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Diagnostics
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Advanced Imaging and Theranostics in Neurological Diseases
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Advanced Imaging and Theranostics in Neurological Diseases

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Imaging and Theranostics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 1147

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jimmy S. Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Radiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
Interests: neuroradiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Diagnostics is dedicated to the rapidly evolving field of advanced neuroimaging and theranostics in neurological diseases. We invite original research and review articles that explore the integration of cutting-edge imaging techniques—such as ultra-high-field MRI, novel PET radiotracers, and hybrid PET-MRI systems—with targeted therapeutic agents. The scope encompasses a wide range of disorders, including brain tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, and cerebrovascular conditions. We are particularly interested in contributions that highlight the translational potential of radiomics, artificial intelligence, and quantitative imaging biomarkers to refine diagnosis, guide targeted interventions, and monitor treatment response. The ultimate goal of this Special Issue is to showcase innovative research that bridges the gap between diagnostic imaging and personalized therapy, paving the way for improved patient outcomes in clinical neurology and neurosurgery.

Dr. Jimmy S. Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neuroradiology
  • MRI
  • PET-MRI
  • neurology and neurosurgery
  • imaging
  • theranostics
  • diagnostic
  • prognosis
  • markers

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 403 KB  
Article
Evaluation of Low-Dose Radiation Treatment Effects Using Conductivity, Diffusivity, and Brain Tissue Volumes Treated in Patients with Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: Exploratory Investigation
by Weon Kuu Chung, Hwang Mi Kim, Mun Bae Lee, Kisoo Kim, Oh-In Kwon, Ye Jin Yoo, Hak Young Rhee and Geon-Ho Jahng
Diagnostics 2026, 16(8), 1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16081163 - 14 Apr 2026
Viewed by 341
Abstract
Purpose: No prior clinical studies have quantitatively evaluated the effect of low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain changes using multi-modal MRI. This study examined the feasibility of using conductivity, diffusion, and brain tissue volume measures to detect treatment effects [...] Read more.
Purpose: No prior clinical studies have quantitatively evaluated the effect of low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT) on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain changes using multi-modal MRI. This study examined the feasibility of using conductivity, diffusion, and brain tissue volume measures to detect treatment effects in patients with AD receiving LDRT. Methods: Nine patients with mild AD were enrolled in three groups. Three patients in each group were assigned to the control group (0 cGy) and the treated groups [24 cGy/6 fractions (4 cGy for each fraction) and 300 cGy/6 fractions (50 cGy for each fraction)]. Conductivity, diffusivity, and brain tissue volume were acquired at baseline and 6 months post-treatment and were evaluated to assess within-group MRI changes and evaluate associations between MRI measures and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Results: Region-of-interest (ROI) analyses identified substantial changes in high-frequency conductivity (HFC) (e.g., left insula), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volumes (e.g., anterior cingulate, limbic regions), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics, such as axial diffusivity (AxD) and fractional anisotropy (FA), in fusiform, thalamic, hippocampal, and occipital areas. Correlation analysis showed strong associations between MRI measures and cognition, most notably HFC in the left fusiform gyrus (r = 0.843, p = 0.0043) after treatment. Diffusion indices across multiple regions also showed significant positive or negative correlations with MMSE. Conclusions: This exploratory clinical study demonstrates that LDRT induces measurable physiological and microstructural alterations in the brain detectable via conductivity and diffusion MRI. Conductivity emerged as the sensitive biomarker, showing strong cognitive correlations. These exploratory findings suggest that multi-modal quantitative MRI can serve as an effective tool for evaluating treatment response in clinical LDRT for AD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Imaging and Theranostics in Neurological Diseases)
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15 pages, 1411 KB  
Article
Semi-Automated Neuromelanin-Sensitive MRI Reveals Substantia Nigra Volume Reduction in Early Parkinson’s Disease with Moderate Diagnostic Performance
by Arturs Silovs, Gvido Karlis Skuburs, Nauris Zdanovskis, Aleksejs Sevcenko, Janis Mednieks, Edgars Naudins, Santa Bartusevica, Solvita Umbrasko, Liga Zarina, Laura Zelge, Agnese Anna Pastare, Jelena Steinberga, Jurgis Skilters, Baingio Pinna and Ardis Platkajis
Diagnostics 2026, 16(7), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16071046 - 30 Mar 2026
Viewed by 508
Abstract
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, accompanied by neuromelanin loss. Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) enables in vivo visualization of these changes; however, its diagnostic and clinical utility remains incompletely defined. [...] Read more.
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, accompanied by neuromelanin loss. Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI) enables in vivo visualization of these changes; however, its diagnostic and clinical utility remains incompletely defined. This study evaluated the feasibility, reliability, and biological sensitivity of semi-automated NM-MRI–based substantia nigra volumetry in PD. Methods: In this prospective case–control study, 50 participants (25 PD patients and 25 healthy controls) underwent 3T NM-sensitive MRI using a high-resolution T1-weighted spin-echo sequence. Semi-automated segmentation of hyperintense substantia nigra regions was performed using Mango v3.5.1, with intracranial volume normalization derived from FreeSurfer v7.3. Four participants were excluded due to motion artifacts, yielding a final cohort of 46 subjects. Clinical assessment included the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part III and Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) staging. Group comparisons, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and reliability testing using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were performed. Results: Corrected substantia nigra volume was significantly reduced in PD patients compared with controls (18% reduction; p = 0.039, Mann–Whitney U test). Semi-automated measurements demonstrated excellent agreement with manual segmentation (ICC = 0.945). ROC analysis showed moderate discriminative performance for corrected volume (AUC = 0.700; sensitivity 68.4%, specificity 74.1%). No significant correlation was observed between corrected substantia nigra volume and UPDRS-III motor scores, while a trend toward lower SNc volume was observed with advancing H&Y stage. Conclusions: Semi-automated NM-MRI volumetry detects biologically meaningful substantia nigra volume loss in early-stage Parkinson’s disease with high measurement reliability. However, diagnostic performance was moderate and insufficient for standalone clinical diagnosis or motor severity prediction. These findings support the role of NM-MRI as a complementary imaging marker within multimodal diagnostic and research frameworks rather than as an independent diagnostic tool. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Imaging and Theranostics in Neurological Diseases)
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