Papers by Ricardo Faustino
Frontiers in neuroscience, Feb 2, 2024
Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disease of the cent... more Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system (CNS), is a common condition in young adults, but it can also affect children. The aim of this study was to construct radiomic models of lesions based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, T2weighted-Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery), to understand the correlation between extracted radiomic features, brain and lesion volumetry, demographic, clinical and laboratorial data. The neuroimaging data extracted from eleven scans of pediatric MS patients were analyzed. A total of 60 radiomic features based on MR T2-FLAIR images were extracted and used to calculate gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). The principal component analysis and ROC analysis were performed to select the radiomic features, respectively. The realized classification task by the logistic regression models was performed according to these radiomic features. Results: Ten most relevant features were selected from data extracted. The logistic regression applied to T2-FLAIR radiomic features revealed significant predictor for multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion detection. Only the variable "contrast" was statistically significant, indicating that only this variable played a significant role in the model. This approach enhances the classification of lesions from normal tissue. Discussion and conclusion: Our exploratory results suggest that the radiomic models based on MR imaging (T2-FLAIR) may have a potential contribution to characterization of brain tissues and classification of lesions in pediatric MS.
Frontiers in Neuroscience, Sep 13, 2023
Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and demyelinating disorder of central ne... more Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory and demyelinating disorder of central nervous system that can be diagnosed in pediatric age (<18 years) in 3-5% of the cases. This early onset is associated with higher relapse rates and earlier progression to neurological disability. By using NEDA-3 (No Evidence of Disease Activity-3) criteria, we aimed to identify clinical predictors associated with absence of disease activity and control of disease progression 12 months after the diagnosis, in a cohort of pediatric-onset MS (POMS) patients regularly followed-up in our center. Methods: We analyzed demographic, clinical, laboratorial and imaging variables of patients with POMS identified in our center, between 2010 and 2021, in two moments: at the diagnosis and 12 months after it. Statistical tests were applied to compare the distribution of those variables between groups defined by NEDA-3 status and by each one of its three variable components. We included 27 patients in the study (18 female), with a mean age of 14.8 years (± 2.8), being all diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS and with a median score of 1.5 at the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The use of natalizumab (p = 0.017) and the negativity for anti-EBV IgG antibodies (p = 0.018) at diagnosis were associated with a higher achievement of NEDA-3 status 12 months after, in our cohort. Prescribed treatment was also associated with statistically significant differences in the "absence of MRI activity" component of NEDA-3 (p = 0.006): patients under treatment with natalizumab had a higher probability of achieving this status, and the opposite was observed in glatiramer acetate-treated children. Discussion and conclusion: Our exploratory results underline the pivotal importance that an early and more effective therapeutical approach may have in the control of disease activity, in POMS. Additionally, they also seem to suggest that the presence of anti-EBV antibodies is not innocent, as it can be related to a less favorable evolution of the disease, even at a very early stage. Further studies are needed to confirm the applicability of these variables as prognostic and personalized tools in this clinical setting.
Sinapse
A síndrome radiológica isolada (RIS) corresponde a uma situação clínica em que são identificadas ... more A síndrome radiológica isolada (RIS) corresponde a uma situação clínica em que são identificadas em exames de imagem, nomeadamente de ressonância magnética, lesões de características desmielinizantes consideradas típicas de esclerose múltipla, sem que o indivíduo tenha tido, em algum momento, qualquer manifestação clínica a elas atribuível. Por este motivo, é a RIS habitualmente considerada como uma fase pré-sintomática da esclerose múltipla, o que a torna um alvo de investigação extremamente apetecível, no sentido de se modificar o risco de que se venha a desenvolver essa mesma doença. A RIS pode ser diagnosticada em idade pediátrica, mas são extremamente escassos os dados existentes sobre esta condição, de manifestação tão precoce na vida. Neste trabalho, far-se-á uma revisão narrativa sobre a RIS em idade pediátrica, refletindo-se criticamente sobre o benefício do seu estudo, particularmente para o (eventual) desenvolvimento de estratégias terapêuticas promotoras da remielinização e neuroproteção.
Human brain mapping, Oct 7, 2016
Machado-Joseph Disease, inherited type 3 spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA3), is the most common form w... more Machado-Joseph Disease, inherited type 3 spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA3), is the most common form worldwide. Neuroimaging and neuropathology have consistently demonstrated cerebellar alterations. Here we aimed to discover whole-brain functional biomarkers, based on parametric performance-level-dependent signals. We assessed 13 patients with early SCA3 and 14 healthy participants. We used a combined parametric behavioral/functional neuroimaging design to investigate disease fingerprints, as a function of performance levels, coupled with structural MRI and voxel-based morphometry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was designed to parametrically analyze behavior and neural responses to audio-paced bilateral thumb movements at temporal frequencies of 1, 3, and 5 Hz. Our performance-level-based design probing neuronal correlates of motor coordination enabled the discovery that neural activation and behavior show critical loss of parametric modulation specifically in SCA3, associ...
Procedia Technology, 2012
Automatic segmentation methods are mandatory for most computer-aided diagnostic methods, particul... more Automatic segmentation methods are mandatory for most computer-aided diagnostic methods, particularly in Positron Emission Tomography (PET), being extremely relevant for quantification purposes, disease diagnosis and staging. These automated approaches speed up the clinical work-flow, eliminating the need of a tedious manual delineation by physicians and greatly improving the reproducibility of the delineation procedures. This paper presents a novel approach for the fully automatic extraction of the pulmonary boundaries for PET images based in the concept of "marker-driven watershed segmentation". Additionally, an algorithm for the lung border extraction in CT images was developed in response to physicians' requirements for a better understanding of each individuals' specific anatomy. The accuracy of both algorithms was assessed, comparing the results of both approaches to their correspondent manually depicted contours by several physicians, taking into account several figures of merit.
2013 IEEE 3rd Portuguese Meeting in Bioengineering (ENBENG), 2013
Bioengineering has origin in different fields of knowledge like Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, ... more Bioengineering has origin in different fields of knowledge like Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Computational Science, so an increasing number of information is available in the World Wide Web. The purpose of this work are the introduction of webometric methods to analyze the contribution of this new field as a tool to create new strategies and design for research and development activity in Bioengineering and Health Science. For this intention we use dedicated software to analyze the quantitative information resources on the World Wide Web.
Acta Médica Portuguesa, 2021
Introduction: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis may contrast with adult-onset multiple sclerosis... more Introduction: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis may contrast with adult-onset multiple sclerosis, in terms of disease activity. We aimed to determine differentiating features between pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis and adult-onset multiple sclerosis, at diagnosis and after one year under disease modifying therapies, and analyse the attainment of the status of “No Evidence of Disease Activity” between groups.Material and Methods: We analyzed demographical, laboratory, clinical and imaging features of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis diagnosed at our center, according to the McDonald’s 2010 criteria, with ≥ 1 year under disease modifying therapies and with available magnetic resonance imaging scans at diagnosis and one year after disease modifying therapies initiation. Patients were paired according to gender and disease modifying therapies in use. “No Evidence of Disease Activity” status was assessed, and differences were studied.Results: Fifteen pediatric-ons...
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Papers by Ricardo Faustino