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Wang Y, Yang L, Shang Y, Huang Y, Ju C, Zheng H, Zhao W, Liu J. Identifying Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy: A New Perspective from Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J Magn Reson Imaging 2023. [PMID: 38149764 DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Type C hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a condition characterized by brain dysfunction caused by liver insufficiency and/or portal-systemic blood shunting, which manifests as a broad spectrum of neurological or psychiatric abnormalities, ranging from minimal HE (MHE), detectable only by neuropsychological or neurophysiological assessment, to coma. Though MHE is the subclinical phase of HE, it is highly prevalent in cirrhotic patients and strongly associated with poor quality of life, high risk of overt HE, and mortality. It is, therefore, critical to identify MHE at the earliest and timely intervene, thereby minimizing the subsequent complications and costs. However, proper and sensitive diagnosis of MHE is hampered by its unnoticeable symptoms and the absence of standard diagnostic criteria. A variety of neuropsychological or neurophysiological tests have been performed to diagnose MHE. However, these tests are nonspecific and susceptible to multiple factors (eg, aging, education), thereby limiting their application in clinical practice. Thus, developing an objective, effective, and noninvasive method is imperative to help detect MHE. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a noninvasive technique which can produce many objective biomarkers by different imaging sequences (eg, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, DWI, rs-MRI, and arterial spin labeling), has recently shown the ability to screen MHE from NHE (non-HE) patients accurately. As advanced MRI techniques continue to emerge, more minor changes in the brain could be captured, providing new means for early diagnosis and quantitative assessment of MHE. In addition, the advancement of artificial intelligence in medical imaging also presents the potential to mine more effective diagnostic biomarkers and further improves the predictive efficiency of MHE. Taken together, advanced MRI techniques may provide a new perspective for us to identify MHE in the future. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yisong Wang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Longtao Yang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Youlan Shang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yijie Huang
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Chao Ju
- Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Hairong Zheng
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
- Paul C. Lauterbur Research Center for Biomedical Imaging, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging in Hunan Province, Changsha, China
| | - Jun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging in Hunan Province, Changsha, China
- Department of Radiology Quality Control Center in Hunan Province, Changsha, China
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Lin S, Guo Z, Chen S, Lin X, Ye M, Qiu Y. Progressive Brain Structural Impairment Assessed via Network and Causal Analysis in Patients With Hepatitis B Virus-Related Cirrhosis. Front Neurol 2022; 13:849571. [PMID: 35599731 PMCID: PMC9120530 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.849571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives This research amid to elucidate the disease stage-specific spatial patterns and the probable sequences of gray matter (GM) deterioration as well as the causal relationship among structural network components in hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-RC) patients. Methods Totally 30 HBV-RC patients and 38 healthy controls (HC) were recruited for this study. High-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) were evaluated in all participants. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM), structural covariance network (SCN), and causal SCN (CaSCN) were applied to identify the disease stage-specific GM abnormalities in morphology and network, as well as their causal relationship. Results Compared to HC (0.443 ± 0.073 cm3), the thalamus swelled significantly in the no minimal hepatic encephalopathy (NMHE) stage (0.607 ± 0.154 cm3, p <0.05, corrected) and further progressed and expanded to the bilateral basal ganglia, the cortices, and the cerebellum in the MHE stage (p < 0.05, corrected). Furthermore, the thalamus swelling had a causal effect on other parts of cortex-basal ganglia-thalamus circuits (p < 0.05, corrected), which was negatively correlated with cognitive performance (r = −0.422, p < 0.05). Moreover, the thalamus-related SCN also displayed progressive deterioration as the disease advanced in HBV-RC patients (p < 0.05, corrected). Conclusion Progressive deterioration of GM morphology and SCN exists in HBV-RC patients during advanced disease, displaying thalamus-related causal effects. These findings indicate that bilateral thalamus morphology as well as the thalamus-related network may serve as an in vivo biomarker for monitoring the progression of the disease in HBV-RC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiwei Lin
- Department of Radiology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zheng Guo
- Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shengli Chen
- Department of Radiology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoshan Lin
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, International Cancer Center, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine for Hematological Malignancies, Shenzhen University General Hospital, Shenzhen University Clinical Medical Academy, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, China
