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Aldusary N, Traber GL, Freund P, Fierz FC, Weber KP, Baeshen A, Alghamdi J, Saliju B, Pazahr S, Mazloum R, Alshehri F, Landau K, Kollias S, Piccirelli M, Michels L. Abnormal Connectivity and Brain Structure in Patients With Visual Snow. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:582031. [PMID: 33328934 PMCID: PMC7710971 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.582031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective Visual snow (VS) is a distressing, life-impacting condition with persistent visual phenomena. VS patients show cerebral hypermetabolism within the visual cortex, resulting in altered neuronal excitability. We hypothesized to see disease-dependent alterations in functional connectivity and gray matter volume (GMV) in regions associated with visual perception. Methods Nineteen patients with VS and 16 sex- and age-matched controls were recruited. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied to examine resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). Volume changes were assessed by means of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Finally, we assessed associations between MRI indices and clinical parameters. Results Patients with VS showed hyperconnectivity between extrastriate visual and inferior temporal brain regions and also between prefrontal and parietal (angular cortex) brain regions (p < 0.05, corrected for age and migraine occurrence). In addition, patients showed increased GMV in the right lingual gyrus (p < 0.05 corrected). Symptom duration positively correlated with GMV in both lingual gyri (p < 0.01 corrected). Conclusion This study found VS to be associated with both functional and structural changes in the early and higher visual cortex, as well as the temporal cortex. These brain regions are involved in visual processing, memory, spatial attention, and cognitive control. We conclude that VS is not just confined to the visual system and that both functional and structural changes arise in VS patients, be it as an epiphenomenon or a direct contributor to the pathomechanism of VS. These in vivo neuroimaging biomarkers may hold potential as objective outcome measures of this so far purely subjective condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Njoud Aldusary
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ghislaine L Traber
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Freund
- Spinal Cord Injury Center Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fabienne C Fierz
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Konrad P Weber
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Arwa Baeshen
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Radiological Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jamaan Alghamdi
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Bujar Saliju
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Shila Pazahr
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Reza Mazloum
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Fahad Alshehri
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Radiology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia
| | - Klara Landau
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Spyros Kollias
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marco Piccirelli
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lars Michels
- Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Baeshen A, Wyss PO, Henning A, O'Gorman RL, Piccirelli M, Kollias S, Michels L. Test–Retest Reliability of the Brain Metabolites GABA and Glx With JPRESS, PRESS, and MEGA‐PRESS MRS Sequences in vivo at 3T. J Magn Reson Imaging 2019; 51:1181-1191. [DOI: 10.1002/jmri.26921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Arwa Baeshen
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical SciencesKing Saud University Riyadh Saudi Arabia
| | - Patrik O. Wyss
- Institute for Biomedical EngineeringUniversity and ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tubingen Germany
- Department of RadiologySwiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil Switzerland
| | - Anke Henning
- Institute for Biomedical EngineeringUniversity and ETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Tubingen Germany
| | | | - Marco Piccirelli
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Spyridon Kollias
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Lars Michels
- Department of NeuroradiologyUniversity Hospital Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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