Evidence of altered brain network centrality in patients with diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy: an fMRI study using a voxel-wise degree centrality approach

Effects of home-based telerehabilitation on dynamic alterations in regional intrinsic neural activity and degree centrality in stroke patients

Objective

To explore the effects of home-based telerehabilitation (TR) on dynamic alterations in regional intrinsic neural activity and degree centrality in stroke patients by resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) methods.

Methods

The neuroimaging data of 52 stroke patients were analyzed. Dynamic regional spontaneous neural activity (dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, dALFF; and dynamic regional homogeneity, dReHo) and dynamic degree centrality (dDC) were compared between the TR and conventional rehabilitation (CR) groups. A flexible factorial model was employed to investigate the expected effects.

Results

The patients in the TR group showed increased dALFF in the right precuneus and bilateral precentral gyrus (PreCG) and reduced dALFF in the right inferior parietal lobule by the analysis of main effects. Significant differences between groups were detected in the right precuneus, right fusiform gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus for dReHo and in the left cingulate gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus and left precuneus for dDC. A significant correlation was found in the TR group between the changed dALFF in the left PreCG and the changed Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) scores from baseline to postrehabilitation.

Conclusions

This study implied that home-based TR training can alter the patterns of dynamic spontaneous brain activity and functional connectivity in certain brain regions. The identification of key brain regions by neuroimaging indicators such as dynamic regional brain activity and degree centrality in the recovery process would provide a theoretical basis for noninvasive brain stimulation technology and strategies for formulating targeted rehabilitation programs for stroke patients with motor dysfunction.

Diabetic rats with high levels of endogenous dopamine do not show retinal vascular pathology

Purpose

Limited research exists on the time course of long-term retinal and cerebral deficits in diabetic rodents. Previously, we examined short term (4-8 weeks) deficits in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat model of Type II diabetes. Here, we investigated the long-term (1-8 months) temporal appearance of functional deficits (retinal, cognitive, and motor), retinal vascular pathology, and retinal dopamine levels in the GK rat.

Methods

In GK rats and Wistar controls, retinal neuronal function (electroretinogram), cognitive function (Y-maze), and motor function (rotarod) were measured at 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of age. In addition, we evaluated retinal vascular function (functional hyperemia) and glucose and insulin tolerance. Retinas from rats euthanized at ≥8 months were assessed for vascular pathology. Dopamine and DOPAC levels were measured via HPLC in retinas from rats euthanized at 1, 2, 8, and 12 months.

Results

Goto-Kakizaki rats exhibited significant glucose intolerance beginning at 4 weeks and worsening over time (p < 0.001). GK rats also showed significant delays in flicker and oscillatory potential implicit times (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001) beginning at 1 month. Cognitive deficits were observed beginning at 6 months (p < 0.05), but no motor deficits. GK rats showed no deficits in functional hyperemia and no increase in acellular retinal capillaries. Dopamine levels were twice as high in GK vs. Wistar retinas at 1, 2, 8, and 12 months (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

As shown previously, retinal deficits were detectable prior to cognitive deficits in GK rats. While retinal neuronal function was compromised, retinal vascular pathology was not observed, even at 12+ months. High endogenous levels of dopamine in the GK rat may be acting as an anti-angiogenic and providing protection against vascular pathology.

Spontaneous changes in brain network centrality in patients with pathological myopia: A voxel-wise degree centrality analysis

BACKGROUND

Myopia has become a worldwide problem that endangers public health and adds a serious socioeconomic burden. Current research has focused on the pathogenesis and manifestations of pathological myopia (PM). However, few studies have been conducted on the spontaneous activity of the patient's brain.

PURPOSE

To study the potential brain network activity in patients with PM by the degree centrality (DC) method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This experiment included 15 PM patients and 15 healthy controls (HCs). Every participant experienced a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to distinguish between PM patients and HCs. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships between mean DC values and clinical performance in different brain regions.

RESULTS

It showed that patients with PM had lower DC values in the right fusiform gyrus (FR) and right cingulate (CAR). The ROC curve was used to indicate the accuracy of the correlation. It showed that in PM group, left best corrected visual acuity (BCVA-L) and right best corrected visual acuity (BCVA-R) were negatively correlated with the DC value of FR.

