Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030,China.
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2018 Jul 30;277:39-44. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2018.05.004. Epub 2018 May 12.
Numerous studies indicate the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit plays an important role in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), as a major fiber in the fronto-thalamic circuitry, contributes to symptomology of OCD. However, the underlying biochemical mechanism in relation with its structural alteration remains not understood. This study investigated the structural abnormality of ATR and its correlation with thalamic metabolic alteration in OCD, using diffusion tensor image (DTI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS). Twenty-six unmedicated adult OCD patients and twenty-six matched healthy controls participated in DTI study. Thirteen OCD patients and thirteen healthy controls, a subset of DTI participants, took part in MRS study. The results showed that mean fiber length of right ATR negatively correlated with ipsilateral thalamic choline (Cho) level in OCD patients. Additionally, significantly higher Cho concentration was detected in right thalamus of OCD patients compared to healthy controls. Moreover, the mean fractional anisotropy (FA) value of right ATR positively correlated with patients Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) total score, as well as YBOCS compulsion score. These results suggested the coupling of structural and metabolic changes in right ATR, which might serve as a multi-modal biomarker contributing to the pathogenesis of OCD.
许多研究表明皮质纹状体丘脑皮质（CSTC）回路在强迫症（OCD）的病理生理学中起着重要作用。前丘脑辐射（ATR）作为额-丘脑回路中的主要纤维，有助于 OCD 的症状。然而，与其结构改变相关的潜在生化机制尚不清楚。本研究使用弥散张量成像（DTI）和质子磁共振波谱（H-MRS）研究了 OCD 中 ATR 的结构异常及其与丘脑代谢改变的关系。26 名未经药物治疗的成年 OCD 患者和 26 名匹配的健康对照者参加了 DTI 研究。13 名 OCD 患者和 13 名健康对照者（DTI 参与者的一个子集）参加了 MRS 研究。结果表明，OCD 患者右侧 ATR 的平均纤维长度与同侧丘脑胆碱（Cho）水平呈负相关。此外，与健康对照组相比，OCD 患者右侧丘脑的 Cho 浓度显著升高。此外，右侧 ATR 的平均各向异性分数（FA）值与患者耶鲁-布朗强迫症量表（YBOCS）总分以及 YBOCS 强迫评分呈正相关。这些结果表明右侧 ATR 的结构和代谢变化存在关联，这可能成为 OCD 发病机制的多模态生物标志物。
