1
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Manivannan A, Foley LM, Hitchens TK, Rattray I, Bates GP, Modo M. Ex vivo 100 μm isotropic diffusion MRI-based tractography of connectivity changes in the end-stage R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease. NEUROPROTECTION 2023; 1:66-83. [PMID: 37745674 PMCID: PMC10516267 DOI: 10.1002/nep3.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
Background Huntington's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Brain atrophy, as measured by volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is a downstream consequence of neurodegeneration, but microstructural changes within brain tissue are expected to precede this volumetric decline. The tissue microstructure can be assayed non-invasively using diffusion MRI, which also allows a tractographic analysis of brain connectivity. Methods We here used ex vivo diffusion MRI (11.7 T) to measure microstructural changes in different brain regions of end-stage (14 weeks of age) wild type and R6/2 mice (male and female) modeling Huntington's disease. To probe the microstructure of different brain regions, reduce partial volume effects and measure connectivity between different regions, a 100 μm isotropic voxel resolution was acquired. Results Although fractional anisotropy did not reveal any difference between wild-type controls and R6/2 mice, mean, axial, and radial diffusivity were increased in female R6/2 mice and decreased in male R6/2 mice. Whole brain streamlines were only reduced in male R6/2 mice, but streamline density was increased. Region-to-region tractography indicated reductions in connectivity between the cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus with the striatum, as well as within the basal ganglia (striatum-globus pallidus-subthalamic nucleus-substantia nigra-thalamus). Conclusions Biological sex and left/right hemisphere affected tractographic results, potentially reflecting different stages of disease progression. This proof-of-principle study indicates that diffusion MRI and tractography potentially provide novel biomarkers that connect volumetric changes across different brain regions. In a translation setting, these measurements constitute a novel tool to assess the therapeutic impact of interventions such as neuroprotective agents in transgenic models, as well as patients with Huntington's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwinee Manivannan
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lesley M. Foley
- Animal Imaging Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - T. Kevin Hitchens
- Animal Imaging Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ivan Rattray
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, London, UK
| | - Gillian P. Bates
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michel Modo
- Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Hu B, Younes L, Bu X, Liu CF, Ratnanather JT, Paulsen J, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Miller MI, Ross C, Faria AV. Mixed longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses of deep gray matter and white matter using diffusion weighted images in premanifest and manifest Huntington's disease. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 39:103493. [PMID: 37582307 PMCID: PMC10448214 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/17/2023]
Abstract
Changes in the brain of patients with Huntington's disease (HD) begin years before clinical onset, so it remains critical to identify biomarkers to track these early changes. Metrics derived from tensor modeling of diffusion-weighted MRIs (DTI), that indicate the microscopic brain structure, can add important information to regional volumetric measurements. This study uses two large-scale longitudinal, multicenter datasets, PREDICT-HD and IMAGE-HD, to trace changes in DTI of HD participants with a broad range of CAP scores (a product of CAG repeat expansion and age), including those with pre-manifest disease (i.e., prior to clinical onset). Utilizing a fully automated data-driven approach to study the whole brain divided in regions of interest, we traced changes in DTI metrics (diffusivity and fractional anisotropy) versus CAP scores, using sigmoidal and linear regression models. We identified points of inflection in the sigmoidal regression using change-point analysis. The deep gray matter showed more evident and earlier changes in DTI metrics over CAP scores, compared to the deep white matter. In the deep white matter, these changes were more evident and occurred earlier in superior and posterior areas, compared to anterior and inferior areas. The curves of mean diffusivity vs. age of HD participants within a fixed CAP score were different from those of controls, indicating that the disease has an additional effect to age on the microscopic brain structure. These results show the regional and temporal vulnerability of the white matter and deep gray matter in HD, with potential implications for experimental therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beini Hu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Laurent Younes
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xuan Bu
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Chin-Fu Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - J Tilak Ratnanather
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jane Paulsen
- Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, Psychological Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, USA; Department Neurology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
| | - Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis
- School of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute of Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Australia
| | - Michael I Miller
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Christopher Ross
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Andreia V Faria
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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3
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D’Egidio F, Castelli V, Cimini A, d’Angelo M. Cell Rearrangement and Oxidant/Antioxidant Imbalance in Huntington's Disease. Antioxidants (Basel) 2023; 12:571. [PMID: 36978821 PMCID: PMC10045781 DOI: 10.3390/antiox12030571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's Disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a CAG triplet repeat in the HTT gene, resulting in the production of an aberrant huntingtin (Htt) protein. The mutant protein accumulation is responsible for neuronal dysfunction and cell death. This is due to the involvement of oxidative damage, excitotoxicity, inflammation, and mitochondrial impairment. Neurons naturally adapt to bioenergetic alteration and oxidative stress in physiological conditions. However, this dynamic system is compromised when a neurodegenerative disorder occurs, resulting in changes in metabolism, alteration in calcium signaling, and impaired substrates transport. Thus, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of the cell's answer to the stress induced by HD, focusing on the role of oxidative stress and its balance with the antioxidant system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Michele d’Angelo
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
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4
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Pimer LJ, Leslie RA, Phillips G, Newman AJ, Rusak B, Rolheiser TM, Schoffer K, Khan MN, McKelvey JR, Robertson HA, Good KP. Aberrant corticospinal tract characteristics in prodromal PD: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Clin Park Relat Disord 2022; 8:100182. [PMID: 36632053 PMCID: PMC9827373 DOI: 10.1016/j.prdoa.2022.100182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Parkinson's disease (PD) is typically diagnosed when motor symptoms first occur. However, PD-related non-motor symptoms may appear several years before diagnosis. REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and olfactory deficits (hyposmia) are risk factors, but they are not specific for predicting progression towards PD. Other PD-related markers, for example brain imaging markers, may help to identify preclinical PD in hyposmic RBD patients. Studies have reported abnormal structural characteristics in the corticospinal tract (CST) of PD patients, but it is unclear whether hyposmic RBD patients have similar abnormalities that may help to predict PD in these individuals. This study examined whether CST abnormalities may be a potential marker of PD risk by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures. Methods Twenty hyposmic RBD patients, 31 PD patients, and 29 healthy controls (HCs) were studied. DTI data were collected on a 1.5 T MRI scanner and CST characteristics (FA, MD, AD, and RD) were evaluated using probabilistic tractography (with seed regions in the bilateral primary motor cortex and mediolateral cerebral peduncles). Olfactory function was assessed with the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Results Hyposmic RBD patients showed significantly higher mean diffusivity (MD) values of the right CST compared to HCs but did not differ from PD patients. PD patients showed a trend of higher MD values compared to HCs. Conclusions Altered diffusivity in the CST seems to be associated with RBD. The combination of RBD, hyposmia, and CST alterations may be related to later development of PD with comorbid RBD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Pimer
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada
| | - Ronald A. Leslie
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada
| | - Gosia Phillips
- Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority, QEII - Halifax Infirmary, Suite 4449 Halifax Infirmary Building, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7, Canada
| | - Aaron J. Newman
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Rm 3263, 3rd Floor Life Sciences Centre (Psychology Wing), P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Benjamin Rusak
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Rm 3263, 3rd Floor Life Sciences Centre (Psychology Wing), P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Tyler M. Rolheiser
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada
| | - Kerrie Schoffer
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority, QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site, Suite 3822, Halifax Infirmary Building, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7, Canada
| | - M. Naeem Khan
- Department of Radiology, IWK Health Centre, 5850/5980 University Avenue, PO BOX 9700, Halifax, NS B3K 6R8, Canada
| | - J. Roger McKelvey
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Nova Scotia Health Authority, QEII - Halifax Infirmary Site, Suite 3822, Halifax Infirmary Building, 1796 Summer Street, Halifax, NS B3H 3A7, Canada
| | - Harold A. Robertson
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada,Department of Pharmacology, Dalhousie University, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Kimberley P. Good
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Rm 3263, 3rd Floor Life Sciences Centre (Psychology Wing), P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada,Corresponding author at: Department of Psychiatry, Abbie J. Lane Building, 5909 Veterans’ Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS B3H 2E2, Canada.
