Advances In Functional Mri For Neurological Disorders

Abstract

Background: fMRI has revolutionized the neuroimaging of functioning processes and create perfect and live images of the activity within the brain. In neurological disorders such as, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease this technology is valuable in biomarkers and treatment response as well as enhancement of knowledge on neurological diseases and better treatment outcomes due to tailored therapy.
Objectives: To assess recent developments in fMRI and it performance in diagnosing and follow up of neurological disorders with respect to sensitivity, specificity and clinical utility in functional connectivity.
Study Design: a cross-sectional observational cohort study.
Place and Duration of Study:Deparmtent of Radiology  Watim Medical College Rawalpindi form jan 2022 to july 2022 
Methods: They surveyed, a cross-sectional, non-interventional, observational, number-notation cohort study, in 150 patients with all sorts of neurological diseases 50 of the patients diagnosed with AD, 50 with epilepsy, and 50 with PD. The baseline and follow up fMRI scan were examined for neural activity and connectivity alterations where potential biomarkers of disease progression and treatment response were also considered. Mean ± standard deviation were used to compare the results and p values were used to substantiate significant changes.
Results: The Connectivity metrics measures in the Alzheimer’s group improved by 15%, with confidence interval ±5.2 (p = 0.03), suggesting improvement. The epilepsy cohort came to 25% decrease in abnormal activity and SD of 6.1 (p = 0.01) and the Parkinson’s group showed a 12% increase in motor function connectivity with SD of 4.7 (p = 0.04). On this account, the following observations have provided validation for the use of fMRI in functional assessment, as well as monitoring of treatment outcomes.
Conclusions: New developments in fMRI are extremely useful in the diagnosis and management of neurological diseases, meaning better patient outcomes due to personalized treatments. This research provides evidence of fMRI’s contribution to finding biomarkers, prognosis and the optimization of therapy.