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of PM is mainly related to the abnormal activity of the fusiform and cingulum. DC value might be used as a biological marker of abnormal brain activity in PM patients.

Aberrant degree centrality of functional brain networks in subclinical depression and major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

As one of the most common diseases, major depressive disorder (MDD) has a significant adverse impact on the li of patients. As a mild form of depression, subclinical depression (SD) serves as an indicator of progression to MDD. This study analyzed the degree centrality (DC) for MDD, SD, and healthy control (HC) groups and identified the brain regions with DC alterations.

METHODS

The experimental data were composed of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) from 40 HCs, 40 MDD subjects, and 34 SD subjects. After conducting a one-way analysis of variance, two-sample t-tests were used for further analysis to explore the brain regions with changed DC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of single index and composite index features was performed to analyze the distinguishable ability of important brain regions.

RESULTS

For the comparison of MDD vs. HC, increased DC was found in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in the MDD group. For SD vs. HC, the SD group showed a higher DC in the right STG and the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and a smaller DC in the left IPL. For MDD vs. SD, increased DC in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG), right IPL, and left IPL, and decreased DC in the right STG and right MTG was found in the MDD group. With an area under the ROC (AUC) of 0.779, the right STG could differentiate MDD patients from HCs and, with an AUC of 0.704, the right MTG could differentiate MDD patients from SD patients. The three composite indexes had good discriminative ability in each pairwise comparison, with AUCs of 0.803, 0.751, and 0.814 for MDD vs. HC, SD vs. HC, and MDD vs. SD, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Altered DC in the STG, MTG, IPL, and MFG were identified in depression groups. The DC values of these altered regions and their combinations presented good discriminative ability between HC, SD, and MDD. These findings could help to find effective biomarkers and reveal the potential mechanisms of depression.

Functional Parcellation of Human Brain Using Localized Topo-Connectivity Mapping

The analysis of connectivity between parcellated regions of cortex provides insights into the functional architecture of the brain at a systems level. However, the derivation of functional structures from voxel-wise analyses at finer scales remains a challenge. We propose a novel method, called localized topo-connectivity mapping with singular-value-decomposition-informed filtering (or filtered LTM), to identify and characterize voxel-wise functional structures in the human brain from resting-state fMRI data. Here we describe its mathematical formulation and provide a proof-of-concept using simulated data that allow an intuitive interpretation of the results of filtered LTM. The algorithm has also been applied to 7T fMRI data acquired as part of the Human Connectome Project to generate group-average LTM images. Generally, most of the functional structures revealed by LTM images agree in the boundaries with anatomical structures identified by T1-weighted images and fractional anisotropy maps derived from diffusion MRI. In addition, the LTM images also reveal subtle functional variations that are not apparent in the anatomical structures. To assess the performance of LTM images, the subcortical region and occipital white matter were separately parcellated. Statistical tests were performed to demonstrate that the synchronies of fMRI signals in LTM-derived functional parcels are significantly larger than those with geometric perturbations. Overall, the filtered LTM approach can serve as a tool to investigate the functional organization of the brain at the scale of individual voxels as measured in fMRI.

Analysis of Dormancy-Associated Transcriptional Networks Reveals a Shared Quiescence Signature in Lung and Colorectal Cancer

Quiescent cancer cells (QCCs) are a common feature of solid tumors, representing a major obstacle to the long-term success of cancer therapies. We isolated QCCs ex vivo from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) xenografts with a label-retaining strategy and compared QCCs gene expression profiles to identify a shared "quiescence signature". Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed a specific component neatly discriminating quiescent and replicative phenotypes in NSCLC and CRC. The discriminating component showed significant overlapping, with 688 genes in common including ZEB2, a master regulator of stem cell plasticity and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Gene set enrichment analysis showed that QCCs of both NSCLC and CRC had an increased expression of factors related to stemness/self renewal, EMT, TGF-β, morphogenesis, cell adhesion and chemotaxis, whereas proliferating cells overexpressed Myc targets and factors involved in RNA metabolism. Eventually, we analyzed in depth by means of a complex network approach, both the 'morphogenesis module' and the subset of differentially expressed genes shared by NCSLC and CRC. This allowed us to recognize different gene regulation network wiring for quiescent and proliferating cells and to underpin few genes central for network integration that may represent new therapeutic vulnerabilities. Altogether, our results highlight common regulatory pathways in QCCs of lung and colorectal tumors that may be the target of future therapeutic interventions.