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5
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Manini A, Gagliardi D, Meneri M, Antognozzi S, Del Bo R, Scaglione C, Comi GP, Corti S, Ronchi D. Analysis of
HTT
CAG
repeat expansion in Italian patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2022; 9:1820-1825. [DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Manini
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Delia Gagliardi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Megi Meneri
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Sara Antognozzi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Roberto Del Bo
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
| | - Cesa Scaglione
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna Bologna Italy
| | - Giacomo Pietro Comi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Neuromuscular and Rare Diseases Unit Milan Italy
| | - Stefania Corti
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
| | - Dario Ronchi
- Dino Ferrari Center, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation University of Milan Milan Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Neurology Unit IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan Italy
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6
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Casella C, Chamberland M, Laguna PL, Parker GD, Rosser AE, Coulthard E, Rickards H, Berry SC, Jones DK, Metzler‐Baddeley C. Mutation-related magnetization-transfer, not axon density, drives white matter differences in premanifest Huntington disease: Evidence from in vivo ultra-strong gradient MRI. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:3439-3460. [PMID: 35396899 PMCID: PMC9248323 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter (WM) alterations have been observed in Huntington disease (HD) but their role in the disease-pathophysiology remains unknown. We assessed WM changes in premanifest HD by exploiting ultra-strong-gradient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This allowed to separately quantify magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and hindered and restricted diffusion-weighted signal fractions, and assess how they drove WM microstructure differences between patients and controls. We used tractometry to investigate region-specific alterations across callosal segments with well-characterized early- and late-myelinating axon populations, while brain-wise differences were explored with tract-based cluster analysis (TBCA). Behavioral measures were included to explore disease-associated brain-function relationships. We detected lower MTR in patients' callosal rostrum (tractometry: p = .03; TBCA: p = .03), but higher MTR in their splenium (tractometry: p = .02). Importantly, patients' mutation-size and MTR were positively correlated (all p-values < .01), indicating that MTR alterations may directly result from the mutation. Further, MTR was higher in younger, but lower in older patients relative to controls (p = .003), suggesting that MTR increases are detrimental later in the disease. Finally, patients showed higher restricted diffusion signal fraction (FR) from the composite hindered and restricted model of diffusion (CHARMED) in the cortico-spinal tract (p = .03), which correlated positively with MTR in the posterior callosum (p = .033), potentially reflecting compensatory mechanisms. In summary, this first comprehensive, ultra-strong gradient MRI study in HD provides novel evidence of mutation-driven MTR alterations at the premanifest disease stage which may reflect neurodevelopmental changes in iron, myelin, or a combination of these.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Casella
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging SciencesKing's College London, St Thomas' HospitalLondonUK
| | - Maxime Chamberland
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviorRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Pedro L. Laguna
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Greg D. Parker
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Anne E. Rosser
- Department of Neurology and Psychological MedicineHayden Ellis BuildingCardiffUK
- School of BiosciencesCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | | | - Hugh Rickards
- Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation TrustBirminghamUK
- Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Samuel C. Berry
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Derek K. Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Claudia Metzler‐Baddeley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
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7
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Barrios-Martinez JV, Fernandes-Cabral DT, Abhinav K, Fernandez-Miranda JC, Chang YF, Suski V, Yeh FC, Friedlander RM. Differential tractography as a dynamic imaging biomarker: A methodological pilot study for Huntington's disease. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 35:103062. [PMID: 35671556 PMCID: PMC9168197 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Due to its diverse manifestations, the scientific community has long recognized the need for sensitive, objective, individualized, and dynamic disease assessment tools. We examined the feasibility of Differential Tractography as a biomarker to evaluate correlation of symptom severity and of HD progression at the individual level. Differential tractography is a novel tractography modality that maps pathways with axonal injury characterized by a decrease of anisotropic diffusion pattern. We recruited sixteen patients scanned at 0-, 6-, and 12-month intervals by diffusion MRI scans for differential tractography assessment and correlated its volumetric findings with the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS). Deterministic fiber tracking algorithm was applied. Longitudinal data was modeled using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model and correlated with UHDRS scores, in addition to Spearman correlation for cross-sectional data. Our results show that volumes of affected pathways revealed by differential tractography significantly correlated with UHDRS scores in longitudinal data (p-value < 0.001), and chronological changes in differential tractography also correlated with the changes in UHDRS (p-value < 0.001). This technique opens new clinical avenues as a clinical translational tool to evaluate presymptomatic and symptomatic gene positive individuals. Our results provide support that differential tractography has the potential to be used as a dynamic imaging biomarker to assess at the individual level in a non-invasive manner, disease progression in HD. Critically important, differential tractography proves to be a quantitative tool for following degeneration in presymptomatic patients, with potential applications in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kumar Abhinav
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bristol, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, UK
| | | | - Yue-Fang Chang
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Valerie Suski
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Fang-Cheng Yeh
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Robert M Friedlander
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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8
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Structural and functional motor-network disruptions predict selective action-concept deficits: Evidence from frontal lobe epilepsy. Cortex 2021; 144:43-55. [PMID: 34637999 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Built on neurodegenerative lesions models, the disrupted motor grounding hypothesis (DMGH) posits that motor-system alterations selectively impair action comprehension. However, major doubts remain concerning the dissociability, neural signatures, and etiological generalizability of such deficits. Few studies have compared action-concept outcomes between disorders affecting and sparing motor circuitry, and none has examined their multimodal network predictors via data-driven approaches. Here, we first assessed action- and object-concept processing in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), patients with posterior cortex epilepsy (PCE), and healthy controls. Then, we examined structural and functional network signatures via diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state connectivity measures. Finally, we used these measures to predict behavioral performance with an XGBoost machine learning regression algorithm. Relative to controls, FLE (but not PCE) patients exhibited selective action-concept deficits together with structural and functional abnormalities along motor networks. The XGBoost model reached a significantly large effect size only for action-concept outcomes in FLE, mainly predicted by structural (cortico-spinal tract, anterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus) and functional (M1-parietal/supramarginal connectivity) motor networks. These results extend the DMGH, suggesting that action-concept deficits are dissociable markers of frontal/motor (relative to posterior) disruptions, directly related to the structural and functional integrity of motor networks, and traceable beyond canonical movement disorders.
