Spine Trauma of Children and Adolescents-A Pictorial Review
Severe spinal trauma is uncommon in the pediatric population, but due to the potentially devastating consequences of missed injury, it poses a diagnostic challenge in emergency departments. Diagnostic imaging is often needed to exclude or confirm the injury and to assess its extent. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers an excellent view of both bony and soft tissue structures and their traumatic findings without exposing children to ionizing radiation. Our pictorial review aims to demonstrate... -
Endogenous Opioid Release After Orgasm in Man: A Combined PET/Functional MRI Study
The endogenous μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system plays a key role in the mammalian reward circuit. Human and animal experiments suggest the involvement of MORs in human sexual pleasure, yet this hypothesis currently lacks in vivo support. Methods: We used PET with the radioligand [^(11)C]carfentanil, which has high affinity for MORs, to quantify endogenous opioid release after orgasm in man. Participants were scanned once immediately after orgasm and once in a baseline state. Hemodynamic activity... -
Imaging Outcomes of Emergency MRI in Patients with Suspected Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a rare neurological emergency condition with non-specific symptoms. Imaging options to rule out CVST are computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study aimed to determine the imaging outcomes of emergency MRI as a first-line imaging method in patients with suspected CVST. In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed emergency brain MRI referrals from a five-year period in a tertiary hospital for suspicion of CVST. We...
2022
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The natural course of bridging osteophyte formation on MRI-A pictorial illustration
Diffuse skeletal hyperostosis is a common spinal disorder, but its pathophysiology is mostly unclear. The disorder can lead to a variety of symptoms, but many patients remain relatively asymptomatic. We present a case demonstrating the development of bridging osteophytes on a series of magnetic resonance images. An elderly person's spine was scanned repeatedly due to non-specific back pain during the last 4 years and the consecutive images revealed the formation of a bony bridge in the lumbar... -
Brain white matter hyperintensities in Kawasaki disease: A case-control study
CONCLUSION: History of KD could be associated with an increased WMH burden. More studies are needed to confirm our results. -
Diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced CT for neck abscesses: A systematic review and meta-analysis of positive predictive value
CONCLUSIONS: The pooled estimate of PPV is 0.83 for diagnosing neck abscesses with CT. False positives may be due to limited soft tissue contrast resolution. Overall, none of the morphological criteria seem to be highly accurate for differentiation between abscess and cellulitis. -
Mu-opioid receptor system modulates responses to vocal bonding and distress signals in humans
Laughter is a contagious prosocial signal that conveys bonding motivation; adult crying conversely communicates desire for social proximity by signalling distress. Endogenous mu-opioid receptors (MORs) modulate sociability in humans and non-human primates. In this combined PET-fMRI study (n = 17), we tested whether central MOR tone is associated with regional brain responses to social signals of laughter and crying. MOR availability was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) using the... -
Diagnostic yield of emergency MRI in non-traumatic headache
CONCLUSION: Although emergency MRI shows headache-related findings in one in five patients, accurate prediction modeling remains a challenge, even with statistically significant predictors and a large sample size. -
MRI of odontogenic maxillofacial infections: diagnostic accuracy and reliability
CONCLUSIONS: Emergency neck MRI can accurately detect odontogenic abscesses and reliably point to the causative tooth. These results can increase the utility and reliance on emergency MRI in clinical decision-making. -
Brain structural alterations in autism and criminal psychopathy
The goal of this study was to elucidate the anatomical brain basis of social cognition through two disorders with distinctively different phenotypes of social interaction. We compared structural MR images of 20 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 19 violent offenders with high psychopathic traits, and 19 control participants using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Our earlier study showed lower grey matter volume (GMV) values in the insula, frontal cortex, and sensorimotor cortex of... -
Deep learning accurately classifies elbow joint effusion in adult and pediatric radiographs
Joint effusion due to elbow fractures are common among adults and children. Radiography is the most commonly used imaging procedure to diagnose elbow injuries. The purpose of the study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of deep convolutional neural network algorithms in joint effusion classification in pediatric and adult elbow radiographs. This retrospective study consisted of a total of 4423 radiographs in a 3-year period from 2017 to 2020. Data was randomly separated into training (n... -
