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Zhou X, Yang Y, Zhu F, Chen X, Zhu Y, Gui T, Li Y, Xue Q. Neurometabolic and Brain Functional Alterations Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis: A Combined 1H-MRS and fMRI Study. Neuroscience 2024; 544:12-27. [PMID: 38423165 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Whether patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) exhibit cognitive impairment is controversial. Also the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We aimed to investigate alterations in cognitive function, neurometabolite levels, and brain function in patients with MG and to explore the associations between abnormal regional brain functional activity, neurometabolite concentrations in the MPFC and left thalamus, and cognitive activity in patients with MG. Neuropsychological tests, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed on 41 patients with MG and 45 race-, sex-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs). The results suggest that MG is accompanied by cognitive decline, as indicated by global cognitive function, visual-spatial function, language, memory, abnormalities in regional brain functional activity, and neurometabolite alterations (including GABA, NAA, and Cho) in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and left thalamus. Cognitive impairment in patients with MG may be related to abnormal regional brain functional activity and changes in neurometabolites, and regional brain functional activity may be modulated by specific neurometabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoling Zhou
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China; Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214000, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Xiang Chen
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Yunfei Zhu
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Tiantian Gui
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China
| | - Yonggang Li
- Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China.
| | - Qun Xue
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215000, China.
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Guo X, Li J, Su Q, Song J, Cheng C, Chu X, Zhao R. Transcriptional correlates of frequency-dependent brain functional activity associated with symptom severity in degenerative cervical myelopathy. Neuroimage 2023; 284:120451. [PMID: 37949259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroimaging techniques provide insights into the brain abnormalities secondary to degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and their association with neurological deficits. However, the neural correlates underlying the discrepancy between symptom severity and the degree of spinal cord compression, as well as the transcriptional correlates of these cortical abnormalities, remain unknown in DCM patients. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, which collected resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) images and the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, enrolled 104 participants (54 patients and 50 healthy controls). The frequency-dependent amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was obtained for all participants. We investigated the ALFF differences between mild-symptom DCM patients and severe-symptom DCM patients while carefully matching the degree of compression between these two groups via both univariate comparison and searchlight classification for three frequency bands (e.g., Slow-4, Slow-5, and Full-band). Additionally, we identified genes associated with symptom severity in DCM patients by linking the spatial patterns of gene expression of Allen Human Brain Atlas and brain functional differences between mild symptom and severe symptom groups. RESULTS (1) We found that the frequency-specific brain activities within the sensorimotor network (SMN), visual network (VN), and default mode network (DMN) were associated with the varying degrees of functional impairment in DCM patients; (2) the frequency-specific brain activity within the SMN correlated with the functional recovery in patients with DCM; (3) a spatial correlation between the brain-wide expression of genes involved in neuronal migration and the brain functional activities associated with symptom severity was identified in DCM patients. CONCLUSION In conclusion, our study bridges gaps between genes, cell classes, biological processes, and brain functional correlates of DCM. While our findings are correlational in nature, they suggest that the neural activities of sensorimotor cortices in DCM are associated with the severity of symptoms and might be associated with neuronal migration within the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Guo
- Department of Orthopedic, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei 061017, China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Orthopedic, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei 061017, China; Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin 300211, China
| | - Qian Su
- Department of Orthopedic, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei 061017, China; Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for China, Tianjin 300060, China
| | - Jiajun Song
- Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Cai Cheng
- Department of Orthopedic, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou, Hebei 061017, China.
| | - Xu Chu
- Department of Shoulder and Elbow of Sports Medicine, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, China.
| | - Rui Zhao
- Department of Orthopedics Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
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Wang Y, Wen J, Kong C, Xu Z, Hu S, Li M, Wang X, Zhang H, Jia X, Ding Q, Wu J, Hou D. Regional homogeneity alterations in multifrequency bands in patients with extracranial multi-organ tuberculosis: a prospective cross-sectional study. Quant Imaging Med Surg 2023; 13:1753-1767. [PMID: 36915302 PMCID: PMC10006160 DOI: 10.21037/qims-22-229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Background This study aimed to clarify the spontaneous neural activity in the conventional frequency band (0.01-0.08 Hz) and 2 subfrequency bands (slow-4: 0.027-0.073 Hz; slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz) in patients with extracranial multi-organ tuberculosis (EMTB) through regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis. Methods In all, 32 patients with EMTB and 31 healthy controls (HCs) were assessed by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans to clarify the abnormal spontaneous neural activity through ReHo analysis in the conventional frequency band and 2 subfrequency bands. Results Compared with the HCs, the patients with EMTB exhibited decreased ReHo in the left postcentral gyrus [t=-4.79; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.79 to -0.31] and the left superior cerebellum (t=-4.45; 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.21) in the conventional band. Conversely, increased ReHo was observed in the right middle occipital gyrus (t=3.94; 95% CI: 0.18-0.53). In the slow-4 band, patients with EMTB only exhibited decreased ReHo in the superior cerebellum (t=-4.69; 95% CI: -0.54 to -0.22); meanwhile, in the slow-5 band, these patients exhibited decreased ReHo in the right postcentral gyrus (t=-3.76; 95% CI: -0.74 to -0.21) and the left superior cerebellum (t=-5.20, 95% CI: -0.72 to -0.31). After Bonferroni correction, no significant correlation was observed between the ReHo values in clusters showing significant between-group differences and cognitive test scores. Conclusions ReHo showed abnormal synchronous neural activity in patients with EMTB in different frequency bands, which provides a novel understanding of the pathological mechanism of EMTB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichuan Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jianjie Wen