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9
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Oh SL, Chen CM, Wu YR, Valdes Hernandez M, Tsai CC, Cheng JS, Chen YL, Wu YM, Lin YC, Wang JJ. Fixel-Based Analysis Effectively Identifies White Matter Tract Degeneration in Huntington's Disease. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:711651. [PMID: 34588947 PMCID: PMC8473742 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.711651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Microstructure damage in white matter might be linked to regional and global atrophy in Huntington's Disease (HD). We hypothesize that degeneration of subcortical regions, including the basal ganglia, is associated with damage of white matter tracts linking these affected regions. We aim to use fixel-based analysis to identify microstructural changes in the white matter tracts. To further assess the associated gray matter damage, diffusion tensor-derived indices were measured from regions of interest located in the basal ganglia. Diffusion weighted images were acquired from 12 patients with HD and 12 healthy unrelated controls using a 3 Tesla scanner. Reductions in fixel-derived metrics occurs in major white matter tracts, noticeably in corpus callosum, internal capsule, and the corticospinal tract, which were closely co-localized with the regions of increased diffusivity in basal ganglia. These changes in diffusion can be attributed to potential axonal degeneration. Fixel-based analysis is effective in studying white matter tractography and fiber changes in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sher Li Oh
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Chiung-Mei Chen
- Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yih-Ru Wu
- Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Maria Valdes Hernandez
- Row Fogo Centre for Research into Ageing and the Brain, Department of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.,Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Chih-Chien Tsai
- Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jur-Shan Cheng
- Clinical Informatics and Medical Statistics Research Center, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Emergency Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Yao-Liang Chen
- Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ming Wu
- Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Lin
- Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jiun-Jie Wang
- Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan.,Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.,Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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10
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Ferrari Bardile C, Sidik H, Quek R, Yusof NABM, Garcia-Miralles M, Pouladi MA. Abnormal Spinal Cord Myelination due to Oligodendrocyte Dysfunction in a Model of Huntington's Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2021; 10:377-384. [PMID: 34366364 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-210495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The relative contribution of grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) degeneration to the progressive brain atrophy in Huntington's disease (HD) has been well studied. The pathology of the spinal cord in HD is comparatively less well documented. OBJECTIVE We aim to characterize spinal cord WM abnormalities in a mouse model of HD and evaluate whether selective removal of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) from oligodendroglia rescues these deficits. METHODS Histological assessments were used to determine the area of GM and WM in the spinal cord of 12-month-old BACHD mice, while electron microscopy was used to analyze myelin fibers in the cervical area of the spinal cord. To investigate the impact of inactivation of mHTT in oligodendroglia on these measures, we used the previously described BACHDxNG2Cre mouse line where mHTT is specifically reduced in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. RESULTS We show that spinal GM and WM areas are significantly atrophied in HD mice compared to wild-type controls. We further demonstrate that specific reduction of mHTT in oligodendroglial cells rescues the atrophy of spinal cord WM, but not GM, observed in HD mice. Inactivation of mHTT in oligodendroglia had no effect on the density of oligodendroglial cells but enhanced the expression of myelin-related proteins in the spinal cord. CONCLUSION Our findings demonstrate that the myelination abnormalities observed in brain WM structures in HD extend to the spinal cord and suggest that specific expression of mHTT in oligodendrocytes contributes to such abnormalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costanza Ferrari Bardile
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine (TLGM), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A *STAR), Singapore.,Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Harwin Sidik
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine (TLGM), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A *STAR), Singapore
| | - Reynard Quek
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine (TLGM), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A *STAR), Singapore
| | | | - Marta Garcia-Miralles
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine (TLGM), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A *STAR), Singapore
| | - Mahmoud A Pouladi
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine (TLGM), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A *STAR), Singapore.,Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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11
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Thomas Q, Coarelli G, Heinzmann A, Le Ber I, Amador MDM, Durr A. Questioning the causality of HTT CAG-repeat expansions in FTD/ALS. Neuron 2021; 109:1945-1946. [PMID: 34139183 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Thomas
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Giulia Coarelli
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Anna Heinzmann
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Le Ber
- Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France; AP-HP, National Reference center "rare and young dementias," IM2A, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Maria Del Mar Amador
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Department of Neurology, National Reference center ALS Paris, AP-HP, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Alexandra Durr
- AP-HP, Genetic Department, University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Sorbonne University, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute-ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Paris, France.