Cerebral Microbleeds and Structural White Matter Integrity in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury-A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study
Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is a common neuropathological manifestation of traumatic brain injury (TBI), presenting as traumatic alterations in the cerebral white matter (WM) microstructure and often leading to long-term neurocognitive impairment. These WM alterations can be assessed using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are a common finding on head imaging in TBI and are often considered a visible sign of DAI, although they represent diffuse vascular injury. It is... -
Cannabinoid Receptor Type 1 in Parkinson's Disease: A Positron Emission Tomography Study with [<sup>18</sup> F]FMPEP-d<sub>2</sub>
CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with PD have lower CB1 receptor availability compared with HCs. PD medication increases CB1 receptor toward normal levels. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
2021
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Obesity risk is associated with altered cerebral glucose metabolism and decreased μ-opioid and CB<sub>1</sub> receptor availability
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the hereditary mechanisms promoting obesity may be partly mediated via insulin, opioid and endocannabinoid messaging systems in the brain. -
Intracranial aneurysm is predicted by abdominal aortic calcification index: A retrospective case-control study
CONCLUSIONS: Aortic calcification is greater in rIA and UIA patients than matched controls. ACI increases risk for rIAs. -
Cerebral μ-opioid and CB<sub>1</sub> receptor systems have distinct roles in human feeding behavior
Eating behavior varies greatly between individuals, but the neurobiological basis of these trait-like differences in feeding remains poorly understood. Central μ-opioid receptors (MOR) and cannabinoid CB(1) receptors (CB(1)R) regulate energy balance via multiple neural pathways, promoting food intake and reward. Because obesity and eating disorders have been associated with alterations in the brain's opioid and endocannabinoid signaling, the variation in MOR and CB(1)R system function could... -
Clinical and prognostic significance of emergency MRI findings in neck infections
CONCLUSION: In patients with an acute neck infection that requires emergency imaging, RPE, ME, and abscess diameter, as shown by MRI, are significant predictors of a more severe illness. -
Practical aspects of sentinel node biopsy in oral cavity cancer: all nodes that emit a signal are important
CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: SNB has been confirmed to be safe and effective in early stage N0 OCC. However, it is important to carefully harvest up to four hottest SLNs that emit a signal. Treatment of patients with only isolated tumor cells (ITC) in the SLN appears to be necessary. -
Brain Basis of Psychopathy in Criminal Offenders and General Population
Psychopathy is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy, and egotistical traits. These traits vary also in normally functioning individuals. Here, we tested whether such antisocial personalities are associated with similar structural and neural alterations as those observed in criminal psychopathy. Subjects were 100 non-convicted well-functioning individuals, 19 violent male offenders, and 19 matched controls. Subjects underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and... -
Early surgical intervention enhances recovery of severe pediatric deep neck infection patients
CONCLUSION: Early surgical intervention is associated with decreased LOS among severe pediatric DNI patients. -
Insulin Resistance Is Associated With Enhanced Brain Glucose Uptake During Euglycemic Hyperinsulinemia: A Large-Scale PET Cohort
CONCLUSIONS: In this large cohort of participants of either sex across a wide range of age and insulin sensitivity, insulin sensitivity was the best predictor of BGU. -
Seasonal Variation in the Brain μ-Opioid Receptor Availability
Seasonal rhythms influence mood and sociability. The brain μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system modulates a multitude of seasonally varying socioemotional functions, but its seasonal variation remains elusive with no previously reported in vivo evidence. Here, we first conducted a cross-sectional study with previously acquired human [^(11)C]carfentanil PET imaging data (132 male and 72 female healthy subjects) to test whether there is seasonal variation in MOR availability. We then investigated... -
Decoding Music-Evoked Emotions in the Auditory and Motor Cortex
Music can induce strong subjective experience of emotions, but it is debated whether these responses engage the same neural circuits as emotions elicited by biologically significant events. We examined the functional neural basis of music-induced emotions in a large sample (n = 102) of subjects who listened to emotionally engaging (happy, sad, fearful, and tender) pieces of instrumental music while their hemodynamic brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)....
