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Lai PH, Hu RY, Huang X. Alterations in dynamic regional homogeneity within default mode network in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. Neuroreport 2024:00001756-990000000-00249. [PMID: 38829952 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000002056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a significant autoimmune eye disease known for causing exophthalmos and substantial optic nerve damage. Prior investigations have solely focused on static functional MRI (fMRI) scans of the brain in TAO patients, neglecting the assessment of temporal variations in local brain activity. This study aimed to characterize alterations in dynamic regional homogeneity (dReHo) in TAO patients and differentiate between TAO patients and healthy controls using support vector machine (SVM) classification. Thirty-two patients with TAO and 32 healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI scans. We calculated dReHo using sliding-window methods to evaluate changes in regional brain activity and compared these findings between the two groups. Subsequently, we employed SVM, a machine learning algorithm, to investigate the potential use of dReHo maps as diagnostic markers for TAO. Compared to healthy controls, individuals with active TAO demonstrated significantly higher dReHo values in the right angular gyrus, left precuneus, right inferior parietal as well as the left superior parietal gyrus. The SVM model demonstrated an accuracy ranging from 65.62 to 68.75% in distinguishing between TAO patients and healthy controls based on dReHo variability in these identified brain regions, with an area under the curve of 0.70 to 0.76. TAO patients showed increased dReHo in default mode network-related brain regions. The accuracy of classifying TAO patients and healthy controls based on dReHo was notably high. These results offer new insights for investigating the pathogenesis and clinical diagnostic classification of individuals with TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping-Hong Lai
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, China
| | - Rui-Yang Hu
- School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xin Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, China
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Wu Q, Zhou J, Fang W, Jiang WH, Pu XY, Chen HH, Xu XQ, Hu H, Wu FY. Structural and Functional Brain Changes After Glucocorticoid Therapy in Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024; 109:649-658. [PMID: 37864850 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the brain structural and functional alterations in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) before and after glucocorticoid therapy, using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) as well as resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo). METHODS Between 2019 and 2022, 32 patients with TAO and 23 healthy controls underwent pre-therapy MRI in Nanjing, China. Intravenous glucocorticoid therapy was administered to all patients. At 3 months after end of therapy, 26 patients were available for rescanned MRI. VBM, ALFF, and ReHo were used to evaluate the brain structural and functional differences. RESULTS Before therapy, TAO patients showed significantly decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the left orbital part of superior frontal gyrus (ORBsup) and medial superior frontal gyrus (SFGmed) than healthy controls. Patients had higher ALFF values in bilateral gyrus rectus and olfactory cortex and lower values in bilateral cuneus. Patients also showed decreased ReHo values in bilateral lingual gyrus. After therapy, increased GMV in the left anterior cingulate gyrus and SFGmed, increased ALFF values in bilateral cuneus and superior occipital gyrus, and increased ReHo values in bilateral SFGmed were found in TAO patients compared to the pre-therapy cohort. Compared to controls, decreased GMV in left ORBsup was observed in post-therapy TAO patients. CONCLUSION Our results indicated that TAO might cause functional and structural deficits in the visual and emotional regions of the brain, with recovery in the former and partial restoration in the latter after effective glucocorticoid therapy. These findings may lead to deeper understanding of the pathophysiological mechanism behind TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Wu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Jiang Zhou
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Wei Fang
- Department of Radiology, Taicang Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Taicang 215006, China
| | - Wen-Hao Jiang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Xiong-Ying Pu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Huan-Huan Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Xiao-Quan Xu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Hao Hu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Fei-Yun Wu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210000, China
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Duan Q, Wang Z, Cheung W, Liu J, Zhang H, Qiao W, Zhang Q. Functional decoding and meta-analytic connectivity modeling in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. Heliyon 2024; 10:e23749. [PMID: 38226223 PMCID: PMC10788440 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is an orbital disease closely related to thyroid disease with a long-lasting duration that can be blinding and disabling. Recently, structural and functional neuroimaging studies have been performed in TAO patients, but studies have reported inconsistent results. This quantitative meta-analysis was conducted to identify convergent patterns of abnormal brain function among different studies in TAO. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science, performed reference tracking, and retrieved 15 eligible studies. Peak coordinates were extracted from these studies and subsequently tested for convergence using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). Results Compared to healthy subjects, resting-state brain activity in the whole brain of TAO patients was significantly increased in the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and decreased in the left cuneus/precuneus. Functional decoding analysis of the BrainMap database revealed that these regions are predominantly associated with cognitive and emotional impairment. In this study, task-related meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) analysis was used to describe the connectivity and function of the two seed regions. Significant coactivation of these regions was found primarily in the bilateral superior parietal lobule, medial frontal gyrus, left fusiform gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, supplementary motor area and thalamus. Conclusion Our findings underscore the role of the SFG and the cuneus/precuneus in the pathophysiology of TAO, highlighting the crucial impact of working memory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qidang Duan