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12
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Adanyeguh IM, Branzoli F, Delorme C, Méneret A, Monin ML, Luton MP, Durr A, Sabidussi E, Mochel F. Multiparametric characterization of white matter alterations in early stage Huntington disease. Sci Rep 2021; 11:13101. [PMID: 34162958 PMCID: PMC8222368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-92532-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a monogenic, fully penetrant neurodegenerative disorder. Widespread white matter damage affects the brain of patients with HD at very early stages of the disease. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) is a novel method to investigate the contribution of individual crossing fibers to the white matter damage and to detect possible alterations in both fiber density and fiber-bundle morphology. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy (DW-MRS), on the other hand, quantifies the motion of brain metabolites in vivo, thus enabling the investigation of microstructural alteration of specific cell populations. The aim of this study was to identify novel specific microstructural imaging markers of white matter degeneration in HD, by combining FBA and DW-MRS. Twenty patients at an early stage of HD and 20 healthy controls were recruited in a monocentric study. Using diffusion imaging we observed alterations to the brain microstructure and their morphology in patients with HD. Furthermore, FBA revealed specific fiber populations that were affected by the disease. Moreover, the mean diffusivity of the intra-axonal metabolite N-acetylaspartate, co-measured with N-acetylaspartylglutamate (tNAA), was significantly reduced in the corpus callosum of patients compared to controls. FBA and DW-MRS of tNAA provided more specific information about the biological mechanisms underlying HD and showed promise for early investigation of white matter degeneration in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac M Adanyeguh
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Francesca Branzoli
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France.,Center for NeuroImaging Research (CENIR), Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Cécile Delorme
- Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Aurélie Méneret
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France.,Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Lorraine Monin
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Pierre Luton
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Alexandra Durr
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Emanoel Sabidussi
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Fanny Mochel
- INSERM U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau Et de La Moelle Épinière, ICM, 75013, Paris, France. .,Department of Genetics, Center for Neurometabolic Diseases, AP-HP, La Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital, 47 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France.
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13
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Guan Y, Cheng CH, Chen W, Zhang Y, Koo S, Krengel M, Janulewicz P, Toomey R, Yang E, Bhadelia R, Steele L, Kim JH, Sullivan K, Koo BB. Neuroimaging Markers for Studying Gulf-War Illness: Single-Subject Level Analytical Method Based on Machine Learning. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10110884. [PMID: 33233672 PMCID: PMC7699718 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10110884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Gulf War illness (GWI) refers to the multitude of chronic health symptoms, spanning from fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and neurological complaints to respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic symptoms experienced by about 250,000 GW veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War (GW). Longitudinal studies showed that the severity of these symptoms often remain unchanged even years after the GW, and these veterans with GWI continue to have poorer general health and increased chronic medical conditions than their non-deployed counterparts. For better management and treatment of this condition, there is an urgent need for developing objective biomarkers that can help with simple and accurate diagnosis of GWI. In this study, we applied multiple neuroimaging techniques, including T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T1W-MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and novel neurite density imaging (NDI) to perform both a group-level statistical comparison and a single-subject level machine learning (ML) analysis to identify diagnostic imaging features of GWI. Our results supported NDI as the most sensitive in defining GWI characteristics. In particular, our classifier trained with white matter NDI features achieved an accuracy of 90% and F-score of 0.941 for classifying GWI cases from controls after the cross-validation. These results are consistent with our previous study which suggests that NDI measures are sensitive to the microstructural and macrostructural changes in the brain of veterans with GWI, which can be valuable for designing better diagnosis method and treatment efficacy studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Guan
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Chia-Hsin Cheng
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Weifan Chen
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Sophia Koo
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Maxine Krengel
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | | | - Rosemary Toomey
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
| | - Ehwa Yang
- Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.Y.); (J.-H.K.)
| | - Rafeeque Bhadelia
- Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Lea Steele
- Neuropsychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Jae-Hun Kim
- Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 06351, Korea; (E.Y.); (J.-H.K.)
| | - Kimberly Sullivan
- School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA;
- Correspondence: (K.S.); (B.-B.K.)
| | - Bang-Bon Koo
- School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA 02118, USA; (Y.G.); (C.-H.C.); (W.C.); (Y.Z.); (S.K.); (M.K.); (R.T.)
- Correspondence: (K.S.); (B.-B.K.)
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14
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Estevez-Fraga C, Scahill R, Rees G, Tabrizi SJ, Gregory S. Diffusion imaging in Huntington's disease: comprehensive review. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2020; 92:jnnp-2020-324377. [PMID: 33033167 PMCID: PMC7803908 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2020-324377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a monogenic disorder with 100% penetrance. With the advent of genetic testing in adults, disease-related, structural brain changes can be investigated from the earliest, premorbid stages of HD. While examining macrostructural change characterises global neuronal damage, investigating microstructural alterations provides information regarding brain organisation and its underlying biological properties. Diffusion MRI can be used to track the progression of microstructural anomalies in HD decades prior to clinical disease onset, providing a greater understanding of neurodegeneration. Multiple approaches, including voxelwise, region of interest and tractography, have been used in HD cohorts, showing a centrifugal pattern of white matter (WM) degeneration starting from deep brain areas, which is consistent with neuropathological studies. The corpus callosum, longer WM tracts and areas that are more densely connected, in particular the sensorimotor network, also tend to be affected early during premanifest stages. Recent evidence supports the routine inclusion of diffusion analyses within clinical trials principally as an additional measure to improve understanding of treatment effects, while the advent of novel techniques such as multitissue compartment models and connectomics can help characterise the underpinnings of progressive functional decline in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Estevez-Fraga
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rachael Scahill
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Geraint Rees
- Wellcome Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah J Tabrizi
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah Gregory
- Huntington's Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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15
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Injured adult neurons regress to an embryonic transcriptional growth state. Nature 2020; 581:77-82. [PMID: 32376949 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2200-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Grafts of spinal-cord-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) enable the robust regeneration of corticospinal axons and restore forelimb function after spinal cord injury1; however, the molecular mechanisms that underlie this regeneration are unknown. Here we perform translational profiling specifically of corticospinal tract (CST) motor neurons in mice, to identify their 'regenerative transcriptome' after spinal cord injury and NPC grafting. Notably, both injury alone and injury combined with NPC grafts elicit virtually identical early transcriptomic responses in host CST neurons. However, in mice with injury alone this regenerative transcriptome is downregulated after two weeks, whereas in NPC-grafted mice this transcriptome is sustained. The regenerative transcriptome represents a reversion to an embryonic transcriptional state of the CST neuron. The huntingtin gene (Htt) is a central hub in the regeneration transcriptome; deletion of Htt significantly attenuates regeneration, which shows that Htt has a key role in neural plasticity after injury.
