Wang Lei, Qin Yue, Li Xiaoshi, Li Xin, Liu Yuwei, Li Wei, Wang Yarong
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China.
Department of Radiology, Xi'an Daxing Hospital, Xi'an 710016, China.
Brain Sci. 2023 Sep 7;13(9):1292. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13091292.
This study investigates the impact of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) on the brain glymphatic system (GS) in opioid addiction in China. A total of 51 male MMT patients, 48 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs), and 20 heroin dependents (HDs) were recruited for this study. The GS functioning was assessed using diffusion-tensor-imaging analysis along perivascular spaces (DTI-ALPS index) and the bilateral ALPS divergency (DivALPS). Group differences were analyzed utilizing ANOVA and two-sample -tests. The relationship between DivALPS and relapse rate was explored using regression analysis. The DTI-ALPS index was significantly higher for the left-side brain than the right side in all three groups. There was a significant difference for the right side ( = 0.0098) between the groups. The MMT and HD groups showed significantly higher DTI-ALPS than the HC group ( = 0.018 and 0.016, respectively). The DivALPS varied significantly among the three groups ( = 0.04), with the HD group showing the lowest and the HC group the highest values. Significant negative relationships were found between relapse count, DivALPS ( < 0.0001, Exp(B) = 0.6047), and age ( < 0.0001, Exp(B) = 0.9142). The findings suggest that MMT may contribute to promoting brain GS recovery in heroin addicts, and modulation of the GS may serve as a potential biomarker for relapse risk, providing insights into novel therapeutic strategies.
本研究调查了美沙酮维持治疗（MMT）对中国阿片类药物成瘾者脑类淋巴系统（GS）的影响。本研究共招募了51名接受MMT治疗的男性患者、48名人口统计学特征匹配的健康对照者（HCs）以及20名海洛因依赖者（HDs）。使用沿血管周围间隙的扩散张量成像分析（DTI-ALPS指数）和双侧ALPS发散度（DivALPS）评估GS功能。采用方差分析和双样本检验分析组间差异。使用回归分析探讨DivALPS与复发率之间的关系。在所有三组中，左侧脑的DTI-ALPS指数均显著高于右侧。三组之间右侧存在显著差异（P = 0.0098）。MMT组和HD组的DTI-ALPS显著高于HC组（分别为P = 0.018和0.016）。三组之间的DivALPS差异显著（P = 0.04），HD组的值最低，HC组的值最高。复发次数、DivALPS（P < 0.0001，Exp(B)=0.6047）和年龄（P < 0.0001，Exp(B)=0.9142）之间存在显著负相关。研究结果表明，MMT可能有助于促进海洛因成瘾者脑GS的恢复，GS的调节可能作为复发风险的潜在生物标志物，为新的治疗策略提供见解。