| | - Min Ye
- Department of Geriatrics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Geriatrics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Min Ye
| | - Yingwei Qiu
- Department of Radiology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- Yingwei Qiu
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Zhu L, Zhang W, Chen L, Ren Y, Cao Y, Sun T, Sun B, Liu J, Wang J, Zheng C. Brain Gray Matter Alterations in Hepatic Encephalopathy: A Voxel-Based Meta-Analysis of Whole-Brain Studies. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:838666. [PMID: 35517986 PMCID: PMC9062230 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.838666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous studies on voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have found that there were gray matter alterations in patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE). However, the reported results were inconsistent and lack a quantitative review. Therefore, this study aims for a quantitative meta-analysis of VBM analysis on patients with HE. Methods The studies in our meta-analysis were collected from Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase, which were published from January 1947 to October 2021. The seed-based d mapping (SDM) method was applied to quantitatively estimate the regional gray matter abnormalities in patients with HE. A meta-regression analysis was applied to evaluate the relationship between plasma ammonia and gray matter alteration. Results There were nine studies, with sixteen datasets consisting of 333 participants with HE and 429 healthy controls. The pooled and subgroup meta-analyses showed an increase in gray matter volume (GMV) in the bilateral thalamus and the calcarine fissure but a decrease in the GMV in the bilateral insula, the basal ganglia, the anterior cingulate gyrus, and the cerebellum. The meta-regression showed that plasma ammonia was positively associated with the GMV in the left thalamus but was negatively associated with the GMV in the cerebellum and the bilateral striatum. Conclusion Gray matter volume in patients with HE largely varied and could be affected by plasma ammonia. The findings of this study could help us to better understand the pathophysiology of cognitive dysfunction in patients with HE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Licheng Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Weihua Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Lei Chen
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanqiao Ren
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yanyan Cao
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Tao Sun
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Bo Sun
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
| | - Chuansheng Zheng
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China
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Cheng Y, Li JL, Zhou JM, Zhang GY, Shen W, Zhang XD. Renormalization of Thalamic Sub-Regional Functional Connectivity Contributes to Improvement of Cognitive Function after Liver Transplantation in Cirrhotic Patients with Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy. Korean J Radiol 2021; 22:2052-2061. [PMID: 34564958 PMCID: PMC8628146 DOI: 10.3348/kjr.2020.1432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The role of preoperative overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) in the neurophysiological mechanism of cognitive improvement after liver transplantation (LT) remains elusive. This study aimed to explore changes in sub-regional thalamic functional connectivity (FC) after LT and their relationship with neuropsychological improvement using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data in cirrhotic patients with and without a history of OHE. Materials and Methods A total of 51 cirrhotic patients, divided into the OHE group (n = 21) and no-OHE group (n = 30), and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in this prospective study. Each patient underwent rs-fMRI before and 1 month after LT. Using 16 bilateral thalamic subregions as seeds, we conducted a seed-to-voxel FC analysis to compare the thalamic FC alterations before and after LT between the OHE and no-OHE groups, as well as differences in FC between the two groups of cirrhotic patients and the control group. Correction for multiple comparisons was conducted using the false discovery rate (p < 0.05). Results We found abnormally increased FC between the thalamic sub-region and prefrontal cortex, as well as an abnormally decreased FC between the bilateral thalamus in both OHE and no-OHE cirrhotic patients before LT, which returned to normal levels after LT. Compared with the no-OHE group, the OHE group exhibited more extensive abnormalities prior to LT, and the increased FC between the right thalamic subregions and right inferior parietal lobe was markedly reduced to normal levels after LT. Conclusion The renormalization of FC in the cortico-thalamic loop might be a neuro-substrate for the recovery of cognitive function after LT in cirrhotic patients. In addition, hyperconnectivity between thalamic subregions and the inferior parietal lobe might be an important feature of OHE. Changes in FC in the thalamus might be used as potential biomarkers for recovery of cognitive function after LT in cirrhotic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Cheng
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jing-Li Li
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jia-Min Zhou
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Gao-Yan Zhang
- Tianjin Key Lab of Cognitive Computing and Application, College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
| | - Wen Shen
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xiao-Dong Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China.