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16
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Ikuta T, Loprinzi PD. Integrity of the cortico-spinal tract is associated with physical activity. Int J Neurosci 2019; 130:413-416. [PMID: 31738651 DOI: 10.1080/00207454.2019.1694520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Background and purpose: Despite the primary motor efferent role of the cortico-spinal tract (CST), it is hardly understood whether the amount of physical activity is associated with the integrity of the CST.Materials and methods: We examined the association between the amount of physical activity and the integrity of the CST, using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data from 465 individuals. The CST was segmented by probabilistic tractography and the association of the fractional anisotropy (FA) within was tested against physical activity (PA) assessed by moderate-intensity physical activity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.Results: The FA and PA showed a positive association. Post-hoc analyses showed that the radial diffusivity (RD) of the CST was negatively associated with PA, suggesting a potential association with preserved myelination with PA.Conclusion: This study shows that the integrity of the CST is associated with its traffic in the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshikazu Ikuta
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, MS, USA
| | - Paul D Loprinzi
- Department of Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management, School of Applied Sciences, University of Mississippi, MS, USA
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17
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Essa MM, Moghadas M, Ba-Omar T, Walid Qoronfleh M, Guillemin GJ, Manivasagam T, Justin-Thenmozhi A, Ray B, Bhat A, Chidambaram SB, Fernandes AJ, Song BJ, Akbar M. Protective Effects of Antioxidants in Huntington’s Disease: an Extensive Review. Neurotox Res 2019; 35:739-774. [DOI: 10.1007/s12640-018-9989-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2018] [Revised: 12/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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18
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Xi SD, Zhu YL, Chen C, Liu HQ, Wang WW, Li F. The plasticity of the corticospinal tract in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy after Botulinum Toxin A treatment. J Neurol Sci 2018; 394:19-25. [PMID: 30196131 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2018.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Revised: 08/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Botulinum neurotoxin A (BTX-A) intervention has long-term benefits for children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP). Although cortical plasticity has been widely studied, plasticity in white matter has not received as much attention. Here, six children with OBPP underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) before and 6 months after BTX-A treatment. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded. The aim was to investigate changes in the corticospinal tract (CST) as an example longitudinal observation of white matter plasticity. Deterministic fiber tracking with a Fiber Assignment by Continuous Tracking algorithm was used to reconstruct the CST. Fiber tracts passing through a region of interest (ROI) in the posterior limb of the internal capsule and a target ROI in the upper-limb representation of M1 (defined by task-related fMRI) were selected as the CST. Motor performances were improved while EMG showed no significant difference 6 months after the treatment. We observed a significant increase in mean fractional anisotropy and a significant decrease in fiber number after treatment. We analyzed the correlations between DTI metrics and clinical motor assessments. Although the correlation results were not statistically significant, they support the notion that BTX-A treatment causes white matter plasticity and has a positive long-term outcome. Peripheral deafferentation may lead to altered information flow, resulting in the positive adaptation of white matter. This study provides novel insight into cerebral plasticity following peripheral nerve regeneration and indicates that a combination of relatively non-invasive therapies can accelerate plasticity of sensorimotor circuits and promote functional recovery in OBPP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si-da Xi
- Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yu-Lan Zhu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chan Chen
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Han-Qiu Liu
- Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei-Wei Wang
- Department of Radiology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Renhe Hospital, Baoshan District, Shanghai, China.
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19
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Vela D. Hepcidin, an emerging and important player in brain iron homeostasis. J Transl Med 2018; 16:25. [PMID: 29415739 PMCID: PMC5803919 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-018-1399-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepcidin is emerging as a new important factor in brain iron homeostasis. Studies suggest that there are two sources of hepcidin in the brain; one is local and the other comes from the circulation. Little is known about the molecular mediators of local hepcidin expression, but inflammation and iron-load have been shown to induce hepcidin expression in the brain. The most important source of hepcidin in the brain are glial cells. Role of hepcidin in brain functions has been observed during neuronal iron-load and brain hemorrhage, where secretion of abundant hepcidin is related with the severity of brain damage. This damage can be reversed by blocking systemic and local hepcidin secretion. Studies have yet to unveil its role in other brain conditions, but the rationale exists, since these conditions are characterized by overexpression of the factors that stimulate brain hepcidin expression, such as inflammation, hypoxia and iron-overload.
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Affiliation(s)
- Driton Vela
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Prishtina, Martyr's Boulevard n.n., 10000, Prishtina, Kosova.
