Author
Olga Ciccarelli
Other affiliations: University College Hospital, John Radcliffe Hospital, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ...read more
Bio: Olga Ciccarelli is an academic researcher from UCL Institute of Neurology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Multiple sclerosis & Expanded Disability Status Scale. The author has an hindex of 65, co-authored 311 publications receiving 22598 citations. Previous affiliations of Olga Ciccarelli include University College Hospital & John Radcliffe Hospital.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
TL;DR: TBSS aims to improve the sensitivity, objectivity and interpretability of analysis of multi-subject diffusion imaging studies by solving the question of how to align FA images from multiple subjects in a way that allows for valid conclusions to be drawn from the subsequent voxelwise analysis.
5,959 citations
TL;DR: The results provide the first quantitative demonstration of reliable inference of anatomical connectivity between human gray matter structures using diffusion data and the first connectivity-based segmentation of gray matter.
Abstract: Evidence concerning anatomical connectivities in the human brain is sparse and based largely on limited post-mortem observations. Diffusion tensor imaging has previously been used to define large white-matter tracts in the living human brain, but this technique has had limited success in tracing pathways into gray matter. Here we identified specific connections between human thalamus and cortex using a novel probabilistic tractography algorithm with diffusion imaging data. Classification of thalamic gray matter based on cortical connectivity patterns revealed distinct subregions whose locations correspond to nuclei described previously in histological studies. The connections that we found between thalamus and cortex were similar to those reported for non-human primates and were reproducible between individuals. Our results provide the first quantitative demonstration of reliable inference of anatomical connectivity between human gray matter structures using diffusion data and the first connectivity-based segmentation of gray matter.
2,296 citations
TL;DR: In patients who first present with isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis, the increases in the volume of the lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in the first five years correlate with the degree of long-term disability from multiple sclerosis.
Abstract: Background In patients with isolated syndromes that are clinically suggestive of multiple sclerosis, such as optic neuritis or brain-stem or spinal cord syndromes, the presence of lesions as determined by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain increases the likelihood that multiple sclerosis will develop. We sought to determine the relation between early lesion volume, changes in volume, and long-term disability. Methods Seventy-one patients in a serial MRI study of patients with isolated syndromes were reassessed after a mean of 14.1 years. Disability was measured with the use of Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS; possible range, 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a greater degree of disability). Results Clinically definite multiple sclerosis developed in 44 of the 50 patients (88 percent) with abnormal results on MRI at presentation and in 4 of 21 patients (19 percent) with normal results on MRI. The median EDSS score at follow-up for those with multiple sclerosis ...
815 citations
Vita-Salute San Raffaele University1, UCL Institute of Neurology2, National Institute for Health Research3, University of Siena4, University of Nottingham5, University of Basel6, Autonomous University of Barcelona7, University of Copenhagen8, University of Oxford9, National Institutes of Health10, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia11, VU University Amsterdam12
TL;DR: State-of-the-art MRI findings in patients presenting with a clinically isolated syndrome were discussed in a MAGNIMS workshop, the goal of which was to provide an evidence-based and expert-opinion consensus on diagnostic MRI criteria modifications.
Abstract: In patients presenting with a clinically isolated syndrome, MRI can support and substitute clinical information in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis by showing disease dissemination in space and time and by helping to exclude disorders that can mimic multiple sclerosis. MRI criteria were first included in the diagnostic work-up for multiple sclerosis in 2001, and since then several modifications to the criteria have been proposed in an attempt to simplify lesion-count models for showing disease dissemination in space, change the timing of MRI scanning to show dissemination in time, and increase the value of spinal cord imaging. Since the last update of these criteria, new data on the use of MRI to establish dissemination in space and time have become available, and MRI technology has improved. State-of-the-art MRI findings in these patients were discussed in a MAGNIMS workshop, the goal of which was to provide an evidence-based and expert-opinion consensus on proposed modifications to MRI criteria for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
627 citations
TL;DR: This work provides a powerful validation of quantitative grey matter segmentation using diffusion tractography in humans and results in a population-based atlas of the human thalamus that can be used to assign likely anatomical labels to thalamic locations in standard brain space.
Abstract: Parcellation of the human thalamus based on cortical connectivity information inferred from non-invasive diffusion-weighted images identifies sub-regions that we have proposed correspond to nuclei. Here we test the functional and anatomical validity of this proposal by comparing data from diffusion tractography, cytoarchitecture and functional imaging. We acquired diffusion imaging data in eleven healthy subjects and performed probabilistic tractography from voxels within the thalamus. Cortical connectivity information was used to divide the thalamus into sub-regions with highest probability of connectivity to distinct cortical areas. The relative volumes of these connectivity-defined sub-regions correlate well with volumetric predictions based on a histological atlas. Previously reported centres of functional activation within the thalamus during motor or executive tasks co-localize within atlas regions showing high probabilities of connection to motor or prefrontal cortices, respectively. This work provides a powerful validation of quantitative grey matter segmentation using diffusion tractography in humans. Co-registering thalamic sub-regions from 11 healthy individuals characterizes inter-individual variation in segmentation and results in a population-based atlas of the human thalamus that can be used to assign likely anatomical labels to thalamic locations in standard brain space. This provides a tool for specific localization of functional activations or lesions to putative thalamic nuclei.
549 citations
Cited by
More filters
TL;DR: A review of the research carried out by the Analysis Group at the Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB) on the development of new methodologies for the analysis of both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging data.
12,097 citations
9,362 citations
TL;DR: The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or her own research.
Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or
7,563 citations
TL;DR: TBSS aims to improve the sensitivity, objectivity and interpretability of analysis of multi-subject diffusion imaging studies by solving the question of how to align FA images from multiple subjects in a way that allows for valid conclusions to be drawn from the subsequent voxelwise analysis.
5,959 citations
McGill University1, New York University2, Mayo Clinic3, French Institute of Health and Medical Research4, Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices5, University of New South Wales6, Rush University Medical Center7, University of California, Los Angeles8, Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre9, University of Pittsburgh10, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich11, VU University Medical Center12, Women's College, Kolkata13, Case Western Reserve University14, Karolinska Institutet15
TL;DR: Mild cognitive impairment can be regarded as a risk state for dementia, and its identification could lead to secondary prevention by controlling risk factors such as systolic hypertension.
3,962 citations