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Functional Connectivity Alterations in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder

Correlation with Disease Duration and Cognitive Impairment

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate resting state functional connectivity alterations within the main brain networks in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and their associations with disease duration, disability and cognitive dysfunction progression.

Methods

Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), clinical and neuropsychological evaluations were obtained from 41 NMOSD patients and 41 healthy controls. Seed-voxel functional connectivity was analyzed in seven major hubs, including the default mode network, dorsal attention network, visual network, sensorimotor network, cerebellar network, thalamic network and reward-emotion network. Abnormalities of functional connectivity and correlations with disease duration, scores of the expanded disability status scale (EDSS), mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) were further explored.

Results

Compared with healthy controls, NMOSD patients showed increased functional connectivity in the default mode network, dorsal attention network and thalamic network, while decreased in the visual network and cerebellum networks. At the regional level, increased functional connectivity involved the right superior temporal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, bilateral middle frontal gyrus and right precuneus, whereas functional connectivity was decreased in the right parahippocampal gyrus and left precuneus. Functional connectivity reduction in the right parahippocampal gyrus positively correlated with disease duration (r = 0.488, p = 0.001) and negatively correlated with MoCA scores (r = −0.330, p = 0.035).

Conclusion

The study demonstrated functional alterations in the rs-fMRI of NMOSD, which provide a novel insight into the large-scale selective functional reorganization and could be useful to reveal the characteristics of the physiological mechanism.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Medicine Scientific Key Research Project of Chongqing Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission of China (NO. 2016ZDXM002), the Chongqing Basic Research and Frontier Exploration Project of Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (NO. cstc2018jcyjAX0584), the National Key Research and Development Plan of Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (NO. 2016YFC0107109), the Medical Scientific Youth Project of Chongqing Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission of China (NO. 2018QNXM004), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 31800823).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuzhong District, 400016, Chongqing, China

    Yongliang Han, Chun Zeng, Qi Luo, Xiaohui Zhang & Yongmei Li

  2. Department of Radiology, Peking University First Hospital, No. 8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, 100034, Beijing, China

    Yi Liu

  3. Department of Radiology, Chongqing General Hospital, No. 104 Pipashan Street, Yuzhong District, 400016, Chongqing, China

    Hua Xiong

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  1. Yongliang Han
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Correspondence to Yongmei Li.

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Conflict of interest

Y. Han, Y. Liu, C. Zeng, Q. Luo, H. Xiong, X. Zhang and Y. Li declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical standards

This study was approved by the local ethics committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China, and written informed consent was obtained from all subjects.

Additional information

The authors Yongliang Han and Yi Liu contributed equally to this work.

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Han, Y., Liu, Y., Zeng, C. et al. Functional Connectivity Alterations in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder. Clin Neuroradiol 30, 559–568 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00062-019-00802-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00062-019-00802-3

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