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20
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Garcia‐Gorro C, de Diego‐Balaguer R, Martínez‐Horta S, Pérez‐Pérez J, Kulisevsky J, Rodríguez‐Dechicha N, Vaquer I, Subira S, Calopa M, Muñoz E, Santacruz P, Ruiz‐Idiago J, Mareca C, Caballol N, Camara E. Reduced striato-cortical and inhibitory transcallosal connectivity in the motor circuit of Huntington's disease patients. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:54-71. [PMID: 28990240 PMCID: PMC6866479 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which is primarily associated with striatal degeneration. However, the alterations in connectivity of this structure in HD have been underinvestigated. In this study, we analyzed the functional and structural connectivity of the left putamen, while participants performed a finger-tapping task. Using fMRI and DW-MRI, 30 HD gene expansion carriers (HDGEC) and 29 healthy participants were scanned. Psychophysiological interaction analysis and DTI-based tractography were employed to examine functional and structural connectivity, respectively. Manifest HDGEC exhibited a reduced functional connectivity of the left putamen with the left and the right primary sensorimotor areas (SM1). Based on this result, the inhibitory functional connectivity between the left SM1 and the right SM1 was explored, appearing to be also decreased. In addition, the tract connecting these areas (motor corpus callosum), and the tract connecting the left putamen with the left SM1 appeared disrupted in HDGEC compared to controls. Significant correlations were found between measures of functional and structural connectivity of the motor corpus callosum, showing a coupling of both types of alterations in this tract. The observed reduction of functional and structural connectivity was associated with worse motor scores, which highlights the clinical relevance of these results. Hum Brain Mapp 39:54-71, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Garcia‐Gorro
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Ruth de Diego‐Balaguer
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- The Institute of Neurosciences of the University of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
- ICREA (Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies)BarcelonaSpain
| | - Saul Martínez‐Horta
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
| | - Jesus Pérez‐Pérez
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
| | - Jaime Kulisevsky
- Movement Disorders Unit, Department of NeurologyBiomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB‐Sant Pau), Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
- CIBERNED (Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases), Carlos III InstituteMadridSpain
- Universidad Autónoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | | | - Irene Vaquer
- Hestia Duran i Reynals, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
| | - Susana Subira
- Hestia Duran i Reynals, Hospital Duran i Reynals, Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Clinical and Health PsychologyUniversitat Autònoma de BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Matilde Calopa
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
| | - Esteban Muñoz
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital ClínicBarcelonaSpain
- IDIBAPS (Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer)BarcelonaSpain
- Facultat de medicina, University of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
| | - Pilar Santacruz
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital ClínicBarcelonaSpain
| | | | | | - Nuria Caballol
- Hospital de Sant Joan Despí Moisès Broggi, Sant Joan DespíBarcelonaSpain
| | - Estela Camara
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity UnitIDIBELL (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge), L'Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelonaSpain
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational PsychologyUniversity of BarcelonaBarcelonaSpain
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21
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Wu D, Faria AV, Younes L, Mori S, Brown T, Johnson H, Paulsen JS, Ross CA, Miller MI. Mapping the order and pattern of brain structural MRI changes using change-point analysis in premanifest Huntington's disease. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 38:5035-5050. [PMID: 28657159 PMCID: PMC5766002 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Revised: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that progressively affects motor, cognitive, and emotional functions. Structural MRI studies have demonstrated brain atrophy beginning many years prior to clinical onset ("premanifest" period), but the order and pattern of brain structural changes have not been fully characterized. In this study, we investigated brain regional volumes and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements in premanifest HD, and we aim to determine (1) the extent of MRI changes in a large number of structures across the brain by atlas-based analysis, and (2) the initiation points of structural MRI changes in these brain regions. We adopted a novel multivariate linear regression model to detect the inflection points at which the MRI changes begin (namely, "change-points"), with respect to the CAG-age product (CAP, an indicator of extent of exposure to the effects of CAG repeat expansion). We used approximately 300 T1-weighted and DTI data from premanifest HD and control subjects in the PREDICT-HD study, with atlas-based whole brain segmentation and change-point analysis. The results indicated a distinct topology of structural MRI changes: the change-points of the volumetric measurements suggested a central-to-peripheral pattern of atrophy from the striatum to the deep white matter; and the change points of DTI measurements indicated the earliest changes in mean diffusivity in the deep white matter and posterior white matter. While interpretation needs to be cautious given the cross-sectional nature of the data, these findings suggest a spatial and temporal pattern of spread of structural changes within the HD brain. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5035-5050, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wu
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological ScienceJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Andreia V. Faria
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological ScienceJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Laurent Younes
- Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
- Department of Applied Mathematics and StatisticsJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Susumu Mori
- The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological ScienceJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland
- F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger InstituteBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Timothy Brown
- Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Hans Johnson
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of IowaIowa CityIowa
| | - Jane S. Paulsen
- Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Psychology and NeurosciencesUniversity of IowaIowa CityIowa
| | - Christopher A. Ross
- Division of Neurobiology, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and Pharmacology, and Program in Cellular and Molecular MedicineJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMaryland
| | - Michael I. Miller
- Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMaryland
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22
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Myelin Breakdown in Human Huntington's Disease: Multi-Modal Evidence from Diffusion MRI and Quantitative Magnetization Transfer. Neuroscience 2017; 403:79-92. [PMID: 28579146 PMCID: PMC6458992 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.05.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The macromolecular proton fraction (MMPF), an MRI marker of myelin, was reduced in Huntington’s disease (HD). MMPF reductions in white matter suggest myelin breakdown. HD was associated with reductions in basal ganglia volume. HD was associated with poor executive functioning but preserved working memory capacity. Axial and radial diffusivities as unspecific metrics of white matter changes correlated with clinical markers of disease.
Huntington’s disease (HD) leads to white matter (WM) degeneration that may be due to an early breakdown in axon myelination but in vivo imaging correlates of demyelination remain relatively unexplored in HD compared to other neurodegenerative diseases. This study investigated HD-related effects on a putative marker of myelin, the macromolecular proton fraction (MMPF) from quantitative magnetization transfer and on fractional anisotropy, axial and radial diffusivity from diffusion tensor MR-imaging. Microstructural differences were studied in WM pathways of the basal ganglia and motor systems known to be impaired in HD: the corpus callosum, the cortico-spinal tract, the anterior thalamic radiation, fibers between prefrontal cortex and caudate and between supplementary motor area and putamen. Principal component analysis was employed for dimensionality reduction. Patients showed reductions in a component with high loadings on MMPF in all WM pathways and a trend for increases in a component loading on axial and radial diffusivities but no differences in a component loading on fractional anisotropy. While patients’ performance in executive functioning was impaired, their working memory span was preserved. Inter-individual differences in the diffusivity component correlated with patients’ performance in clinical measures of the United Huntington Disease Rating Scale. In summary, HD-related reductions in MMPF suggest that myelin breakdown contributes to WM impairment in human HD and emphasize the potential of quantitative MRI metrics to inform about disease pathogenesis. Disease severity in manifest HD, however, was best captured by non-specific diffusivity metrics sensitive to multiple disease and age-related changes.