- School of Basic Medicine and Life Science, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, China
| | - Zhihong Wang
- The first people's hospital of lanzhou city, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | | | - Jing Liu
- Department of Endocrinology and Gerontology, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Huiyan Zhang
- School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000, China
| | - Wenjun Qiao
- School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology and Gerontology, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, 730000, China
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Zhang H, Liu Y, Jiang M, Shen F, Zhu T, Xia D, Li J, Fang S, Li Y, Sun J, Song X, Zhou H, Fan X. Immune-related visual dysfunction in thyroid eye disease: a combined orbital and brain neuroimaging study. Eur Radiol 2023:10.1007/s00330-023-10309-8. [PMID: 38112763 DOI: 10.1007/s00330-023-10309-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To investigate the pathological interplay between immunity and the visual processing system (VPS) in thyroid eye disease (TED). METHODS A total of 24 active patients (AP), 26 inactive patients (IP) of TED, and 27 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) were conducted for each participant. Multiple MRI parameters of the intraorbital optic nerve (ON) were assessed. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated. Correlation analyses were carried out on the above parameters and clinical characteristics. RESULTS Visual functioning scores differentiated between the AP and IP groups. The ON subarachnoid space and ON sheath diameter were significantly higher in AP than in IP. Six vision-related brain regions were identified in TED patients compared with HCs, including right calcarine (CAL.R), right cuneus (CUN.R), left postcentral gyrus (PoCG.L), right middle temporal gyrus (MTG.R), left superior frontal gyrus (SFG.L), and left caudate (CAU.L). The brain activity of MTG.R, SFG.L, and CAU.L differentiated between the AP and IP groups. The correlation analysis revealed a close association among the vision-related brain regions, MRI parameters of ON, and clinical characteristics in AP and IP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Combined orbital and brain neuroimaging revealed abnormalities of the VPS in TED, which had a close correlation with immune statuses. Vision-related brain regions in TED might be possibly altered by peripheral immunity via a direct or indirect approach. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT The discovery of this study explained the disparity of visual dysfunction in TED patients with different immune statuses. With the uncovered neuroimaging markers, early detection and intervention of visual dysfunction could be achieved and potentially benefit TED patients. KEY POINTS • Patients with different immune statuses of thyroid eye disease varied in the presentation of visual dysfunction. • The combined orbital and brain neuroimaging study identified six altered vision-related brain regions, which had a significant correlation with the MRI parameters of the intraorbital optic nerve and immunological characteristics. • Peripheral immunity might possibly give rise to alterations in the central nervous system part of the visual processing system via a direct or indirect approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuting Liu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Mengda Jiang
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Feiyang Shen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Tianyi Zhu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Duojin Xia
- School of Health Science and Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Jipeng Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Sijie Fang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinwei Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuefei Song
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China.
| | - Huifang Zhou
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China.
| | - Xianqun Fan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China.
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Jiang W, Liu J, Zhou J, Wu Q, Pu X, Chen H, Xu X, Wu F, Hu H. Altered dynamic brain activity and functional connectivity in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:5346-5356. [PMID: 37515416 PMCID: PMC10543102 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26437] [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: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Although previous neuroimaging evidence has confirmed the brain functional disturbances in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), the dynamic characteristics of brain activity and functional connectivity (FC) in TAO were rarely concerned. The present study aims to investigate the alterations of temporal variability of brain activity and FC in TAO using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Forty-seven TAO patients and 30 age-, gender-, education-, and handedness-matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled and underwent rs-fMRI scanning. The dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) was first calculated using a sliding window approach to characterize the temporal variability of brain activity. Based on the dALFF results, seed-based dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) analysis was performed to identify the temporal variability of efficient communication between brain regions in TAO. Additionally, correlations between dALFF and dFC and the clinical indicators were analyzed. Compared with HCs, TAO patients displayed decreased dALFF in the left superior occipital gyrus (SOG) and cuneus (CUN), while showing increased dALFF in the left triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus (IFGtriang), insula (INS), orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus (ORBinf), superior temporal gyrus (STG) and temporal pole of superior temporal gyrus (TPOsup). Furthermore, TAO patients exhibited decreased dFC between the left STG and the right middle occipital gyrus (MOG), as well as decreased dFC between the left TPOsup and the right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (CAL) and MOG. Correlation analyses showed that the altered dALFF in the left SOG/CUN was positively related to visual acuity (r = .409, p = .004), as well as the score of QoL for visual functioning (r = .375, p = .009). TAO patients developed abnormal temporal variability of brain activity in areas related to vision, emotion, and cognition, as well as reduced temporal variability of FC associated with vision deficits. These findings provided additional insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen‐Hao Jiang