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Chen LH, Shi JY, Zou TX, Zhang L, Gou Y, Lin Y, Chen HJ. Disturbance of thalamic metabolism and its association with regional neural dysfunction and cognitive impairment in minimal hepatic encephalopathy. Eur J Radiol 2020; 131:109252. [PMID: 32949859 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2020.109252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To conduct the first investigation on thalamic metabolic alterations in minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and elucidate their association with intrinsic neural activity change and cognitive dysfunction. METHODS Thirty-eight cirrhotic patients [18 with MHE, 20 without MHE (NHE)] and 21 healthy controls (HC) were included, all of whom underwent 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), as well as cognitive assessment based on the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES). Metabolite ratios in the thalamus were measured, including N-acetyl aspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), glutamate plus glutamine (Glx)/Cr, choline (Cho)/Cr, and myo-inositol (mI)/Cr. Intrinsic neural activity was evaluated based on frequency-specific amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) using fMRI signals. RESULTS MHE patients showed an increase in Glx/Cr and a decrease in Cho/Cr and mI/Cr, compared with HC. These changes were aggravated from NHE to MHE. Cho/Cr and mI/Cr were positively correlated with regional ALFF derived from the frequency-specific band (0.01-0.027 Hz) and PHES. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that Cho/Cr and mI/Cr measurements exhibited moderate discrimination ability between NHE and MHE. CONCLUSION Our findings provide evidence that MHE is associated with disturbed metabolism in the thalamus, which may contribute to the altered neural activity and underlie the mechanisms of cognitive impairments. MRS measurements in the thalamus could serve as the potential biomarker for diagnosing MHE among cirrhotic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Hong Chen
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Jia-Yan Shi
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Tian-Xiu Zou
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Ling Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China; Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Yaoping Gou
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electronic Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Yanqin Lin
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma and Magnetic Resonance, Department of Electronic Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China.
| | - Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China.
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6
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Reduced Cortical Complexity in Cirrhotic Patients with Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy. Neural Plast 2020; 2020:7364649. [PMID: 32256557 PMCID: PMC7104259 DOI: 10.1155/2020/7364649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Gray matter volume loss, regional cortical thinning, and local gyrification index alteration have been documented in minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Fractal dimension (FD), another morphological parameter, has been widely used to describe structural complexity alterations in neurological or psychiatric disease. Here, we conducted the first study to investigate FD alterations in MHE. Methods and Materials We performed high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging on cirrhotic patients with MHE (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 21). We evaluated their cognitive performance using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES). The regional FD value was calculated by Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT12) and compared between groups. We further estimated the association between patients' cognitive performance and FD values. Results MHE patients presented significantly decreased FD values in the left precuneus, left supramarginal gyrus, right caudal anterior cingulate cortex, right isthmus cingulate cortex, right insula, bilateral pericalcarine cortex, and bilateral paracentral cortex compared to normal controls. In addition, the FD values in the right isthmus cingulate cortex and right insula were shown to be positively correlated with patients' cognitive performance. Conclusion Aberrant cortical complexity is an additional characteristic of MHE, and FD analysis may provide novel insight into the neurobiological basis of cognitive dysfunction in MHE.
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Chen QF, Zou TX, Yang ZT, Chen HJ. Identification of patients with and without minimal hepatic encephalopathy based on gray matter volumetry using a support vector machine learning algorithm. Sci Rep 2020; 10:2490. [PMID: 32051514 PMCID: PMC7016173 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-59433-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is characterized by diffuse abnormalities in cerebral structure, such as reduced cortical thickness and altered brain parenchymal volume. This study tested the potential of gray matter (GM) volumetry to differentiate between cirrhotic patients with and without MHE using a support vector machine (SVM) learning method. High-resolution, T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired from 24 cirrhotic patients with MHE and 29 cirrhotic patients without MHE (NHE). Voxel-based morphometry was conducted to evaluate the GM volume (GMV) for each subject. An SVM classifier was employed to explore the ability of the GMV measurement to diagnose MHE, and the leave-one-out cross-validation method was used to assess classification accuracy. The SVM algorithm based on GM volumetry achieved a classification accuracy of 83.02%, with a sensitivity of 83.33% and a specificity of 82.76%. The majority of the most discriminative GMVs were located in the bilateral frontal lobe, bilateral lentiform nucleus, bilateral thalamus, bilateral sensorimotor areas, bilateral visual regions, bilateral temporal lobe, bilateral cerebellum, left inferior parietal lobe, and right precuneus/posterior cingulate gyrus. Our results suggest that SVM analysis based on GM volumetry has the potential to help diagnose MHE in cirrhotic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiu-Feng Chen
- College of Computer and Information Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China
| | - Tian-Xiu Zou
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Zhe-Ting Yang
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China.