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23
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Huang L, Kutch JJ, Ellingson BM, Martucci KT, Harris RE, Clauw DJ, Mackey S, Mayer EA, Schaeffer AJ, Apkarian AV, Farmer MA. Brain white matter changes associated with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome: multisite neuroimaging from a MAPP case-control study. Pain 2016; 157:2782-2791. [PMID: 27842046 PMCID: PMC5117992 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Clinical phenotyping of urological chronic pelvic pain syndromes (UCPPSs) in men and women have focused on end organ abnormalities to identify putative clinical subtypes. Initial evidence of abnormal brain function and structure in male pelvic pain has necessitated large-scale, multisite investigations into potential UCPPS brain biomarkers. We present the first evidence of regional white matter (axonal) abnormalities in men and women with UCPPS, compared with positive (irritable bowel syndrome, IBS) and healthy controls. Epidemiological and neuroimaging data were collected from participants with UCPPS (n = 52), IBS (n = 39), and healthy sex- and age-matched controls (n = 61). White matter microstructure, measured as fractional anisotropy (FA), was examined by diffusion tensor imaging. Group differences in regional FA positively correlated with pain severity, including segments of the right corticospinal tract and right anterior thalamic radiation. Increased corticospinal FA was specific and sensitive to UCPPS, positively correlated with pain severity, and reflected sensory (not affective) features of pain. Reduced anterior thalamic radiation FA distinguished patients with IBS from those with UCPPS and controls, suggesting greater microstructural divergence from normal tract organization. Findings confirm that regional white matter abnormalities characterize UCPPS and can distinguish between visceral diagnoses, suggesting that regional axonal microstructure is either altered with ongoing pain or predisposes its development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lejian Huang
- Department of Physiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Jason J. Kutch
- Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Benjamin M. Ellingson
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Pain, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Katherine T. Martucci
- Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA
| | - Richard E. Harris
- Department of Anesthesiology, and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Daniel J. Clauw
- Department of Anesthesiology, and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
| | - Sean Mackey
- Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA
| | - Emeran A. Mayer
- Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Pain, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Anthony J. Schaeffer
- Department of Urology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - A. Vania Apkarian
- Department of Physiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
- Departments of Surgery and Anesthesia, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
| | - Melissa A. Farmer
- Department of Physiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
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24
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Mole JP, Subramanian L, Bracht T, Morris H, Metzler-Baddeley C, Linden DEJ. Increased fractional anisotropy in the motor tracts of Parkinson's disease suggests compensatory neuroplasticity or selective neurodegeneration. Eur Radiol 2016; 26:3327-35. [PMID: 26780637 PMCID: PMC5021738 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-015-4178-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2015] [Revised: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the differences in motor pathways and selected non-motor pathways of the basal ganglia in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients compared to healthy controls (HCs). METHODS We analysed diffusion weighted imaging data of 24 PD patients and 26 HCs. We performed deterministic tractography analysis using the spherical deconvolution-based damped Richardson-Lucy algorithm and subcortical volume analysis. RESULTS We found significantly increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the motor pathways of PD patients: the bilateral corticospinal tract (right; corrected p = 0.0003, left; corrected p = 0.03), bilateral thalamus-motor cortex tract (right; corrected p = 0.02, left; corrected p = 0.004) and the right supplementary area-putamen tract (corrected p = 0.001). We also found significantly decreased FA in the right uncinate fasiculus (corrected p = 0.01) and no differences of FA in the bilateral supero-lateral medial forebrain bundles (p > 0.05) of PD patients compared to HCs. There were no subcortical volume differences (p > 0.05) between the PD patients and HCs. CONCLUSION These results can inform biological models of neurodegeneration and neuroplasticity in PD. We suggest that increased FA values in the motor tracts in PD may reflect compensatory reorganization of neural circuits indicative of adaptive or extended neuroplasticity. KEY POINTS • Fractional anisotropy was higher in motor pathways of PD patients compared to healthy controls. • Fractional anisotropy was lower in the uncinate fasciculus of PD patients compared to healthy controls. • Increased fractional anisotropy could suggest adaptive neuroplasticity or selective neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jilu Princy Mole
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences (IPMCN), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Leena Subramanian
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences (IPMCN), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Tobias Bracht
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Huw Morris
- Department of Clinical Neurology, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Claudia Metzler-Baddeley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - David E J Linden
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences (IPMCN), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Hadyn Ellis Building, Maindy Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK.
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25
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Phillips OR, Joshi SH, Squitieri F, Sanchez-Castaneda C, Narr K, Shattuck DW, Caltagirone C, Sabatini U, Di Paola M. Major Superficial White Matter Abnormalities in Huntington's Disease. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:197. [PMID: 27242403 PMCID: PMC4876130 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The late myelinating superficial white matter at the juncture of the cortical gray and white matter comprising the intracortical myelin and short-range association fibers has not received attention in Huntington's disease. It is an area of the brain that is late myelinating and is sensitive to both normal aging and neurodegenerative disease effects. Therefore, it may be sensitive to Huntington's disease processes. METHODS Structural MRI data from 25 Pre-symptomatic subjects, 24 Huntington's disease patients and 49 healthy controls was run through a cortical pattern-matching program. The surface corresponding to the white matter directly below the cortical gray matter was then extracted. Individual subject's Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) data was aligned to their structural MRI data. Diffusivity values along the white matter surface were then sampled at each vertex point. DTI measures with high spatial resolution across the superficial white matter surface were then analyzed with the General Linear Model to test for the effects of disease. RESULTS There was an overall increase in the axial and radial diffusivity across much of the superficial white matter (p < 0.001) in Pre-symptomatic subjects compared to controls. In Huntington's disease patients increased diffusivity covered essentially the whole brain (p < 0.001). Changes are correlated with genotype (CAG repeat number) and disease burden (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS This study showed broad abnormalities in superficial white matter even before symptoms are present in Huntington's disease. Since, the superficial white matter has a unique microstructure and function these abnormalities suggest it plays an important role in the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen R. Phillips
- Morphology and Morphometry for NeuroImaging Lab, Clinical and Behavioural Neurology Department, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
- Neuroscience Department, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”Rome, Italy
| | - Shantanu H. Joshi
- Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Neurology, University of California Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ferdinando Squitieri
- IRCCS Casa Sollievo della SofferenzaSan Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
- CSS-MendelRome, Italy
- Lega Italiana Ricerca Huntington FoundationRome, Italy
| | - Cristina Sanchez-Castaneda
- Radiology Department, IRCCS Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
- Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPSBarcelona, Spain
| | - Katherine Narr
- Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Neurology, University of California Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David W. Shattuck
- Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Neurology, University of California Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Carlo Caltagirone
