Du Yinjuan, Huang Zhichun, Wu Yuanqing, Xue Yuan, Che Zigang
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Department of Otolaryngology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Front Neurosci. 2024 Sep 6;18:1455294. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1455294. eCollection 2024.
The glymphatic system has been regarded as a pivotal factor in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Given the heightened risk of cognitive impairment in chronic tinnitus patients, the possible alterations of the glymphatic system in tinnitus patients remain elusive. This study was designed to evaluate glymphatic dysfunction in chronic tinnitus patients using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) approach.
Fifty chronic tinnitus patients and 50 age, sex, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) with normal hearing thresholds were recruited. The DTI-ALPS was calculated from each group. We investigated the differences in the DTI-ALPS index between the tinnitus patients and HCs. The relationships between the DTI-ALPS index and specific cognitive performance were further assessed.
There were significant differences in the DTI-ALPS index between the two groups. The DTI-ALPS index was significantly lower in the tinnitus group than in HCs group ( < 0.01). In addition, the Dyyproj index was significantly higher in the tinnitus group than in the HC group ( < 0.01). In chronic tinnitus patients, the decreased DTI-ALPS index was negatively associated with worse TMT-B scores ( = -0.309, = 0.039). Moreover, the increased Dyyproj index was negatively correlated with the reduced AVLT performances ( = -0.413, = 0.005).
In this current study, glymphatic system activity in chronic tinnitus was investigated for the first time using DTI-ALPS index. Significant decrease in glymphatic system function was detected in chronic tinnitus, which correlated well with the specific cognitive performance. The current study may provide pivotal imaging markers for chronic tinnitus with cognitive impairment.
淋巴系统被认为是神经退行性疾病发病机制中的一个关键因素。鉴于慢性耳鸣患者认知障碍风险增加，耳鸣患者淋巴系统的可能改变仍不清楚。本研究旨在采用沿血管周围间隙的扩散张量成像（DTI-ALPS）方法评估慢性耳鸣患者的淋巴系统功能障碍。
招募了50名慢性耳鸣患者和50名年龄、性别和教育程度匹配、听力阈值正常的健康对照者（HCs）。计算每组的DTI-ALPS。我们研究了耳鸣患者和HCs之间DTI-ALPS指数的差异。进一步评估了DTI-ALPS指数与特定认知表现之间的关系。
两组之间的DTI-ALPS指数存在显著差异。耳鸣组的DTI-ALPS指数显著低于HCs组（<0.01）。此外，耳鸣组的Dyyproj指数显著高于HC组（<0.01）。在慢性耳鸣患者中，DTI-ALPS指数降低与较差的TMT-B评分呈负相关（=-0.309，=0.039）。此外，Dyyproj指数升高与AVLT表现降低呈负相关（=-0.413，=0.005）。
在本研究中，首次使用DTI-ALPS指数研究了慢性耳鸣患者的淋巴系统活动。在慢性耳鸣中检测到淋巴系统功能显著下降，这与特定的认知表现密切相关。本研究可能为伴有认知障碍的慢性耳鸣提供关键的影像学标志物。