Correlation between Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent Magnetic Resonance Imaging Images and Prognosis of Patients with Multicenter Diabetic Nephropathy on account of Artificial Intelligence Segmentation Algorithm

This study was aimed to analyze the correlation between blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) images and prognosis of patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) based on artificial intelligence (AI) segmentation algorithm, so as to provide references for diagnosis and treatment as well as prognosis analysis of patients DN. In this study, a kernel function-based fuzzy C-means algorithm (KFCM) model was proposed, and the FCM algorithm based on neighborhood pixel information (BCFCM) and the FCM algorithm based on efficiency improvement (EnFCM) were introduced for comparison to analyze the image segmentation effects of three algorithms. The results showed that the partition coefficient (V_pc) and partition entropy (V_pe) of the KFCM algorithm were 0.801 and 0.602, respectively, which were better than those of the traditional FCM, BCFCM, and EnFCM algorithm. At the same time, the effects of correlation between renal cortex R2∗ (RC-R2∗), renal medulla R2∗ (RM-R2∗), renal cortex D (RC-D), renal medulla D (RM-D) and renal function on the prognosis were compared. The results showed that the correlation coefficients between RC-R2∗, RM-R2∗, RC-D, RM-D and renal function were 0.57, 0.62, 0.49, and 0.38, respectively; among them, RC-R2∗ and RM-R2∗ were negatively correlated to the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P <0.05). Among the factors affecting the prognosis of DN patients, the GFR, hemoglobin (Hb), RC-R2∗, RM-R2∗, and RC-D were all related to the prognosis of DN, and the difference between groups was statistically obvious (P <0.05). It suggested that the KFCM algorithm proposed in this study showed the relatively best segmentation effect on BOLD-MRI images for DN patients; an increase in R2∗ indicated a poor prognosis, and an increase in the RC-D value indicated a better prognosis.

Evaluation of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging under Artificial Intelligence Algorithm on Plan-Do-Check-Action Home Nursing for Patients with Diabetic Nephropathy

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) under the fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering algorithm on plan-do-check-action (PDCA) home nursing for patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). As the characteristics of fMRI image data were combined, the FCM algorithm was improved and applied into the clustering processing of fMRI activation regions of patients. 64 patients with DN were chosen as the research objects and were divided into the research group with PDCA home nursing and the control group with routine home nursing. The patients were randomly divided into the research group (n = 32) and the control group (n = 32). The curative effect, nursing satisfaction, and quality of life of patients after nursing were compared. The results showed that the coverage of fMRI activation points was significantly higher as being detected by the FCM algorithm, and the running time was shortened by 33.6 min. After nursing, the total effective rates in the research group and the control group were 87.5% vs. 34.4% in 3 months, 93.8% vs. 68.8% in 6 months, and 96.9% vs. 75.0% in 12 months, respectively; those in the research group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The nursing satisfaction score (91.3 ± 4.5 vs. 80.9 ± 5.2) and nursing service quality score (89.7 ± 6.6 vs. 80.3 ± 7.1) in the research group were also significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the scores of each item after nursing in the research group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The improved FCM algorithm detected the activation regions in the fMRI images more effectively, which could provide help for diagnosis and reduce error and misdiagnosis. At the same time, the PDCA home nursing also offered great help to the recovery of patients with DN, which was more superior for the curative effect of hospitalization, the promotion of recovery, and the improvement of patients' quality of life.

Neuroimaging Markers of Chronic Eye Diseases and Their Application Values

In recent years, the impact of various chronic eye diseases on quality of life has become increasingly apparent. Therefore, it is particularly important to control the progress of chronic diseases at an early stage. Many studies have used neuroimaging methods to explore the effects of chronic eye diseases on the brain, and to identify changes in brain function that may act as markers for early diagnosis and treatment. This article reviews the clinical application of different techniques of functional magnetic resonance imaging in chronic eye diseases.

