Chen Yu-Chen, Xia Wenqing, Qian Cheng, Ding Jie, Ju Shenghong, Teng Gao-Jun
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, 87# Dingjiaqiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, China.
Metab Brain Dis. 2015 Oct;30(5):1227-36. doi: 10.1007/s11011-015-9700-2. Epub 2015 Jun 27.
To explore the disrupted thalamic functional connectivity and its relationships with cognitive dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A total of 38 T2DM patients and 39 well-matched healthy controls participated in the resting-state fMRI and T1-weighted imaging scans. The thalamic functional connectivity was characterized by using a seed-based whole-brain correlation method and compared T2DM patients with healthy controls. Pearson correlation analysis was performed between thalamic functional connectivity and clinical data. When compared with healthy controls, T2DM showed significantly decreased functional connectivity of the thalamus mainly in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), right precentral gyrus and bilateral occipital cortex; Increased functional connectivity of the thalamus was detected in the left cerebellum, bilateral middle frontal gyrus and middle cingulate gyrus (p < 0.05, corrected for AlphaSim). In T2DM patients, the decreased thalamic functional connectivity of the right MTG was positively associated with the Verbal Fluency Test score (r = 0.438, p = 0.006). Meanwhile, the decreased thalamic functional connectivity of the right cuneus was positively correlated with the Complex Figure Test-delayed score and negatively correlated with the Trail Making Test-B score, respectively (r = 0.492, p = 0.002; r = -0.504, p = 0.001). Moreover, there was no structural damage in the thalamus of T2DM patients. T2DM patients develop disrupted thalamocortical functional connectivity, which is associated with cognitive impairment in selected brain regions. Resting-state thalamocortical connectivity disturbance may play a central role in the underlying neuropathological process of T2DM-related cognitive dysfunction.
通过静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）探讨2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者丘脑功能连接中断及其与认知功能障碍的关系。共有38例T2DM患者和39例匹配良好的健康对照者参与了静息态fMRI和T1加权成像扫描。采用基于种子点的全脑相关方法表征丘脑功能连接，并将T2DM患者与健康对照者进行比较。对丘脑功能连接与临床数据进行Pearson相关分析。与健康对照者相比，T2DM患者丘脑功能连接显著降低，主要位于右侧颞中回（MTG）、右侧中央前回和双侧枕叶皮质；左侧小脑、双侧额中回和扣带回中部丘脑功能连接增加（p < 0.05，经AlphaSim校正）。在T2DM患者中，右侧MTG丘脑功能连接降低与言语流畅性测试得分呈正相关（r = 0.438，p = 0.006）。同时，右侧楔叶丘脑功能连接降低分别与复杂图形测试延迟得分呈正相关，与连线测试-B得分呈负相关（r = 0.492，p = 0.002；r = -0.504，p = 0.001）。此外，T2DM患者丘脑无结构损伤。T2DM患者存在丘脑皮质功能连接中断，这与特定脑区的认知障碍有关。静息态丘脑皮质连接紊乱可能在T2DM相关认知功能障碍的潜在神经病理过程中起核心作用。
