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Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in patients with Parkinson’s disease with and without constipation: a prospective study

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Abstract

Purpose

The etiology of constipation in Parkinson’s disease is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to explore changes in regional neural activity and functional connections associated with constipation in a large cohort of individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

Methods

We prospectively recruited 106 patients with Parkinson’s disease with constipation and 73 patients with Parkinson’s disease without constipation. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging for the first time to measure differences in regional neural activity and functional connections between the two patient groups.

Results

Patients with constipation showed significantly higher amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation than patients without constipation in the right dorsal pons extending into the cerebellum and in the right insula. The two types of patients also showed substantial differences in functional connections linking the superior temporal gyrus, particularly the right superior temporal gyrus, with multiple brain regions.

Conclusion

Regional neural activity and functional connectivity in the brain differ substantially between patients with Parkinson’s disease with or without constipation. These findings provide a foundation for understanding the pathophysiology of constipation in Parkinson’s disease and for identifying therapeutic targets.

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Data availability

Anonymized data that were analyzed in this report are available upon request from the corresponding authors.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the patients in this study.

Funding

This study was supported by the Henan Province Science and Technology Development Plan (192102310085) and the Henan Province Medical Science and Technology Research Program (201701018).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jin Hua Zheng and Wen Hua Sun contributed to the work equally and should be regarded as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Henan Provincial People’s Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450003, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jin Hua Zheng, Wen Hua Sun, Jian Jun Ma, Zhi Dong Wang, Qing Qing Chang, Lin Rui Dong, Xiao Xue Shi & Ming Jian Li

  2. Department of Neurology, People’s Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jin Hua Zheng, Wen Hua Sun, Jian Jun Ma, Zhi Dong Wang, Qing Qing Chang, Lin Rui Dong & Xiao Xue Shi

  3. Department of Neurology, People’s Hospital of Henan University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jin Hua Zheng, Jian Jun Ma & Ming Jian Li

Authors
  1. Jin Hua Zheng
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  2. Wen Hua Sun
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jian Jun Ma.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

Ethical statement

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Provincial People’s Hospital and conducted in accordance with the ethical standards in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Zheng, J.H., Sun, W.H., Ma, J.J. et al. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in patients with Parkinson’s disease with and without constipation: a prospective study. Clin Auton Res 32, 51–58 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-022-00851-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10286-022-00851-8

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