Decreased Neural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Among Youth and Young Adults With Chronic Kidney Disease

An increasing amount of literature has indicated that chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with cognitive deficits that increase with worsening disease severity. Although abnormalities in brain structure have been widely documented, few studies to date have examined the functioning of brain areas associated with the specific cognitive domains affected by CKD (namely, attention and executive functions). Furthermore, few studies have examined functional connectivity among CKD youth who are relatively early in the course of the disease. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the resting state connectivity in 67 youth with CKD (mean age, 17 y) and 58 age-matched healthy controls. Using seed-based multiple regression, decreased connectivity was observed within the anterior cingulate portion of the default mode network. In addition, decreased connectivity within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, paracingulate gyrus, and frontal pole were correlated significantly with disease severity. These data indicate that connectivity deficits in circuits implementing attentional processes may represent an early marker for cognitive decline in CKD.

Brain Functional Connectivity Changes in Patients with Acute Eye Pain: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Background

By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to study the changes in potential brain function network activity in patients with acute eye pain. Also, by using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method, we aimed to explore the relationship between spontaneous brain activity and the clinical features of patients with acute eye pain.

Material/Methods

A total of 15 patients with acute eye pain (5 women and 10 men; EP group) and 15 healthy controls (5 women and 10 men; HC group), were scanned by fMRI. The DC method was used to evaluate changes in spontaneous brain activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were analyzed, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to study the relationship between DC values and clinical manifestations in different regions of brain.

Results

The area of the left limbic lobe showed a reduction in DC value in patients in the EP group. DC values were elevated in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, left inferior parietal lobule, left inferior temporal gyrus, left precuneus, and right cerebellum posterior lobe in the EP group. The visual analog scale value of the eyes in the EP group was negatively correlated with the left limbic lobe signal value and positively correlated with the left inferior parietal lobule signal value. Further, the scores of the hospital anxiety and depression scale and DC value of the left limbic lobe were negatively correlated.

Conclusions

Compared with the HC group, patients with acute eye pain had abnormal patterns of intrinsic brain activity in different brain regions, which may help reveal the potential neural mechanisms involved in eye pain.

Effect of indwelling time of double J tube on infected ureteral calculi and the distribution of pathogenic characteristics in diabetics

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of double J tube indwelling time on infected ureteral calculi (UC) and distribution of pathogenic characteristics in diabetics.

METHODS

132 diabetics with infected UC admitted to our hospital from April 2017 to April 2020 were selected. All patients were implanted with a double J tube, followed by percutaneous nephrolithotomy or ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotripsy. According to the indwelling time, they were divided into a research group (≤ 7 d, 60 cases) and a control group (> 7 d, 72 cases). We compared the baseline data, and surgical data of the two groups, and analyzed pathogenic bacteria.

RESULTS

None of the differences in the operation time, hospital stay, and stone diameter were statistically significant (P > 0.05). Before placement of the double J tube, no striking differences in urinary white blood cells and blood white blood cells were observed between the two groups (P > 0.05). 7 days after the placement of the double J tube, a significant decrease of the urinary white blood cells and blood white blood cells was recorded (P < 0.05), with no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). Before and after placement of double J tube, no striking differences in body temperature > 38.5°C or positive blood culture were observed between the two groups (P > 0.05). Surgical methods, stone removal rate one month after the operation, or incidence of postoperative complications were not significantly different (P > 0.05). 49 pathogenic strains were detected, among which Gram-negative bacteria accounted for 63.27%. The main pathogens were Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

CONCLUSION

The indwelling time of the double J tube has no significant effect on the effectiveness and safety in diabetic patients with infected UC. It is necessary to reduce the indwelling time and implement targeted stone surgery.

