| Purpose: To explore the morphological and microstructural changes of grey and white matter in the patients of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy(TAO).Material and methods: Twenty-five TAO patients and 25 well-matched healthy controls were recruited.Structural T1-and diffusion-weighted imaging(DTI)data were analyzed using voxel based morphometry(VBM)and voxel based analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.Pearson's and Spearman's correlation analyses were were performed to assess the relationship between the VBM and DTI derived parameters in significant brain regions and clinical variables including disease duration,visual acuity,neuropsychiatric measurements and serum thyroid function indexes.Results: Compared with healthy controls,TAO group showed significantly decreased grey matter volume in the brain region of the right middle frontal gyrus.Meanwhile,TAO group showed significantly decreased fractional anisotropy(FA),but increased mean,axial and radial diffusivities in the brain regions of the right superior occipital gyrus,middle occipital gyrus and cuneus in TAO group.In addition,the FA value in significant brain regions showed a positive correlation with visual acuity(r = 0.456,P = 0.025)and a negative correlation with disease duration(r =-0.609,P = 0.003).Conclusion: Significant morphological and microstructural abnormalities in areas corresponding to known functional deficits of vision and cognition could be found in TAO patients.Purpose: We aimed to investigate the alterations of structural brain connectome in patients with TAO.Material and methods: Twenty-seven TAO patients and 27 well-matched healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor imaging.Graph theoretical analyses including global(shortest path length,clustering coefficient,small-worldness,global efficiency and local efficiency)and nodal(nodal betweenness,nodal degree and nodal efficiency)topological properties and network-based statistics were performed to evaluate TAO-related changes in brain network pattern.Correlations were assessed between the network properties and clinical variables including disease duration,visual acuity,neuropsychiatric measurements and serum thyroid function indexes.Results: Compared with healthy controls,TAO patients exhibited preserved global network parameters but altered nodal properties.We found decreased nodal betweenness and nodal degree in right anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri,decreased nodal degree and nodal efficiency in right orbital part of middle frontal gyrus(ORBmid),while increased nodal degree and nodal efficiency in left cuneus.Decrease of structural connectivity strength was found involving right ORBmid,right putamen,left caudate nucleus and left medial superior frontal gyrus.Significant correlations were also found between nodal properties and neuropsychological performances as well as visual acuity.Conclusion: TAO patients developed disruption of structural brain network connectome.Disrupted topological organization of the brain structural network may be associated with the clinical-psychiatric dysfunction of TAO patients. |
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