Department of Neurology, Multiple Sclerosis Center, Sheba Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
Brain Struct Funct. 2013 Jul;218(4):943-50. doi: 10.1007/s00429-012-0440-3. Epub 2012 Jul 12.
Decreased cortical thickness that signifies gray matter pathology and its impact on cognitive performance is a research field with growing interest in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and needs to be further elucidated. Using high-field 3.0 T MRI, three-dimensional T1-FSPGR (voxel size 1 × 1 × 1 mm) cortical thickness was measured in 82 regions in the left hemisphere (LH) and right hemisphere (RH) in 20 RRMS patients with low disease activity and in 20 age-matched healthy subjects that in parallel underwent comprehensive cognitive evaluation. The correlation between local cortical atrophy and cognitive performance was examined. We identified seven regions with cortical tissue loss that differed between RRMS and age-matched healthy controls. These regions were mainly located in the frontal and temporal lobes, specifically within the gyrus rectus, inferior frontal sulcus, orbital gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus, with preferential left asymmetry. Increased cortical thickness was identified in two visual sensory regions, the LH inferior occipital gyrus, and the RH cuneus, implicating adaptive plasticity. Correlation analysis demonstrated that only the LH superior temporal gyrus thickness was associated with cognitive performance and its thickness correlated with motor skills (r = 0.65, p = 0.003), attention (r = 0.45, p = 0.042), and information processing speed (r = 0.50, p = 0.025). Our findings show that restricted cortical thinning occurs in RRMS patients with mild disease and that LH superior temporal gyrus atrophy is associated with cognitive dysfunction.
皮质厚度降低表明存在灰质病理学，其对认知表现的影响是复发缓解型多发性硬化症（RRMS）研究领域日益关注的问题，需要进一步阐明。本研究使用高场 3.0T MRI，对 20 例疾病活动度低的 RRMS 患者和 20 例年龄匹配的健康对照者的左半球（LH）和右半球（RH）的 82 个区域进行了三维 T1-FSPGR（体素大小 1×1×1mm）皮质厚度测量，这些患者和对照者并行进行了全面的认知评估。研究人员分析了局部皮质萎缩与认知表现之间的相关性。研究发现，RRMS 患者与年龄匹配的健康对照者之间存在 7 个皮质组织丢失的区域存在差异。这些区域主要位于额颞叶，具体位于直回、额下回、眶回、海马旁回和颞上回，呈左侧偏侧性分布。在两个视觉感觉区域、LH 下枕叶和 RH 楔前叶，发现皮质厚度增加，提示存在适应性可塑性。相关性分析表明，只有 LH 颞上回厚度与认知表现相关，其厚度与运动技能（r = 0.65，p = 0.003）、注意力（r = 0.45，p = 0.042）和信息处理速度（r = 0.50，p = 0.025）相关。研究结果表明，在疾病活动度低的 RRMS 患者中存在局限性皮质变薄，且 LH 颞上回萎缩与认知功能障碍有关。