- School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Chengcheng Kong
- Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zexuan Xu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Su Hu
- School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Mengting Li
- School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Xinguang Wang
- School of Information Science and Electronic Technology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi, China
| | - Hongqiang Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Changshu, China
| | - Xize Jia
- School of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China.,Department of Radiology, Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Changshu, China
| | - Qingguo Ding
- Department of Radiology, Changshu No. 2 People's Hospital, The Affiliated Changshu Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Changshu, China
| | - Jili Wu
- Department of Medical Imaging, Fourth People's Hospital of Taiyuan, Taiyuan, China
| | - Dailun Hou
- Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, China.,Department of Medical Imaging, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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The White Matter Functional Abnormalities in Patients with Transient Ischemic Attack: A Reinforcement Learning Approach. Neural Plast 2022; 2022:1478048. [PMID: 36300173 PMCID: PMC9592236 DOI: 10.1155/2022/1478048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a known risk factor for stroke. Abnormal alterations in the low-frequency range of the gray matter (GM) of the brain have been studied in patients with TIA. However, whether there are abnormal neural activities in the low-frequency range of the white matter (WM) in patients with TIA remains unknown. The current study applied two resting-state metrics to explore functional abnormalities in the low-frequency range of WM in patients with TIA. Furthermore, a reinforcement learning method was used to investigate whether altered WM function could be a diagnostic indicator of TIA. Methods We enrolled 48 patients with TIA and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and clinical/physiological/biochemical data were collected from each participant. We compared the group differences between patients with TIA and HCs in the low-frequency range of WM using two resting-state metrics: amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF). The altered ALFF and fALFF values were defined as features of the reinforcement learning method involving a Q-learning algorithm. Results Compared with HCs, patients with TIA showed decreased ALFF in the right cingulate gyrus/right superior longitudinal fasciculus/left superior corona radiata and decreased fALFF in the right cerebral peduncle/right cingulate gyrus/middle cerebellar peduncle. Based on these two rs-fMRI metrics, an optimal Q-learning model was obtained with an accuracy of 82.02%, sensitivity of 85.42%, specificity of 78.05%, precision of 82.00%, and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87. Conclusion The present study revealed abnormal WM functional alterations in the low-frequency range in patients with TIA. These results support the role of WM functional neural activity as a potential neuromarker in classifying patients with TIA and offer novel insights into the underlying mechanisms in patients with TIA from the perspective of WM function.
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Zeng Y, Shu Y, Liu X, Li P, Kong L, Li K, Xie W, Zeng L, Long T, Huang L, Li H, Peng D. Frequency-specific alterations in intrinsic low-frequency oscillations in newly diagnosed male patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:987015. [PMID: 36248662 PMCID: PMC9561418 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.987015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Previous studies found abnormal low-frequency spontaneous brain activity related to cognitive impairment in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, it is unclear if low-frequency spontaneous brain activity is related to specific frequency bands in OSA patients. In this study, we used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method in patients with OSA to explore characteristics of spontaneous brain activity in the classical (0.01–0.1 Hz) and five sub-frequency bands (slow-2 to slow-6) and analyzed the relationship between spontaneous brain activity and clinical evaluation was analyzed. Patients and methods Resting-state magnetic resonance imaging data and clinical assessments were collected from 52 newly-diagnosed OSA patients and 62 healthy controls (HCs). We calculated the individual group ALFF values in the classical and five different sub-frequency bands. A two-sample t-test compared ALFF differences, and one-way analysis of variance explored interactions in frequency bands between the two groups. Results ALFF values in the OSA group were lower than those in the HC group in the bilateral precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, bilateral angular gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, brainstem, and right fusiform gyrus. In contrast, ALFF values in the OSA group were higher than those in the HC group in the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus. Some ALFF values in altered brain regions were associated with body mass index, apnea-hypopnea index, neck circumference, snoring history, minimum SaO2, average SaO2, arousal index, oxygen reduction index, deep sleep period naming, abstraction, and delayed recall in specific frequency bands. Conclusion Our results indicated the existence of frequency-specific differences in spontaneous brain activity in OSA patients, which were related to cognitive and other clinical symptoms. This study identified frequency-band characteristics related to brain damage, expanded the cognitive neuroimaging mechanism, and provided additional OSA neuroimaging markers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Zeng
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yongqiang Shu
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xiang Liu
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Panmei Li
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Linghong Kong
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Kunyao Li
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wei Xie
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Li Zeng
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ting Long
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ling Huang
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Haijun Li
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- PET Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- *Correspondence: Haijun Li,
| | - Dechang Peng
- Medical Imaging Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- PET Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- Dechang Peng,
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