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Winterdahl M, Abbas Z, Noer O, Thomsen KL, Gras V, Nahimi A, Vilstrup H, Shah NJ, Dam G. Cerebral water content mapping in cirrhosis patients with and without manifest HE. Metab Brain Dis 2019; 34:1071-1076. [PMID: 31089866 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-019-00427-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a frequent and debilitating complication of cirrhosis and its pathogenesis is not definitively clarified. Recent hypotheses focus on the possible existence of low-grade cerebral edema due to accumulation of osmolytes secondary to hyperammonemia. In the present study we investigated increases in cerebral water content by a novel magnetic resonance impedance (MRI) technique in cirrhosis patients with and without clinically manifest HE. We used a 3 T MRI technique for quantitative cerebral water content mapping in nine cirrhosis patients with an episode of overt HE, ten cirrhosis patients who never suffered from HE, and ten healthy aged-matched controls. We tested for differences between groups by statistical non-parametric mapping (SnPM) for a voxel-based spatial evaluation. The patients with HE had significantly higher water content in white matter than the cirrhosis patients (0.6%), who in turn, had significantly higher content than the controls (1.7%). Although the global gray matter water content did not differ between the groups, the patients with HE had markedly higher thalamic water content than patients who never experienced HE (6.0% higher). We found increased white matter water content in cirrhosis patients, predominantly in those with manifest HE. This confirms the presence of increasing degrees of low-grade edema with exacerbation of pathology. The thalamic edema in manifest HE may lead to compromised basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuits, in accordance with the major clinical symptoms of HE. The identification of the thalamus as particularly inflicted in manifest HE is potentially relevant to the pathophysiology of HE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Winterdahl
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Zaheer Abbas
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University Clinic, Aachen, Germany
- JARA - Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ove Noer
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Karen Louise Thomsen
- Department of Hepatology & Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Adjmal Nahimi
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Hendrik Vilstrup
- Department of Hepatology & Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Nadim Joni Shah
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University Clinic, Aachen, Germany
- JARA - Jülich Aachen Research Alliance, Aachen, Germany
| | - Gitte Dam
- Department of Hepatology & Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
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Liu K, Chen G, Ren SY, Zhu YQ, Yu TL, Tian P, Li C, Xi YB, Wang ZY, Ye JJ, Han GH, Yin H. Regional gray matter abnormality in hepatic myelopathy patients after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: a voxel-based morphometry study. Neural Regen Res 2019; 14:850-857. [PMID: 30688271 PMCID: PMC6375042 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.249233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatic myelopathy is a complication seen in patients with chronic liver failure with physiologic or iatrogenic portosystemic shunting. The main symptom is progressive lower limb dyskinesia. The role of the brain motor control center in hepatic myelopathy is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the gray matter changes in patients with hepatic myelopathy secondary to transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and to examine their clinical relevance. This was a cross-sectional study. Twenty-three liver failure patients with hepatic myelopathy (hepatic myelopathy group), 23 liver failure patients without hepatic myelopathy (non-hepatic myelopathy group) after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and 23 demographically matched healthy volunteers were enrolled from March 2014 to November 2016 at Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), China. High-resolution magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo brain imaging was acquired. Group differences in regional gray matter were assessed using voxel-based morphometry analysis. The relationship between aberrant gray matter and motor characteristics was investigated. Results demonstrated that compared with the non-hepatic myelopathy group, gray matter volume abnormalities were asymmetric, with decreased volume in the left insula (P = 0.003), left thalamus (P = 0.029), left superior frontal gyrus (P = 0.006), and right middle cingulate cortex (P = 0.021), and increased volume in the right caudate nucleus (P = 0.017), corrected with open-source software. The volume of the right caudate nucleus in the hepatic myelopathy group negatively correlated with the lower limb clinical rating of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (r = -0.53, P = 0.01). Compared with healthy controls, patients with and without hepatic myelopathy exhibited overall increased gray matter volume in both thalami, and decreased gray matter volume in both putamen, as well as in the globus pallidus, cerebellum, and vermis. The gray matter abnormalities we found predominantly involved motor-related regions, and may be associated with motor dysfunction. An enlarged right caudate nucleus might help to predict weak lower limb motor performance in patients with preclinical hepatic myelopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), China (approval No. 20140227-6) on February 27, 2014.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Liu
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Gang Chen
- Department of Radiology, Lanzhou General Hospital, Lanzhou Military Command, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Shu-Yao Ren
- Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Yuan-Qiang Zhu
- Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Tian-Lei Yu
- Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Ping Tian
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Chen Li
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Yi-Bin Xi
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Zheng-Yu Wang
- Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Jian-Jun Ye
- Department of Radiology, Lanzhou General Hospital, Lanzhou Military Command, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
| | - Guo-Hong Han
- Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Hong Yin
- Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University (Fourth Military Medical University), Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China
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Lu CQ, Jiao Y, Meng XP, Cai Y, Luan Y, Xu XM, Ju S. Structural change of thalamus in cirrhotic patients with or without minimal hepatic encephalopathy and the relationship between thalamus volume and clinical indexes related to cirrhosis. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 20:800-807. [PMID: 30268989 PMCID: PMC6169337 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2018] [Revised: 08/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant brain structural change in cirrhotic patients with or without hepatic encephalopathy is one of the most typical cases in voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies. However, there exist inconsistent results regarding to the volume change of the thalamus. Furthermore, the relationship between thalamus structural change and cirrhotic symptoms has not yet been fully elucidated. To address these two issues, we repeated two VBM analyses in SPM and FreeSurfer and compared the two measurements with manually measured thalamic volumes. We also correlated the VBM results with clinical indexes related to cirrhosis to further investigate the relationship between thalamic structural change and liver cirrhosis. The inconsistent result of thalamic structural change was successfully reproduced in regard to the volume measurements of SPM and FreeSurfer. The manually measured results demonstrate an increase in the volume of the thalamus in cirrhotic patients compared to healthy controls, which differs from the results of FreeSurfer. The structural change of thalamus closely correlated with the blood biochemical indexes, including albumin levels, blood coagulation time, and AST/ALT ratio. All of these biochemical indexes are closely related to the severity of liver cirrhosis. Beyond all the results, this study also provides a good demonstration of the difference between multiple VBM measurements for clinicians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Qiang Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yun Jiao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xiang-Pan Meng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Yu Cai
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Ying Luan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Xiao-Min Xu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Shenghong Ju
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China.
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11
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Sun Q, Fan W, Ye J, Han P. Abnormal Regional Homogeneity and Functional Connectivity of Baseline Brain Activity in Hepatitis B Virus-Related Cirrhosis With and Without Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:245. [PMID: 29988437 PMCID: PMC6024159 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Aims: Abnormalities in neural activity have been reported in cirrhosis with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). However, little is known about the neurophysiological mechanisms in this disorder. We aimed to investigate the altered patterns of regional synchronization and functional connections in hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-RC) patients with and without MHE using both regional homogeneity (ReHo) and region of interest (ROI)-based functional connectivity (FC) computational methods. Methods: Data of magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected from 30 HBV-RC patients with MHE, 32 HBV-RC patients without MHE (NMHE) and 64 well-matched controls. Several regions showing differences in ReHo after one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were defined as ROIs for FC analysis. Next, post hoc t-tests were applied to calculate the group differences in ReHo and FC (false discovery rate (FDR) correction, p < 0.05). Correlations between clinical variables and the altered ReHo and FC were then assessed in patient groups. Results: Across three groups, significant ReHo differences were found in nine ROI regions mainly within the visual network (VN), dorsal attention network (DAN), somatomotor network (SMN), fronto parietal control (FPC) network and thalamus. Compared with healthy controls (HC), the MHE group exhibited abnormal FC mainly between the right calcarine (CAL.R) and middle frontal gyrus (MFG.L)/right thalamus. The MHE patients showed increased FC between the MFG.L and CAL.R compared to NMHE patients. Disease duration of MHE patients was positively correlated with increased mean ReHo values in the right fusiform gyrus (FFG); psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) test scores were negatively correlated with increased FC between MFG.L and CAL.R and positively correlated with reduced FC between the CAL.R and THA.R. For NMHE patients, the mean ReHo values in the right frontal pole were positively correlated with disease duration and positively correlated with the PHES scores. Conclusion: Our results exhibited that the functional brain modifications in patients with and without MHE are characterized by compound alterations in local coherence and functional connections in the VN, SMN, DAN, FPC networks and thalamus by using a combination of ReHo and ROI-based FC analysis. These functional imaging changes are correlated with disease duration/PHES. This study helped us gain a better understanding of the features of brain network modifications in cirrhosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Sun
