Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract Background Neuropsychiatric manifestations, such as cognitive impairment, are relatively prevalent in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. This study aimed to investigate the resting state (RS) functional alternations of SSc patients and the potential influenced factors. Methods Forty-four SS...

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Main Authors: Xinyu Tong, Huilin He, Shihan Xu, Rui Shen, Zihan Ning, Xiaofeng Zeng, Qian Wang, Dong Xu, Zuo-Xiang He, Xihai Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-11-01
Series:Arthritis Research & Therapy
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-024-03433-3
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author Xinyu Tong
Huilin He
Shihan Xu
Rui Shen
Zihan Ning
Xiaofeng Zeng
Qian Wang
Dong Xu
Zuo-Xiang He
Xihai Zhao
author_facet Xinyu Tong
Huilin He
Shihan Xu
Rui Shen
Zihan Ning
Xiaofeng Zeng
Qian Wang
Dong Xu
Zuo-Xiang He
Xihai Zhao
author_sort Xinyu Tong
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Neuropsychiatric manifestations, such as cognitive impairment, are relatively prevalent in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. This study aimed to investigate the resting state (RS) functional alternations of SSc patients and the potential influenced factors. Methods Forty-four SSc patients (mean age, 46.3 ± 11.4 years; 40 females) and 19 age and sex comparable healthy volunteers (mean age, 42.6 ± 11.3 years; 16 females) were recruited and underwent RS functional MR imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Functional segregation analysis was performed to calculate the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo). Functional integration analysis was conducted using group independent component analysis to calculate intra-network and inter-network functional connectivity (FC). The fMRI measurements were compared between SSc patients and healthy volunteers using voxel-based pairwise two-sample t-tests. The correlations between clinical characteristics and fMRI measurements were also analyzed. Results Compared to healthy volunteers, SSc patients exhibited significantly decreased ALFF and increased ReHo (all P < 0.01, FWE corrected). SSc patients predominantly showed decreased intra-network and inter-network FC in the auditory network, visual network, default mode network, frontoparietal network and attention network (intra-network FC: P < 0.01, uncorrected, cluster size > 30; inter-network FC: P < 0.05, FDR correction). Furthermore, clinical characteristics including disease duration (r value ranged from − 0.31 to 0.36), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.35), Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (r = 0.43), and Hamilton Depression Scale score (r = -0.40) were significantly associated with fMRI measurements (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Spontaneous activity and functional connectivity alternations can be seen in SSc patients, which are partially associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations and tend to aggravate with disease duration.
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spelling doaj-art-b181f91cc2c4414f9502e026b23d7d0c2025-08-20T02:49:59ZengBMCArthritis Research & Therapy1478-63622024-11-0126111110.1186/s13075-024-03433-3Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studyXinyu Tong0Huilin He1Shihan Xu2Rui Shen3Zihan Ning4Xiaofeng Zeng5Qian Wang6Dong Xu7Zuo-Xiang He8Xihai Zhao9Department of Nuclear Medicine, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Rheumatology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID),Key Laboratory of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Ministry of EducationDepartment of Rheumatology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID),Key Laboratory of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Ministry of EducationCenter for Biomedical Imaging Research, School of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityCenter for Biomedical Imaging Research, School of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityDepartment of Rheumatology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID),Key Laboratory of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Ministry of EducationDepartment of Rheumatology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID),Key Laboratory of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Ministry of EducationDepartment of Rheumatology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital,Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,National Clinical Research Center for Dermatologic and Immunologic Diseases (NCRC-DID),Key Laboratory of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, Ministry of EducationDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua UniversityCenter for Biomedical Imaging Research, School of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityAbstract Background Neuropsychiatric manifestations, such as cognitive impairment, are relatively prevalent in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. This study aimed to investigate the resting state (RS) functional alternations of SSc patients and the potential influenced factors. Methods Forty-four SSc patients (mean age, 46.3 ± 11.4 years; 40 females) and 19 age and sex comparable healthy volunteers (mean age, 42.6 ± 11.3 years; 16 females) were recruited and underwent RS functional MR imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Functional segregation analysis was performed to calculate the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo). Functional integration analysis was conducted using group independent component analysis to calculate intra-network and inter-network functional connectivity (FC). The fMRI measurements were compared between SSc patients and healthy volunteers using voxel-based pairwise two-sample t-tests. The correlations between clinical characteristics and fMRI measurements were also analyzed. Results Compared to healthy volunteers, SSc patients exhibited significantly decreased ALFF and increased ReHo (all P < 0.01, FWE corrected). SSc patients predominantly showed decreased intra-network and inter-network FC in the auditory network, visual network, default mode network, frontoparietal network and attention network (intra-network FC: P < 0.01, uncorrected, cluster size > 30; inter-network FC: P < 0.05, FDR correction). Furthermore, clinical characteristics including disease duration (r value ranged from − 0.31 to 0.36), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.35), Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (r = 0.43), and Hamilton Depression Scale score (r = -0.40) were significantly associated with fMRI measurements (all P < 0.05). Conclusions Spontaneous activity and functional connectivity alternations can be seen in SSc patients, which are partially associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations and tend to aggravate with disease duration.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-024-03433-3Systemic sclerosisBrainResting state fMRIIndependent component analysis
spellingShingle Xinyu Tong
Huilin He
Shihan Xu
Rui Shen
Zihan Ning
Xiaofeng Zeng
Qian Wang
Dong Xu
Zuo-Xiang He
Xihai Zhao
Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Arthritis Research & Therapy
Systemic sclerosis
Brain
Resting state fMRI
Independent component analysis
title Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
title_full Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
title_fullStr Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
title_full_unstemmed Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
title_short Brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
title_sort brain functional alternation in patients with systemic sclerosis a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging study
topic Systemic sclerosis
Brain
Resting state fMRI
Independent component analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13075-024-03433-3
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