Liu Yaou, Liang Peipeng, Duan Yunyun, Huang Jing, Ren Zhuoqiong, Jia Xiuqin, Dong Huiqing, Ye Jing, Shi Fu-Dong, Butzkueven Helmut, Li Kuncheng
Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, PR China.
Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, PR China.
Eur J Radiol. 2015 Apr;84(4):703-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2015.01.001. Epub 2015 Jan 19.
To compare thalamic functional connectivity (FC) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy controls (HC), and correlate these connectivity measures with other MRI and clinical variables.
We employed resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) to examine changes in thalamic connectivity by comparing thirty-five patients with MS and 35 age- and sex-matched HC. Thalamic FC was investigated by correlating low frequency fMRI signal fluctuations in thalamic voxels with voxels in all other brain regions. Additionally thalamic volume fraction (TF), T2 lesion volume (T2LV), EDSS and disease duration were recorded and correlated with the FC changes.
MS patients were found to have a significantly lower TF than HC in bilateral thalami. Compared to HC, the MS group showed significantly decreased FC between thalamus and several brain regions including right middle frontal and parahippocampal gyri, and the left inferior parietal lobule. Increased intra- and inter-thalamic FC was observed in the MS group compared to HC. These FC alterations were not correlated with T2LV, thalamic volume or lesions. In the MS group, however, there was a negative correlation between disease duration and inter-thalamic connectivity (r=-0.59, p<0.001).
We demonstrated decreased FC between thalamus and several cortical regions, while increased intra- and inter-thalamic connectivity in MS patients. These complex functional changes reflect impairments and/or adaptations that are independent of T2LV, thalamic volume or presence of thalamic lesions. The negative correlation between disease duration and inter-thalamic connectivity could indicate an adaptive role of thalamus that is gradually lost with increasing disease duration.
比较多发性硬化症（MS）患者与健康对照者（HC）的丘脑功能连接（FC），并将这些连接测量值与其他MRI和临床变量相关联。
我们采用静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI），通过比较35例MS患者和35例年龄及性别匹配的HC，来检查丘脑连接性的变化。通过将丘脑体素中的低频fMRI信号波动与所有其他脑区的体素相关联，来研究丘脑FC。此外，记录丘脑体积分数（TF）、T2病变体积（T2LV）、扩展残疾状态量表（EDSS）和病程，并将其与FC变化相关联。
发现MS患者双侧丘脑的TF显著低于HC。与HC相比，MS组丘脑与几个脑区之间的FC显著降低，包括右侧额中回和海马旁回，以及左侧顶下小叶。与HC相比，MS组丘脑内和丘脑间的FC增加。这些FC改变与T2LV、丘脑体积或病变无关。然而，在MS组中，病程与丘脑间连接性呈负相关（r = -0.59，p < 0.001）。
我们证明了MS患者丘脑与几个皮质区域之间的FC降低，而丘脑内和丘脑间连接性增加。这些复杂的功能变化反映了与T2LV、丘脑体积或丘脑病变的存在无关的损伤和/或适应。病程与丘脑间连接性之间的负相关可能表明丘脑的适应性作用随着病程的增加而逐渐丧失。