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Wenliang Fan
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jin Ye
- Department of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Ping Han
- Department of Radiology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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12
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Zhang XD, Zhang LJ. Multimodal MR imaging in hepatic encephalopathy: state of the art. Metab Brain Dis 2018; 33:661-671. [PMID: 29374342 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-018-0191-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neurological or neuropsychological complication due to liver failure or portosystemic shunting. The clinical manifestation is highly variable, which can exhibit mild cognitive or motor impairment initially, or gradually progress to a coma, even death, without treatment. Neuroimaging plays a critical role in uncovering the neural mechanism of HE. In particular, multimodality MR imaging is able to assess both structural and functional derangements of the brain with HE in focal or neural network perspectives. In recent years, there has been rapid development in novel MR technologies and applications to investigate the pathophysiological mechanism of HE. Therefore, it is necessary to update the latest MR findings regarding HE by use of multimodality MRI to refine and deepen our understanding of the neural traits in HE. Herein, this review highlights the latest MR imaging findings in HE to refresh our understanding of MRI application in HE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Dong Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Clinical School of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300192, People's Republic of China
| | - Long Jiang Zhang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, No. 305 Zhongshan East Road, Nanjing, 210002, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
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13
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Chen HJ, Shi HB, Jiang LF, Li L, Chen R. Disrupted topological organization of brain structural network associated with prior overt hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients. Eur Radiol 2017; 28:85-95. [PMID: 28667481 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-017-4887-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2016] [Revised: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 05/10/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate structural brain connectome alterations in cirrhotic patients with prior overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE). METHODS Seventeen cirrhotic patients with prior OHE (prior-OHE), 18 cirrhotic patients without prior OHE (non-prior-OHE) and 18 healthy controls (HC) underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed with Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES). Using a probabilistic fibre tracking approach, we depicted the whole-brain structural network as a connectivity matrix of 90 regions (derived from the Automated Anatomic Labeling atlas). Graph theory-based analyses were performed to analyse topological properties of the brain network. RESULTS The analysis of variance showed significant group effects on several topological properties, including network strength, global efficiency and local efficiency. A progressive decrease trend for these metrics was found from non-prior-OHE to prior-OHE, compared with HC. Among the three groups, the regions with altered nodal efficiency were mainly distributed in the frontal and occipital cortices, paralimbic system and subcortical regions. The topological metrics, such as network strength and global efficiency, were correlated with PHES among cirrhotic patients. CONCLUSIONS The cirrhotic patients developed structural brain connectome alterations; this is aggravated by prior OHE episode. Disrupted topological organization of the brain structural network may account for cognitive impairments related to prior OHE. KEY POINTS • Altered structural brain connectome is found in cirrhotic patients. • Structural brain connectome alterations could be aggravated by prior-OHE episode. • Altered structural brain connectome may account for cognitive impairments associated with prior OHE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China. .,Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
| | - Hai-Bin Shi
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
| | - Long-Feng Jiang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Lan Li
- Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, 350001, China
| | - Rong Chen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. .,Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China.
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14
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Chen HJ, Zhang L, Jiang LF, Chen QF, Li J, Shi HB. Identifying minimal hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients by measuring spontaneous brain activity. Metab Brain Dis 2016; 31:761-9. [PMID: 26886109 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-016-9799-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 01/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is associated with aberrant regional intrinsic brain activity in cirrhotic patients. However, few studies have investigated whether altered intrinsic brain activity can be used as a biomarker of MHE among cirrhotic patients. In this study, 36 cirrhotic patients (with MHE, n = 16; without MHE [NHE], n = 20) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Spontaneous brain activity was measured by examining the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the fMRI signal. MHE was diagnosed based on the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES). A