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    Magnetic resonance imaging of the upper airway in patients with quadriplegia and obstructive sleep apnea
    O'donoghue, FJ ; Meaklim, H ; Bilston, L ; Hatt, A ; Connelly, A ; Jackson, G ; Farquharson, S ; Sutherland, K ; Cistulli, PA ; Brown, DJ ; Berlowitz, DJ (WILEY, 2018-08)
    The aim of this study was to investigate upper airway anatomy in quadriplegics with obstructive sleep apnea. Fifty subjects were recruited from three hospitals in Australia: people with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury and obstructive sleep apnea (n = 11), able-bodied people with obstructive sleep apnea (n = 18), and healthy, able-bodied controls (n = 19). All underwent 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of their upper airway. A subgroup (n = 34) received a topical vasoconstrictor, phenylephrine and post-phenylephrine magnetic resonance imaging. Mixed-model analysis indicated no significant differences in total airway lumen volume between the three groups (P = 0.086). Spinal cord injury-obstructive sleep apnea subjects had a significantly larger volume of soft palate (P = 0.020) and retroglossal lateral pharyngeal walls (P = 0.043) than able-bodied controls. Able-bodied-obstructive sleep apnea subjects had a smaller mandible volume than spinal cord injury-obstructive sleep apnea subjects and able-bodied control subjects (P = 0.036). No differences were seen in airway length between groups when controlling for height (P = 0.055). There was a marginal increase in velopharyngeal volume across groups post-phenylephrine (P = 0.050), and post hoc testing indicated the difference was confined to the able-bodied-obstructive sleep apnea group (P < 0.001). No other upper airway structures showed significant changes with phenylephrine administration. In conclusion, people with obstructive sleep apnea and quadriplegia do not have a structurally smaller airway than able-bodied subjects. They did, however, have greater volumes of soft palate and lateral pharyngeal walls, possibly due to greater neck fat deposition. The acute response to upper airway topical vasoconstriction was not enhanced in those with obstructive sleep apnea and quadriplegia. Changes in upper airway anatomy likely contribute to the high incidence in obstructive sleep apnea in quadriplegic subjects.
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    Neonatal basal ganglia and thalamic volumes: very preterm birth and 7-year neurodevelopmental outcomes
    Loh, WY ; Anderson, PJ ; Cheong, JLY ; Spittle, AJ ; Chen, J ; Lee, KJ ; Molesworth, C ; Inder, TE ; Connelly, A ; Doyle, LW ; Thompson, DK (NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2017-12)
    BackgroundThis study aims to (i) compare volumes of individual basal ganglia nuclei (caudate nucleus, pallidum, and putamen) and the thalamus between very preterm (VP) and term-born infants at term-equivalent age; (ii) explore neonatal basal ganglia and thalamic volume relationships with 7-year neurodevelopmental outcomes, and whether these relationships differed between VP and term-born children.Methods210 VP (<30 weeks' gestational age) and 39 term-born (≥37 weeks' gestational age) infants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging at term-equivalent age, and deep gray matter volumes of interest were automatically generated. 186 VP and 37 term-born children were assessed for a range of neurodevelopmental measures at age 7 years.ResultsAll deep gray matter structures examined were smaller in VP infants compared with controls at term-equivalent age; ranging from (percentage mean difference (95% confidence intervals) -6.2% (-10.2%, -2.2%) for the putamen, to -9.5% (-13.9%, -5.1%) for the caudate nucleus. Neonatal basal ganglia and thalamic volumes were positively related to motor, intelligence quotient, and academic outcomes at age 7 years, with mostly similar relationships in the VP and control groups.ConclusionVP birth results in smaller basal ganglia and thalamic volumes at term-equivalent age, and these smaller volumes are related to a range of 7-year neurodevelopmental deficits in VP children.