Spontaneous functional changes in specific cerebral regions in patients with hypertensive retinopathy: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

This study investigated functional alterations in the cerebral network of patients with hypertensive retinopathy (HR) by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and degree centrality (DC) methods. 31 patients with HR along with 31 healthy controls (HC) closely matched in gender and age were enrolled for the research. All participants were examined by rs-fMRI, and the DC method was applied to evaluate alterations in spontaneous cerebral activity between the 2 groups. We used the independent samples t test to evaluate demographic and general information differences between HR patients and HCs. The 2-sample t test was used to compare the DC values of different cerebral regions between the 2 groups. The accuracy of differential diagnostic HR was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method for rs-fMRI DC values changes. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was applied to determine the correlation between differences in DC in specific cerebral areas and clinical manifestation. Results showed that DC values were higher in the left cerebellum posterior lobe (LCPL), left medial occipital gyrus (LMOG), and bilateral precuneus (BP) of HR patients compared to HCs. Mean DC values were lower in the right medial frontal gyrus/bilateral anterior cingulate cortex of HR patients. Anxiety and depression scores were positively correlated with DC values of LMOG and LCPL, respectively. Bilateral best-corrected visual acuity in HR patients was negatively correlated with the DC value of BP. Hence, changes in DC in specific cerebral areas of patients with HR reflect functional alterations that provide insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms of HR.

Dynamic Changes of Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations in Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy

Background: Growing evidence demonstrate that diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients have a high risk of cognitive decline and exhibit abnormal brain activity. However, neuroimaging studies thus far have focused on static cerebral activity changes in DR patients. The characteristics of dynamic cerebral activity in patients with DR are poorly understood.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the dynamic cerebral activity changes in patients with DR using the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) method.

Materials and methods: Thirty-four DR patients (18 men and 16 women) and 38 healthy controls (HCs) (18 males and 20 females) closely matched in age, sex, and education were enrolled in this study. The dALFF method was used to investigate dynamic intrinsic brain activity differences between the DR and HC groups.

Results: Compared with HCs, DR patients exhibited increased dALFF variability in the right brainstem, left cerebellum_8, left cerebellum_9, and left parahippocampal gyrus. In contrast, DR patients exhibited decreased dALFF variability in the left middle occipital gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus.

Conclusion: Our study highlighted that DR patients showed abnormal variability of dALFF in the visual cortices, cerebellum, and parahippocampal gyrus. These findings suggest impaired visual and motor and memory function in DR individuals. Thus, abnormal dynamic spontaneous brain activity might be involved in the pathophysiology of DR.

Altered brain network centrality in middle-aged patients with retinitis pigmentosa: A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to explore the underlying functional network brain activity changes of patients in middle-aged with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and the relationships with clinical features such as depression scale and visual functioning using voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method.

METHODS

We included 16 patients with RP (11 men, 5 women) and 16 healthy controls (HCs; 11 men, 5 women). Participants were matched in terms of age, weight, gender and handedness (age and weight between the two groups were compared using independent sample t-tests, gender and handedness were compared using chi-square test). We use the voxel-wise DC method to assess spontaneous brain activity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to distinguish between RP patients and HCs. Correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between mean DC values in various brain regions and clinical features (such as depression scale and visual functioning) in RP patients.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, the DC values of patients with RP were reduced in the right medial frontal gyrus, bilateral cuneus, bilateral precuneus, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus, and increased in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, left inferior temporal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus. The mean DC values in the bilateral cuneus negatively correlated with the depression scale, and those in the bilateral precuneus positively correlated with the Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25.

CONCLUSIONS

Middle-aged patients with RP exhibit abnormal brain network activity in various brain regions, and this may underlie the pathological mechanism of RP.

Effect of different motor skills training on motor control network in the frontal lobe and basal ganglia

During human motor control, the three pathways of motor control coordinate to complete human response and inhibition control, so whether different types of motor skills training will affect the three pathways of motor control is the main question in this study. Magnetic resonance imaging was combined with behavioural evaluation to analyse the effects of different special training sessions on the motor control network of the frontal lobe and basal ganglia and to explore the role of the central nervous system in the regulation of motor behaviour. A Stop-signal paradigm was used to measure reaction and inhibition capacity, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used for whole brain scanning, and resting state data were collected. Compared to the control group, the competitive aerobics athletes had better reflexes while the soccer players had both better reflexes and inhibitory control. Furthermore, we found that training in the two sets of skills resulted in significant differences in different resting state brain function parameters compared with the control group. Additionally, there were significant differences among the three groups in the direct and indirect pathways of motor control in terms of functional connectivity. Open skill training may improve reaction ability while closed skill training improve both reaction and inhibition ability. These results suggest that the strength of the functional connectivity between the right inferior frontal gyrus and the left putamen may be a key to improving the inhibitory, and the left supplementary motor area- bilateral thalamic loop may play an inhibitory role in motor control.

