Aristi Guillermo, Kamintsky Lyna, Ross Margaux, Bowen Chris, Calkin Cynthia, Friedman Alon, Hashmi Javeria A
Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management & Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada B3H 1V7.
Departments of Medical Neuroscience, Pediatric and Surgery, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health Authority, Halifax, Canada B3H 4R2.
Brain Commun. 2022 Mar 7;4(2):fcac053. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac053. eCollection 2022.
Diplomats representing the USA have reported with unusual neurologic symptoms and MRI changes after being posted in Havana, Cuba between late 2016 and 2018. Here, we examined white matter microstructure and network connectivity of individuals stationed in Havana, using diffusion-weighted MRI, fixel-based analysis and structural connectomics as implemented in MRtrix3. MRI data acquisition and clinical assessments were done in a total of 24 diplomats and their family members and 40 healthy controls. The diplomat data were grouped into an exposed cohort ( = 16) and an unexposed cohort ( = 10), and among these, two individuals were assessed before and after potential exposure. Fixel-based analysis revealed a reduction in fibre density in two specific regions: the fornix and the splenium, in exposed individuals, relative to unexposed individuals and healthy controls. analyses showed the effect remained present ( < 0.05) in both regions when comparing exposed and unexposed diplomats; and reduced fibre density was correlated with longer time period stationed in Cuba after age correction. Reduction of fibre density was also found to be linked with clinical symptoms of persistent migraine, tinnitus, sound sensitivity and fatigue. Network statistical comparisons revealed decreased structural connectivity in two distinct networks, comprising subcortical and cortical systems in exposed individuals, relative to unexposed and normative data. While the cause for the differences between the groups remains unknown, our results reveal region-specific white matter injury, that is, significantly correlated with clinical symptoms.
2016年末至2018年期间派驻古巴哈瓦那的美国外交官出现了异常的神经症状和磁共振成像(MRI)变化。在此,我们使用扩散加权MRI、基于固定点的分析以及MRtrix3中实施的结构连接组学方法,对驻扎在哈瓦那的人员的白质微观结构和网络连通性进行了研究。对总共24名外交官及其家属和40名健康对照者进行了MRI数据采集和临床评估。外交官数据被分为暴露队列(n = 16)和未暴露队列(n = 10),其中有两人在潜在暴露前后接受了评估。基于固定点的分析显示,与未暴露个体和健康对照相比,暴露个体的两个特定区域——穹窿和胼胝体的纤维密度降低。分析表明,在比较暴露和未暴露的外交官时,两个区域的这种影响均持续存在(P < 0.05);年龄校正后,纤维密度降低与在古巴驻扎的时间更长相关。纤维密度降低还被发现与持续性偏头痛、耳鸣、声音敏感和疲劳等临床症状有关。网络统计比较显示,与未暴露个体和标准数据相比,暴露个体中由皮质下和皮质系统组成的两个不同网络的结构连通性降低。虽然两组之间差异的原因尚不清楚,但我们的结果揭示了区域特异性白质损伤,即与临床症状显著相关。