two-sample t-test was used to determine the regions of interest (ROIs) in which ALFF differed significantly between the two groups; then, ALFF values within ROIs were selected as classification features. A linear discriminative analysis was used to differentiate MHE patients from NHE patients. The leave-one-out cross-validation method was used to estimate the performance of the classifier. The classification analysis was 80.6 % accurate (81.3 % sensitivity and 80.0 % specificity) in terms of distinguishing between the two groups. Six ROIs were identified as the most discriminative features, including the bilateral medial frontal cortex/anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, left precentral and postcentral gyrus, right lingual gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and inferior/superior parietal lobule. The ALFF values within ROIs were correlated with PHES in cirrhotic patients. Our findings suggest that altered regional brain spontaneous activity is a useful biomarker for MHE detection among cirrhotic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
| | - Ling Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Long-Feng Jiang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Qiu-Feng Chen
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
| | - Hai-Bin Shi
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
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15
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Oeltzschner G, Butz M, Wickrath F, Wittsack HJ, Schnitzler A. Covert hepatic encephalopathy: elevated total glutathione and absence of brain water content changes. Metab Brain Dis 2016; 31:517-27. [PMID: 26563124 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-015-9760-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Recent pathophysiological models suggest that oxidative stress and hyperammonemia lead to a mild brain oedema in hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Glutathione (GSx) is a major cellular antioxidant and known to be involved in the interception of both. The aim of this work was to study total glutathione levels in covert HE (minimal HE and HE grade 1) and to investigate their relationship with local brain water content, levels of glutamine (Gln), myo-inositol (mI), neurotransmitter levels, critical flicker frequency (CFF), and blood ammonia. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) data were analysed from visual and sensorimotor cortices of thirty patients with covert HE and 16 age-matched healthy controls. Total glutathione levels (GSx/Cr) were quantified with respect to creatine. Furthermore, quantitative MRI brain water content measures were evaluated. Data were tested for links with the CFF and blood ammonia. GSx/Cr was elevated in the visual (mHE) and sensorimotor (mHE, HE 1) MRS volumes and correlated with blood ammonia levels (both P < 0.001). It was further linked to Gln/Cr and mI/Cr (P < 0.01 in visual, P < 0.001 in sensorimotor) and to GABA/Cr (P < 0.01 in visual). Visual GSx/Cr correlated with brain water content in the thalamus, nucleus caudatus, and visual cortex (P < 0.01). Brain water measures did neither show group effects nor correlations with CFF or blood ammonia. Elevated total glutathione levels in covert HE (< HE 2) correlate with blood ammonia and may be a regional-specific reaction to hyperammonemia and oxidative stress. Brain water content is locally linked to visual glutathione levels, but appears not to be associated with changes of clinical parameters. This might suggest that cerebral oedema is only marginally responsible for the symptoms of covert HE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Oeltzschner
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Markus Butz
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Frithjof Wickrath
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Hans-Jörg Wittsack
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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16
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Nardone R, Taylor AC, Höller Y, Brigo F, Lochner P, Trinka E. Minimal hepatic encephalopathy: A review. Neurosci Res 2016; 111:1-12. [PMID: 27153746 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2016.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Revised: 04/02/2016] [Accepted: 04/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is the earliest form of hepatic encephalopathy and can affect up to 80% of patients with liver cirrhosis. By definition, MHE is characterized by cognitive function impairment in the domains of attention, vigilance and integrative function, but obvious clinical manifestation are lacking. MHE has been shown to affect daily functioning, quality of life, driving and overall mortality. The diagnosis can be achieved through neuropsychological testing, recently developed computerized psychometric tests, such as the critical flicker frequency and the inhibitory control tests, as well as neurophysiological procedures. Event related potentials can reveal subtle changes in patients with normal neuropsychological performances. Spectral analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) and quantitative analysis of sleep EEG provide early markers of cerebral dysfunction in cirrhotic patients with MHE. Neuroimaging, in particular MRI, also increasingly reveals diffuse abnormalities in intrinsic brain activity and altered organization of functional connectivity networks. Medical treatment for MHE to date has been focused on reducing serum ammonia levels and includes non-absorbable disaccharides, probiotics or rifaximin. Liver transplantation may not reverse the cognitive deficits associated with MHE. We performed here an updated review on epidemiology, burden and quality of life, neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, neurophysiology and therapy in subjects with MHE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Nardone
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria; Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Italy.
