Aberrant Brain Function in Active-Stage Ulcerative Colitis Patients: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study
Aberrant Brain Function in Active-Stage Ulcerative Colitis Patients: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study
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DOI：
10.3389/fnhum.2019.00107
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发表时间：
2019-04-03
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Zhang, Dong
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Fan, Weijie;Zhang, Si;Zhang, Dong
背景：溃疡性结肠炎（UC）患者通常表现出认知障碍，例如记忆丧失、注意力缺陷和执行功能下降，尤其是在疾病的活动期。然而，这些症状的潜在神经机制仍不清楚。 方法：招募 41 名轻至中度活动性 UC 患者以及 42 名匹配的健康对照者，使用心理量表、认知功能测试和静息态功能磁共振成像 (rs-fMRI) 进行检查。通过分析低频波动（ALFF）幅度来识别种子点，并计算这些种子区域与全脑其他体素之间的功能连接（FC）。对临床指标、神经心理评估和神经影像数据进行相关性分析。结果:与健康对照相比,UC患者双侧海马/海马旁区(HIPP/ParaHIPP)区ALFF值较低,左后扣带皮层(PCC.L)和左额中回(MFG.L)区ALFF值较高。以HIPP/ParaHIPP为种子点，双侧额中回（MFG）、前扣带皮层（ACC）、左侧尾状核（CAU.L）FC强度增强；使用 PCC.L 作为种子点，中扣带皮层 (MCC) 和左角体 (AUG.L) 的 FC 强度增加。这些异常的大脑区域主要位于边缘系统。通过分析这些大脑区域和行为数据之间的相关性，我们观察到 HIPP/ParaHIPP 活动减少与记忆丧失之间存在密切相关性； PCC活性和FC强度随AUG.L的增加与UC患者的执行功能和注意网络功能障碍有关。结论：根据这些结果，边缘叶可能是脑肠轴（BGA）的核心，并在认知障碍中发挥重要作用，提示UC患者在疾病活动期认知障碍的潜在机制。
Background: Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) usually display cognitive impairments, such as memory loss, attention deficits, and declining executive functions, particularly during the active stage of the disease. However, the potential neurological mechanisms of these symptoms remain unclear.Method: Forty-one patients with mildly to moderately active UC, as well as 42 matched healthy controls, were recruited for an examination using psychological scales, cognitive function tests and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Seed points were identified via analysis of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), and functional connectivity (FC) was calculated between these seed regions and other voxels in the whole brain. Correlation analyses were performed among clinical indexes, neuropsychological assessments and neuroimaging data.Result: Compared with the healthy controls, patients with UC exhibited lower ALFF values in the bilateral hippocampal/parahippocampal (HIPP/ParaHIPP) region and higher ALFF values in the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC.L) and left middle frontal gyrus (MFG.L). With HIPP/ParaHIPP as the seed point, the strengths of the FC in the bilateral middle frontal gyri (MFG), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and left caudate nucleus (CAU.L) increased; using the PCC.L as the seed point, the strengths of the FC in the middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and the left angular gyms (AUG.L) increased. These abnormal brain regions were mainly located in the limbic system. By analyzing the correlations between these brain regions and behavioral data, we observed a close correlation between decreased HIPP/ParaHIPP activity and memory loss; increased PCC activity and strength of FC with the AUG.L were related to dysfunction of executive function and attention network in patients with UC.Conclusion: Based on these results, the limbic lobe might be the core of the brain-gut axis (BGA) and play an important role in cognitive impairments, suggesting potential mechanisms for cognitive impairment in patients with UC in the active stage of the disease.