Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Front Immunol. 2022 Dec 2;13:1007335. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1007335. eCollection 2022.
To investigate the differences in short-, middle- and long-range connections between patients with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and their correlation with brain tissue volume, structural and functional network parameters.
A total of 51 RRMS, 42 NMOSD and 56 health controls (HC) were recruited. Of these 25 RRMS (median: 1.37 years) and 20 NMOSD (median: 1.25 years) patients were also studied at follow-up. The whole-brain fiber connection was divided into three groups according to the trisected lengths of the tract in HC group, including short-, middle- and long-range connections. The brain tissue features (including total brain tissue and deep grey matter volumes) and parameters of DTI and functional networks (including the shortest path, clustering coefficient, local efficiency and global efficiency) were calculated. The differences in fiber number (FN) and average fractional anisotropy (FA) were compared between RRMS and NMOSD by the One-way ANOVA and post hoc tests. The correlation between the FN or FA and the brain tissue volume, DTI and functional network parameters were further analyzed by Pearson analysis.
Compared to HC and NMOSD, the total number of fibers in RRMS was decreased, including the reduced FN of middle- and long-range connections, but increased FN of short-range connections. Compared to HC, the FA of three fibers in RRMS and NMOSD were reduced significantly, and the decrease of FA in RRMS was greater than in NMOSD. There were correlations between the FN of short-, and long-range connections and the atrophy of whole brain tissue in two diseases and structural network topological parameters in RRMS. Additionally, there was no significant difference of FN and FA in short-, middle- and long-range connections between the baseline and follow-up in two diseases.
RRMS and NMOSD patients have different patterns of fiber connection damage. The FN of different lengths in RRMS and NMOSD patients may be associated with brain atrophy. The FN and FA of different lengths may explain the decreased efficiency of the structural network in RRMS patients. In the short-term follow-up, neither has worsened damage of different fibers in two diseases.
探讨复发缓解型多发性硬化症（RRMS）和视神经脊髓炎谱系疾病（NMOSD）患者的短程、中程和长程连接的差异，并探讨其与脑实质体积、结构和功能网络参数的相关性。
共纳入 51 例 RRMS、42 例 NMOSD 和 56 例健康对照者（HC）。其中 25 例 RRMS（中位随访时间：1.37 年）和 20 例 NMOSD（中位随访时间：1.25 年）患者进行了随访。根据 HC 组中束的三分长度，将全脑纤维连接分为三组，包括短程、中程和长程连接。计算脑实质特征（包括总脑实质和深部灰质体积）和 DTI 及功能网络参数（包括最短路径、聚类系数、局部效率和全局效率）。采用单因素方差分析和事后检验比较 RRMS 和 NMOSD 之间纤维数量（FN）和平均各向异性分数（FA）的差异。进一步通过 Pearson 分析，探讨 FN 或 FA 与脑实质体积、DTI 和功能网络参数的相关性。
与 HC 和 NMOSD 相比，RRMS 的总纤维数量减少，包括中程和长程连接的 FN 减少，而短程连接的 FN 增加。与 HC 相比，RRMS 和 NMOSD 三种纤维的 FA 均显著降低，且 RRMS 的 FA 降低幅度大于 NMOSD。两种疾病的全脑组织萎缩和 RRMS 的结构网络拓扑参数与短程和长程连接的 FN 相关。此外，两种疾病的短程、中程和长程连接的 FN 和 FA 在基线和随访时均无显著差异。
RRMS 和 NMOSD 患者的纤维连接损伤模式不同。RRMS 和 NMOSD 患者不同长度的 FN 可能与脑萎缩有关。不同长度的 FN 和 FA 可能解释了 RRMS 患者结构网络效率的降低。在短期随访中，两种疾病的不同纤维均未出现恶化损伤。