| | - Alexandra C Taylor
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Yvonne Höller
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Francesco Brigo
- Department of Neurology, Franz Tappeiner Hospital, Italy; Department of Neurological and Movement Sciences, Section of Clinical Neurology, University of Verona, Italy
| | - Piergiorgio Lochner
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany
| | - Eugen Trinka
- Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Klinik and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
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17
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Chen HJ, Jiang LF, Sun T, Liu J, Chen QF, Shi HB. Resting-state functional connectivity abnormalities correlate with psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score in cirrhosis. Eur J Radiol 2015; 84:2287-95. [PMID: 26321490 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2015.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 08/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Neurocognitive impairment is a common complication of cirrhosis and regarded as the important characteristic for early stage of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). This study aimed to investigate the changes in brain network centrality of functional connectivity among cirrhotic patients and uncover the mechanisms about early HE. METHODS Twenty-four cirrhotic patients without overt HE and 21 healthy controls were enrolled and underwent resting-state fMRI and Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES) tests. Whole-brain functional network was constructed by measuring the temporal correlations of every pairs of brain gray matter voxels; and then voxel-wise degree centrality (DC), an index reflecting importance of a node in functional integration, was calculated and compared between two groups. A seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis was further performed to investigate abnormal functional connectivity pattern of those regions with changed DC. RESULTS Compared with controls, the cirrhotic patients had worse performances in all neurocognitive tests and lower PHES score. Meanwhile, patients showed decreased DC in bilateral medial prefrontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex, left middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral thalamus; while increased DC in right middle occipital gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus/inferior temporal gyrus. The seed-based RSFC analyses revealed that the relevant functional networks, such as default-mode and attention networks, visual network, and thalamo-cortical circuits, were disturbed in cirrhotic patients. The DC changes were correlated with PHES score in patient group. CONCLUSIONS Our findings further confirm brain network disorganization in cirrhotic patients with neurocognitive impairments and may provide a new perspective for understanding HE-related mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hua-Jun Chen
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
| | - Long-Feng Jiang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Tao Sun
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Jun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Qiu-Feng Chen
- School of Information Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Hai-Bin Shi
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
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18
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Lv XF, Liu K, Qiu YW, Cai PQ, Li J, Jiang GH, Deng YJ, Zhang XL, Wu PH, Xie CM, Wen G. Anomalous gray matter structural networks in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis without overt hepatic encephalopathy. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0119339. [PMID: 25786256 PMCID: PMC4364769 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2014] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and Purpose Increasing evidence suggests that cirrhosis may affect the connectivity among different brain regions in patients before overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) occurs. However, there has been no study investigating the structural reorganization of these altered connections at the network level. The primary focus of this study was to investigate the abnormal topological organization of the structural network in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-RC) without OHE using structural MRI. Methods Using graph theoretical analysis, we compared the global and regional topological properties of gray matter structural networks between 28 patients with HBV-RC without OHE and 30 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls. The structural correlation networks were constructed for the two groups based on measures of gray matter volume. Results The brain network of the HBV-RC group exhibited a significant decrease in the clustering coefficient and reduced small-worldness at the global level across a range of network densities. Regionally, brain areas with altered nodal degree/betweenness centrality were observed predominantly in association cortices (frontal and temporal regions) (p < 0.05, uncorrected), including a significantly decreased nodal degree in the inferior temporal gyrus (p < 0.001, uncorrected). Furthermore, the HBV-RC group exhibited a loss of association hubs and the emergence of an increased number of non-association hubs compared with the healthy controls. Conclusion The results of this large-scale gray matter structural network study suggest reduced topological organization efficiency in patients with HBV-RC without OHE. Our findings provide new insight concerning the mechanisms of neurobiological reorganization in the HBV-RC brain from a network perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Fei Lv
- Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Kai Liu
- Medical Imaging Centre, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medial University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Ying-Wei Qiu
- Department of medical imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, People's Republic of China
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong No. 2 Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Pei-Qiang Cai
- Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Li
- Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Gui-Hua Jiang
- Department of Medical Imaging, Guangdong No. 2 Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan-Jia Deng
- Medical Imaging Centre, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medial University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xue-Lin Zhang
- Medical Imaging Centre, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medial University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Pei-Hong Wu
- Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuan-Miao Xie
- Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- * E-mail: (CMX); (GW)
| | - Ge Wen
- Medical Imaging Centre, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medial University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China
- * E-mail: (CMX); (GW)
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Zhang XD, Zhang LJ, Wu SY, Lu GM. Multimodality magnetic resonance imaging in hepatic encephalopathy: An update. World J Gastroenterol 2014; 20:11262-11272. [PMID: 25170210 PMCID: PMC4145764 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i32.11262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2013] [Revised: 01/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric complication of cirrhosis or acute liver failure. Currently, HE is regarded as a continuous cognitive impairment ranging from the mildest stage, minimal HE to overt HE. Hyperammonaemia and neuroinflammation are two main underlying factors which contribute to the neurological alterations in HE. Both structural and functional impairments are found in the white mater and grey mater involved in HE. Although the investigations into HE pathophysiological mechanism are enormous, the exact pathophysiological causes underlying HE remain controversial. Multimodality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays an important role in helping to understand the pathological process of HE. This paper reviews the up-to-date multimodality MRI methods and predominant findings in HE patients with a highlight of the increasingly important role of blood oxygen level dependent functional MRI.
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