2020
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Seasonal Variation in the Brain μ-Opioid Receptor Availability
Seasonal rhythms influence mood and sociability. The brain μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system modulates a multitude of seasonally varying socioemotional functions, but its seasonal variation remains elusive with no previously reported in vivo evidence. Here, we first conducted a cross-sectional study with previously acquired human [^(11)C]carfentanil PET imaging data (132 male and 72 female healthy subjects) to test whether there is seasonal variation in MOR availability. We then investigated... -
Development of a non-radiometric method for measuring the arterial input function of a <sup>11</sup>C-labeled PET radiotracer
Positron emission tomography (PET) uses radiotracers to quantify important biochemical parameters in human subjects. A radiotracer arterial input function (AIF) is often essential for converting brain PET data into robust output measures. For radiotracers labeled with carbon-11 (t(1/2) = 20.4 min), AIF is routinely determined with radio-HPLC of blood sampled frequently during the PET experiment. There has been no alternative to this logistically demanding method, neither for regular use nor... -
Brain substrate metabolism and ß-cell function in humans: A positron emission tomography study
CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides coherent, though correlative, evidence that, in humans, the brain may be involved in the control of insulin secretion independently of insulin sensitivity. -
Alterations in Microstructure and Local Fiber Orientation of White Matter Are Associated with Outcome after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can have long-lasting consequences. We investigated white matter (WM) alterations at 6-12 months following mTBI using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and assessed if the alterations associate with outcome. Eighty-five patients with mTBI underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on average 8 months post-injury and patients' outcome was assessed at the time of imaging using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E). Additionally, 30... -
Emergency neck MRI: feasibility and diagnostic accuracy in cases of neck infection
CONCLUSION: We found that emergency neck MRI can be successfully performed on most patients, and that MRI detects neck infection with a high accuracy. These results suggest that MRI may be an alternative to CT as the first or only imaging modality in neck emergencies. -
Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety
Major depressive disorder is associated with lowered mood, anxiety, anhedonia, sleep problems, and cognitive impairments. Many of these functions are regulated by μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system. Preclinical, in vivo, and post-mortem studies have however yielded inconclusive results regarding the role of the MOR in depression and anxiety. Moreover, it is not known whether alterations in MOR are already present in subclinical depression and anxiety. In a large-scale retrospective cross-sectional... -
Interindividual variability and lateralization of μ-opioid receptors in the human brain
Alterations in the brain's μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system have been associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. Central MOR availability also varies considerably in healthy individuals. Multiple epidemiological factors have been proposed to influence the MOR system, but due to small sample sizes the magnitude of their influence remains inconclusive. We compiled [^(11)C]carfentanil positron emission tomography scans from 204 individuals with no neurologic or psychiatric disorders, and... -
Magia: Robust Automated Image Processing and Kinetic Modeling Toolbox for PET Neuroinformatics
Processing of positron emission tomography (PET) data typically involves manual work, causing inter-operator variance. Here we introduce the Magia toolbox that enables processing of brain PET data with minimal user intervention. We investigated the accuracy of Magia with four tracers: [^(11)C]carfentanil, [^(11)C]raclopride, [^(11)C]MADAM, and [^(11)C]PiB. We used data from 30 control subjects for each tracer. Five operators manually delineated reference regions for each subject. The data were... -
Brain free fatty acid uptake is elevated in morbid obesity, and is irreversible 6 months after bariatric surgery: A positron emission tomography study
CONCLUSIONS: BFAU is increased in morbidly obese compared with lean subjects, and is unchanged 6 months after bariatric surgery. Baseline BFAU predicts worse plasma glucose levels at follow-up, supporting the notion that the brain participates in the control of whole-body homeostasis. -
Dissociable neural systems for unconditioned acute and sustained fear
Fear protects organisms by increasing vigilance and preparedness, and by coordinating survival responses during life-threatening encounters. The fear circuit must thus operate on multiple timescales ranging from preparatory sustained alertness to acute fight-or-flight responses. Here we studied the brain basis of sustained and acute fear using naturalistic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enabling analysis of different time-scales of fear responses. Subjects (N = 37) watched...
2019
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Prevalence of thoracic aortic aneurysms and dilatations in patients with intracranial aneurysms
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of TADs and TAAs is considerably greater in patients with IAs compared with reports from the general population, suggesting that IAs might be associated with aortopathy and might share a similar pathogenetic background with TADs/TAAs. Especially patients with IAs and a history of rheumatic disease and/or alcohol abuse are at high risk for TADs/TAAs. -
Intranasal naloxone rapidly occupies brain mu-opioid receptors in human subjects
Nasal spray formulations of naloxone, a mu-opioid receptor (MOR) antagonist, are currently used for the treatment of opioid overdose. They may have additional therapeutic utility also in the absence of opioid agonist drugs, but the onset and duration of action at brain MORs have been inadequately characterized to allow such projections. This study provides initial characterization of brain MOR availability at high temporal resolution following intranasal (IN) naloxone administration to healthy... -
Brain neurokinin-1 receptor availability in never-medicated patients with major depression - A pilot study
CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results do not support a different baseline expression of NK1Rs in a representative sample of never-medicated patients with MDD during a current moderate/severe depressive episode. The modulatory effect of NK1Rs on affective symptoms is in line with early positive results on antidepressant action of NK1 antagonists. However, the effect is likely to be too weak for treatment of MDD with NK1R antagonists alone in clinical practice.