Huang Xin, Hu Yuxiang, Zhou Fuqing, Xu Xiaoxuan, Wu Yifan, Jay Rongpu, Cheng Yi, Wang Jun, Wu Xiaorong
Departments of Ophthalmology.
Radiology, Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.
Neuroreport. 2018 Jun 13;29(9):760-767. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000001028.
High myopia (HM) was associated with impaired long-distance vision. Previous neuroimaging studies showed that abnormal visual experience leads to dysfunction in brain activity in HM even corrected. However, whether alterations in brain structure occur in HM remains unknown. In this study, we analyzed the difference in the whole-brain gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter volume between HM patients and healthy controls (HCs) using a voxel-based morphology method. A total of 82 HM patients (52 men and 30 women) and 58 HCs (28 men and 30 women), matched closely in terms of age and education, were enrolled in this study. All participants underwent MRI scans. The MRI data were processed using the SPM8 software. The relationship between the mean GMV values of the brain regions and clinical features, including refractive diopter and the mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, in the HM group were analyzed using Pearson's correlation. Compared with HCs, HM patients showed significantly decreased GMV values in the right cuneus/lingual gyrus and the right thalamus. In contrast, HM groups showed higher GMV values in the brain stem, right parahippocampal gyrus/thalamus, left parahippocampal gyrus/thalamus, as well as the right and the left putamen. No significantly different white matter volume values were found between the two groups. Moreover, in the HM group, the mean retinal nerve fiber layer of the left eye showed a negative correlation with the mean GMV values of the brain stem (r=-0.218; P=0.049), right parahippocampal gyrus/thalamus (r=-0.262; P=0.017), left parahippocampal gyrus/thalamus (r=-0.249; P=0.024), and left putamen (r=-0.232; P=0.036). We found that HM patients showed an altered brain structure in the visual pathway regions and the limbic system, which may provide useful information to explore the neural mechanisms of impaired long-distance vision in HM.
高度近视（HM）与远视力受损有关。先前的神经影像学研究表明，即使在矫正后，异常的视觉体验也会导致高度近视患者大脑活动功能障碍。然而，高度近视患者的脑结构是否发生改变仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们使用基于体素的形态学方法分析了高度近视患者与健康对照者（HCs）之间全脑灰质体积（GMV）和白质体积的差异。本研究共纳入82例高度近视患者（52例男性和30例女性）和58例健康对照者（28例男性和30例女性），他们在年龄和教育程度方面进行了密切匹配。所有参与者均接受了MRI扫描。MRI数据使用SPM8软件进行处理。使用Pearson相关性分析高度近视组脑区平均GMV值与临床特征之间的关系，临床特征包括屈光度和平均视网膜神经纤维层厚度。与健康对照者相比，高度近视患者右侧楔叶/舌回和右侧丘脑的GMV值显著降低。相反，高度近视组在脑干、右侧海马旁回/丘脑、左侧海马旁回/丘脑以及右侧和左侧壳核的GMV值较高。两组之间未发现白质体积值有显著差异。此外，在高度近视组中，左眼的平均视网膜神经纤维层与脑干（r = -0.218；P = 0.049）、右侧海马旁回/丘脑（r = -0.262；P = 0.017）、左侧海马旁回/丘脑（r = -0.249；P = 0.024）和左侧壳核（r = -0.232；P = 0.036）的平均GMV值呈负相关。我们发现高度近视患者在视觉通路区域和边缘系统的脑结构发生了改变，这可能为探索高度近视患者远视力受损的神经机制提供有用信息。
