Department of Neurology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Department of Radiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Neurosci Bull. 2021 Jun;37(6):789-803. doi: 10.1007/s12264-021-00657-0. Epub 2021 Apr 7.
Grey matter (GM) alterations may contribute to cognitive decline in individuals with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) but no consensus has yet emerged. Here, we investigated cortical thickness and grey matter volume in 23 WMH patients with mild cognitive impairment (WMH-MCI), 43 WMH patients without cognitive impairment, and 55 healthy controls. Both WMH groups showed GM atrophy in the bilateral thalamus, fronto-insular cortices, and several parietal-temporal regions, and the WMH-MCI group showed more extensive and severe GM atrophy. The GM atrophy in the thalamus and fronto-insular cortices was associated with cognitive decline in the WMH-MCI patients and may mediate the relationship between WMH and cognition in WMH patients. Furthermore, the main results were well replicated in an independent dataset from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database and in other control analyses. These comprehensive results provide robust evidence of specific GM alterations underlying WMH and subsequent cognitive impairment.
脑灰质（GM）改变可能导致伴有脑白质高信号（WMH）但无认知障碍的个体认知能力下降，但目前尚未达成共识。在这里，我们研究了 23 名伴有轻度认知障碍的 WMH 患者（WMH-MCI）、43 名无认知障碍的 WMH 患者和 55 名健康对照者的皮质厚度和脑灰质体积。两个 WMH 组均表现出双侧丘脑、额岛叶皮质和几个顶颞叶区域的 GM 萎缩，而 WMH-MCI 组则表现出更广泛和严重的 GM 萎缩。WMH-MCI 患者的丘脑和额岛叶皮质的 GM 萎缩与认知能力下降有关，并且可能在 WMH 患者的 WMH 和认知之间的关系中起中介作用。此外，在来自阿尔茨海默病神经影像学倡议数据库的独立数据集和其他对照分析中，主要结果得到了很好的复制。这些综合结果为 WMH 及其随后的认知障碍的特定 GM 改变提供了有力的证据。