- Neuroscience Department, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”Rome, Italy
- Clinical and Behavioural Neurology Department, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
| | - Umberto Sabatini
- Radiology Department, IRCCS Santa Lucia FoundationRome, Italy
- Neuroradiology, University of Magna GraeciaCatanzaro, Italy
| | - Margherita Di Paola
- Morphology and Morphometry for NeuroImaging Lab, Clinical and Behavioural Neurology Department, IRCCS Fondazione Santa LuciaRome, Italy
- Human Studies Department, Libera Università Maria SS. Assunta (LUMSA)Rome, Italy
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26
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Müller HP, Gorges M, Grön G, Kassubek J, Landwehrmeyer GB, Süßmuth SD, Wolf RC, Orth M. Motor network structure and function are associated with motor performance in Huntington's disease. J Neurol 2016; 263:539-49. [PMID: 26762394 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-015-8014-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Revised: 12/25/2015] [Accepted: 12/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In Huntington's disease, the relationship of brain structure, brain function and clinical measures remains incompletely understood. We asked how sensory-motor network brain structure and neural activity relate to each other and to motor performance. Thirty-four early stage HD and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy control participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor, and intrinsic functional connectivity MRI. Diffusivity patterns were assessed in the cortico-spinal tract and the thalamus-somatosensory cortex tract. For the motor network connectivity analyses the dominant M1 motor cortex region and for the basal ganglia-thalamic network the thalamus were used as seeds. Region to region structural and functional connectivity was examined between thalamus and somatosensory cortex. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was higher in HD than controls in the basal ganglia, and lower in the external and internal capsule, in the thalamus, and in subcortical white matter. Between-group axial and radial diffusivity differences were more prominent than differences in FA, and correlated with motor performance. Within the motor network, the insula was less connected in HD than in controls, with the degree of connection correlating with motor scores. The basal ganglia-thalamic network's connectivity differed in the insula and basal ganglia. Tract specific white matter diffusivity and functional connectivity were not correlated. In HD sensory-motor white matter organization and functional connectivity in a motor network were independently associated with motor performance. The lack of tract-specific association of structure and function suggests that functional adaptation to structural loss differs between participants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hans-Peter Müller
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Martin Gorges
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Georg Grön
- Section Neuropsychology and Functional Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Jan Kassubek
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Sigurd D Süßmuth
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Robert Christian Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Michael Orth
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 45/1, 89081, Ulm, Germany.
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27
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Kim REY, Lourens S, Long JD, Paulsen JS, Johnson HJ. Preliminary analysis using multi-atlas labeling algorithms for tracing longitudinal change. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:242. [PMID: 26236182 PMCID: PMC4500912 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2015] [Accepted: 06/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Multicenter longitudinal neuroimaging has great potential to provide efficient and consistent biomarkers for research of neurodegenerative diseases and aging. In rare disease studies it is of primary importance to have a reliable tool that performs consistently for data from many different collection sites to increase study power. A multi-atlas labeling algorithm is a powerful brain image segmentation approach that is becoming increasingly popular in image processing. The present study examined the performance of multi-atlas labeling tools for subcortical identification using two types of in-vivo image database: Traveling Human Phantom (THP) and PREDICT-HD. We compared the accuracy (Dice Similarity Coefficient; DSC and intraclass correlation; ICC), multicenter reliability (Coefficient of Variance; CV), and longitudinal reliability (volume trajectory smoothness and Akaike Information Criterion; AIC) of three automated segmentation approaches: two multi-atlas labeling tools, MABMIS and MALF, and a machine-learning-based tool, BRAINSCut. In general, MALF showed the best performance (higher DSC, ICC, lower CV, AIC, and smoother trajectory) with a couple of exceptions. First, the results of accumben, where BRAINSCut showed higher reliability, were still premature to discuss their reliability levels since their validity is still in doubt (DSC < 0.7, ICC < 0.7). For caudate, BRAINSCut presented slightly better accuracy while MALF showed significantly smoother longitudinal trajectory. We discuss advantages and limitations of these performance variations and conclude that improved segmentation quality can be achieved using multi-atlas labeling methods. While multi-atlas labeling methods are likely to help improve overall segmentation quality, caution has to be taken when one chooses an approach, as our results suggest that segmentation outcome can vary depending on research interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regina E Y Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Spencer Lourens
- Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jeffrey D Long
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA ; Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jane S Paulsen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA ; Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA ; Neuroscience, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Hans J Johnson
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA ; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City IA, USA ; Biomedical Engineering, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA, USA
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28
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Goveas J, O'Dwyer L, Mascalchi M, Cosottini M, Diciotti S, De Santis S, Passamonti L, Tessa C, Toschi N, Giannelli M. Diffusion-MRI in neurodegenerative disorders. Magn Reson Imaging 2015; 33:853-76. [PMID: 25917917 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2015.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Revised: 04/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The ability to image the whole brain through ever more subtle and specific methods/contrasts has come to play a key role in understanding the basis of brain abnormalities in several diseases. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), "diffusion" (i.e. the random, thermally-induced displacements of water molecules over time) represents an extraordinarily sensitive contrast mechanism, and the exquisite structural detail it affords has proven useful in a vast number of clinical as well as research applications. Since diffusion-MRI is a truly quantitative imaging technique, the indices it provides can serve as potential imaging biomarkers which could allow early detection of pathological alterations as well as tracking and possibly predicting subtle changes in follow-up examinations and clinical trials. Accordingly, diffusion-MRI has proven useful in obtaining information to better understand the microstructural changes and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying various neurodegenerative disorders. In this review article, we summarize and explore the main applications, findings, perspectives as well as challenges and future research of diffusion-MRI in various neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and degenerative ataxias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Goveas
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, and Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Laurence O'Dwyer
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Mario Mascalchi
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Quantitative and Functional Neuroradiology Research Program at Meyer Children and Careggi Hospitals of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Mirco Cosottini
- Department of Translational Research and New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Unit of Neuroradiology, Pisa University Hospital "Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana", Pisa, Italy
| | - Stefano Diciotti
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
| | - Silvia De Santis
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Luca Passamonti
- Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Carlo Tessa
- Division of Radiology, "Versilia" Hospital, AUSL 12 Viareggio, Lido di Camaiore, Italy
| | - Nicola Toschi
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Medical Physics Section, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marco Giannelli
- Unit of Medical Physics, Pisa University Hospital "Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana", Pisa, Italy.
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