Wang Qi, Shin Byoung-Soo, Oh Sun-Young, Hwang Seungbae, Kim Ko Woon
Department of Medicine, Medical School, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Department of Neurology, Jeonbuk National University Medical School and Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Brain Behav. 2025 Jun;15(6):e70598. doi: 10.1002/brb3.70598.
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are a common cause of subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI). The silent yet progressive nature of WMH in cognitive decline underscores the need for reliable biomarkers for early detection and monitoring of its progression. This study aims to investigate the association between functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals during mental and physical activities and WMH volume. Additionally, it explores the relationship between fNIRS signals and WMH progression.
We recruited 27 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) presenting WMH clinical characteristics. Data from fNIRS and MRI scans were collected during their first visit. Ten of them underwent fNIRS and MRI scans in a second visit two years later. WMH volume analysis used volBrain lesionBrain 1.0 (https://www.volbrain.net). ROC curve analysis was applied to the normalized WMH volume to determine a cut-off value for distinguishing between the subcortical vascular MCI (svMCI) and amnestic MCI (aMCI) groups. We compared fNIRS data during cognitive tests and physical activities between svMCI and aMCI groups at the first visit and in the two-year follow-up.
While cognitive profiles were similar between groups, svMCI patients showed significantly reduced fNIRS signals, particularly in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during verbal fluency tasks (P = 0.005), with further reductions in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (P = 0.049), left OFC (P = 0.012), and right OFC (P = 0.02) over two years. Baseline WMH volume correlated negatively with fNIRS signals during the Stroop test (r = -0.837, P = 0.005). Changes in WMH volume over two years correlated positively with changes in fNIRS signals in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during memory tasks (r = 0.886, P = 0.033) and left OFC during balance tasks (r = 0.786, P = 0.028).
Our results suggest that fNIRS signals have the potential to serve as biomarkers for WMH progression.
白质高信号（WMH）是皮质下血管性认知障碍（SVCI）的常见病因。WMH在认知衰退中具有隐匿性但渐进性的特点，这凸显了需要可靠的生物标志物来早期检测和监测其进展。本研究旨在探讨精神和身体活动期间功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）信号与WMH体积之间的关联。此外，还探究fNIRS信号与WMH进展之间的关系。
我们招募了27例具有WMH临床特征的轻度认知障碍（MCI）患者。在他们首次就诊时收集了fNIRS和MRI扫描数据。其中10例患者在两年后的第二次就诊时接受了fNIRS和MRI扫描。WMH体积分析使用volBrain lesionBrain 1.0（https://www.volbrain.net）。对标准化的WMH体积应用ROC曲线分析，以确定区分皮质下血管性MCI（svMCI）和遗忘型MCI（aMCI）组的临界值。我们比较了首次就诊时以及两年随访期间svMCI组和aMCI组在认知测试和身体活动期间的fNIRS数据。
虽然两组之间的认知特征相似，但svMCI患者的fNIRS信号显著降低，尤其是在言语流畅性任务期间左侧眶额皮质（OFC）（P = 0.005），在两年期间左侧背外侧前额叶皮质（P = 0.049）、左侧OFC（P = 0.012）和右侧OFC（P = 0.02）进一步降低。在Stroop测试期间，基线WMH体积与fNIRS信号呈负相关（r = -0.837，P = 0.005）。两年内WMH体积的变化与记忆任务期间右侧腹外侧前额叶皮质（r = 0.886，P = 0.033）和平衡任务期间左侧OFC（r = 0.786，P = 0.028）的fNIRS信号变化呈正相关。
我们的结果表明，fNIRS信号有可能作为WMH进展的生物标志物。