Altered Brain Network Centrality in Patients with Diabetic Optic Neuropathy: A Resting-State FMRI Study

OBJECTIVE

Recent studies have suggested that diabetic optic neuropathy (DON) independently increases the incidence of brain diseases like cerebral infarction and hemorrhage. In this study, voxel-level degree centrality (DC) was used to study potential changes in functional network brain activity in DON patients.

METHODS

The study included 14 DON patients and 14 healthy controls (HCs) matched by age, sex, and weight. All subjects underwent resting functional magnetic resonance imaging. Receiver operating characteristic curves and Pearson correlation analysis were performed.

RESULTS

The DC values of the left frontal mid-orb and right middle frontal gyrus/right frontal sup were significantly lower in DON patients compared to HCs. The DC value of the left temporal lobe was also significantly higher than in HCs.

CONCLUSION

Three different brain regions show DC changes in DON patients, suggesting common optic neuropathy in the context of diabetes and providing new ideas for treating optic nerve disease in patients with long-term diabetes.

ABBREVIATIONS

AUC = area under the curve; BCVA = best corrected visual acuity; DC = degree centrality; DON = diabetic optic neuropathy; fMRI = functional magnetic resonance imaging; HC = healthy control; LFMO = left frontal mid orb; LTL = left temporal lobe; RFS = right frontal sup; RMFG = right middle frontal gyrus; ROC = receiver operating characteristic.

Altered Brain Network Centrality in Patients with Adult Strabismus with Amblyopia: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Background

The aim of this study was to explore potential changes in brain function network activity in patients with adult strabismus with amblyopia (SA) using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method.

Material/Methods

We enrolled 15 patients with SA (6 males, 9 females) and 15 sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). All subjects completed resting functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Independent-sample t tests and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess DC value differences between groups, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate correlations between DC-changed brain regions and clinical data of patients with SA.

Results

Compared with the HC group, DC values that were lower in patients with SA included the left middle frontal gyrus and bilateral angular gyri. Increases were observed in the left fusiform gyrus, right lingual gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, right postcentral gyrus, and left paracentral lobule. However, DC values were not correlated with clinical manifestations. ROC curve analysis showed high accuracy.

Conclusions

We found abnormal neural activity in specific brain regions in patients with SA. Specifically, we observed significant changes in DC values compared to HCs. These changes may be useful to identify the specific mechanisms involved in brain dysfunction in SA.

Altered Brain Function in Young HIV Patients with Syphilis Infection: A Voxel-Wise Degree Centrality Analysis

Objective

This study assessed the possible effect of syphilis co-infection in the brain function in young HIV patients by using voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) analysis.

Methods

Forty-four syphilis-co-infected HIV patients (HIV+/syphilis+), 45 HIV patients without syphilis history (HIV+/syphilis-) and 43 matched healthy controls (HC) underwent resting-state fMRI examinations. Laboratory tests and a battery of neuropsychological tests were performed before each MRI examination. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the differences of DC among the three groups. The correlations between MRI metrics and laboratory/neuropsychological tests in each patient's group were performed by Pearson correlation analysis.

Results

Compared with HIV+/syphilis-, worse performance in complex motor skills was found in HIV+/syphilis+. Compared with HC, HIV+/syphilis+ and HIV+/syphilis- groups showed attenuated DC in the right orbital frontal cortex and increased DC in the left parietal/temporal cortex. Besides, we also found increased DC in the left inferior frontal cortex and bilateral posterior cingulated cortex/precuneus in HIV+/syphilis+ compared with HC. Moreover, compared with HIV+/syphilis-, HIV+/syphilis+ displayed decreased DC in the left middle occipital cortex. Additionally, in HIV+/syphilis+ group, the mean z value of DC was correlated to the CD4+ cell counts and the learning and delayed recall score.

Conclusion

Syphilis co-infection might be related to more brain functional reorganization in young HIV patients which could be reflected by DC value.