Dong Shuangshuang, Shen Bo, Jiang Xu, Zhu Jun, Zhang Haiying, Zhao Yang, Chen Yaning, Li Dongfeng, Feng Yuanyuan, Chen Yi, Pan Yang, Han Feng, Liu Ben, Zhang Li
Department of Geriatric Neurology, Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University/ The First People's Hospital of Lianyungang, Lianyungang, China.
NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2024 Dec 5;10(1):231. doi: 10.1038/s41531-024-00844-6.
The vagus nerve (VN) is the main neural pathway linking the gut and brain in Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we utilized high-resolution ultrasound to measure the VN cross-sectional area (CSA) in 96 healthy controls (HCs) and 75 PD patients. The PD group was further categorized into three subgroups: PD-preRBD, PD-postRBD, and PD-nonRBD. PD-preRBD was the body-first subtype, and PD-postRBD and PD-nonRBD were the brain-first subtype. The PD group had a significantly lower VN CSA than HCs. Subgroup analysis revealed that the PD-preRBD group tended to exhibit a smaller VN CSA than both the PD-postRBD and PD-nonRBD groups. The VN CSA, specifically the right VN, was significantly correlated with the body-first subtype and some components of PD-related assessment scales. Overall, these findings provide evidence of VN atrophy in PD, especially in body-first PD, suggesting that VN ultrasound could serve as an adjunctive diagnostic tool.
迷走神经（VN）是帕金森病（PD）中连接肠道和大脑的主要神经通路。在本研究中，我们利用高分辨率超声测量了96名健康对照者（HCs）和75名PD患者的VN横截面积（CSA）。PD组进一步分为三个亚组：PD-RBD前期、PD-RBD后期和PD-无RBD。PD-RBD前期是身体首发亚型，PD-RBD后期和PD-无RBD是大脑首发亚型。PD组的VN CSA显著低于HCs。亚组分析显示，PD-RBD前期组的VN CSA往往比PD-RBD后期组和PD-无RBD组都小。VN CSA，特别是右侧VN，与身体首发亚型和PD相关评估量表的一些成分显著相关。总体而言，这些发现提供了PD中VN萎缩的证据，尤其是在身体首发的PD中，表明VN超声可作为一种辅助诊断工具。
