Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5795;
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5795.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Oct 3;114(40):10767-10772. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1620994114. Epub 2017 Sep 18.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), due to mutations of the gene, is the most common known inherited cause of developmental disability. The cognitive, behavioral, and neurological phenotypes observed in affected individuals can vary considerably, making it difficult to predict outcomes and determine the need for interventions. We sought to examine early structural brain growth as a potential marker for identification of clinically meaningful subgroups. Participants included 42 very young boys with FXS who completed a T1-weighted anatomical MRI and cognitive/behavioral assessment at two longitudinal time points, with mean ages of 2.89 y and 4.91 y. Topological data analysis (TDA), an unsupervised approach to multivariate pattern analysis, was applied to the longitudinal anatomical data to identify coherent but heretofore unknown subgroups. TDA revealed two large subgroups within the study population based solely on longitudinal MRI data. Post hoc comparisons of cognition, adaptive functioning, and autism severity scores between these groups demonstrated that one group was consistently higher functioning on all measures at both time points, with pronounced and significant unidirectional differences ( < 0.05 for time point 1 and/or time point 2 for each measure). These results support the existence of two longitudinally defined, neuroanatomically distinct, and clinically relevant phenotypes among boys with FXS. If confirmed by additional analyses, such information may be used to predict outcomes and guide design of targeted therapies. Furthermore, TDA of longitudinal anatomical MRI data may represent a useful method for reliably and objectively defining subtypes within other neuropsychiatric disorders.
脆性 X 综合征(FXS)是由于基因发生突变引起的,是最常见的已知遗传性发育障碍病因。在受影响的个体中观察到的认知、行为和神经表型差异可能相当大,这使得预测结果和确定干预需求变得困难。我们试图研究早期结构性大脑生长作为识别具有临床意义的亚组的潜在标志物。参与者包括 42 名患有 FXS 的非常年幼的男孩,他们在两个纵向时间点完成了 T1 加权解剖 MRI 和认知/行为评估,平均年龄分别为 2.89 岁和 4.91 岁。拓扑数据分析(TDA)是一种用于多变量模式分析的无监督方法,应用于纵向解剖数据以识别连贯但迄今未知的亚组。TDA 仅根据纵向 MRI 数据,在研究人群中发现了两个大的亚组。对这些组之间的认知、适应功能和自闭症严重程度评分进行的事后比较表明,一组在两个时间点的所有测量值上始终具有更高的功能,表现出明显且显著的单向差异(每个测量值在时间点 1 和/或时间点 2 时 < 0.05)。这些结果支持 FXS 男孩存在两种纵向定义的、神经解剖学不同的和具有临床意义的表型。如果通过其他分析得到证实,这种信息可能用于预测结果并指导靶向治疗的设计。此外,纵向解剖 MRI 数据的 TDA 可能代表一种可靠且客观地定义其他神经精神障碍亚组的有用方法。