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Jun Liu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Jiang Zhou
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Qian Wu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Xiong‐Ying Pu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Huan‐Huan Chen
- Department of EndocrinologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Xiao‐Quan Xu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Fei‐Yun Wu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
| | - Hao Hu
- Department of RadiologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical UniversityNanjingChina
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Jiang M, Zhang H, Liu Y, Wu S, Qu J, Tang Y, Song Y, Li Y, Sun J, Zhu L, Zhou H, Tao X. Abnormal regional spontaneous neural activity and functional connectivity in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy patients with different activity: a resting-state fMRI study. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1199251. [PMID: 37475733 PMCID: PMC10354644 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1199251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose We aimed to evaluate the spontaneous neuronal activity and functional connectivity pattern variations using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) measures, such as amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF), and functional connectivity (FC), in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). Method A total of 24 active TAO patients, 26 inactive TAO patients, and 27 matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. First, ALFF and fALFF were used to detect local neural activity changes, the MRI data were analyzed, and regions with group differences were taken as seeds. Second, FC analysis was performed to explore the altered connection between seeds and other brain regions. A correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between functional brain activity and clinical indices and neuropsychiatric behaviors. Results Compared to HCs, both active and inactive TAO patients exhibited significantly lower ALFF values in the right calcarine (Calcarine_R) and left postcentral gyrus (Postcentral_L). Active TAO patients also showed significantly higher ALFF values in the left caudate nucleus (Caudate_L) and increased fALFF values in the superior lobe of the right cerebellum (Cerebelum_Crus1_R). Moreover, both active and inactive TAO patients demonstrated decreased FC within the left postcentral gyrus (Postcentral_L) compared to HCs. Additionally, active TAO patients exhibited lower FC compared to inactive TAO patients. The ALFF values in the Calcarine_R of active TAO patients positively correlated with disease duration (r = 0.5892, p = 0.0049) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS; r = 0.5377, p = 0.0119). Furthermore, the ALFF value in the Calcarine_R of inactive TAO patients negatively correlated with visual functioning (r = -0.5449, p = 0.0072), while the ALFF values in the Caudate_L of active TAO patients positively correlated with visual functioning (r = 0.6496, p = 0.0014). Conclusion We found that the Caudate_L and Cerebelum_Crus1_R related to motor control and coordination in active TAO patients exhibit significant compensatory mechanisms; whereas, the Calcarine_R and Postcentral_L related to visual and somatosensory cortices show varying degrees of impairment. Our findings complement the functional neural mechanism of TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengda Jiang
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuting Liu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuo Wu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jialu Qu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yan Tang
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Song
- Department of MR Scientific Marketing, Siemens Healthcare, Shanghai, China
| | - Yinwei Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Ling Zhu
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Huifang Zhou
- Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaofeng Tao
- Department of Radiology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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Wen Z, Kang Y, Zhang Y, Yang H, Zhao Y, Huang X, Xie B. Disrupted dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in patients with active thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1174688. [PMID: 37250893 PMCID: PMC10213541 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1174688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose: Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is an autoimmune disease that affects the orbit and is the most prevalent extra-thyroidal complication of Graves' disease. Previous neuroimaging studies have focused on abnormal static regional activity and functional connectivity in patients with TAO. However, the characteristics of local brain activity over time are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate alterations in the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) in patients with active TAO and to distinguish patients with TAO from healthy controls (HCs) using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Methods: A total of 21 patients with TAO and 21 HCs underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. dALFFs were calculated in conjunction with sliding window approaches to assess dynamic regional brain activity and to compare the groups. Then, we used SVM, a machine learning algorithm, to determine whether dALFF maps may be used as diagnostic indicators for TAO. Results: Compared with HCs, patients with active TAO showed decreased dALFF in the right calcarine, lingual gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and precuneus. The SVM model showed an accuracy of 45.24%-47.62% and area under the curve of 0.35-0.44 in distinguishing TAO from HCs. No correlation was found between clinical variables and regional dALFF. Conclusion: Patients with active TAO showed altered dALFF in the visual cortex and the ventral and dorsal visual pathways, providing further details on the pathogenesis of TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Wen
- Department of Radiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yan Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Huaguang Yang
- Department of Radiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yilin Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin Huang
- Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
| | - Baojun Xie
- Department of Radiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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