Korean J Radiol.  2017 Apr;18(2):370-377. 10.3348/kjr.2017.18.2.370.

Longitudinal Intrinsic Brain Activity Changes in Cirrhotic Patients before and One Month after Liver Transplantation

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China. shenwen66happy@163.com
  • 2Department of Transplantation Surgery, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300192, China.
  • 3School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cognitive Computing and Application, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
  • 4Department of Radiology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, China.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the spontaneous brain activity alterations in liver transplantation (LT) recipients using resting-state functional MRI.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 25 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. All patients repeated the MRI study one month after LT. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) values were compared between cirrhotic patients (both pre- and post-LT) and HCs as well as between the pre- and post-LT groups. The relationship between ALFF changes and venous blood ammonia levels and neuropsychological tests were investigated using Pearson's correlation analysis.
RESULTS
In the cirrhotic patients, decreased ALFF in the vision-related regions (left lingual gyrus and calcarine), sensorimotor-related regions (left postcentral gyrus and middle cingulate cortex), and the default-mode network (bilateral precuneus and left inferior parietal lobule) were restored, and the increased ALFF in the temporal and frontal lobe improved in the early period after LT. The ALFF decreases persisted in the right supplementary motor area, inferior parietal lobule, and calcarine. The ALFF changes in the right precuneus were negatively correlated with changes in number connection test-A scores (r = 0.507, p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
LT improved spontaneous brain activity and the results for associated cognition tests. However, decreased ALFF in some areas persisted, and new-onset abnormal ALFF were possible, indicating that complete cognitive function recovery may need more time.

Keyword

Liver transplantation; Cirrhosis; Hepatic encephalopathy; Resting state; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation; Brain activity change

MeSH Terms

Adult
Brain/diagnostic imaging/*pathology
Brain Mapping
Case-Control Studies
Female
Frontal Lobe
Humans
Liver Cirrhosis/psychology/*therapy
*Liver Transplantation
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Middle Aged
Psychometrics

Figure

  • Fig. 1 ALFF maps show differences between pre-LT patients and HCs (p < 0.05, corrected by AlphaSim). Diffused ALFF decreases in bilateral calcarine, IPL, LG, PCu, PoCG, MCC, and right SMA and increases in bilateral LTC, PHG, right Hip, and SFG are observed in pre-LT patients relative to controls. ALFF = amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, HCs = healthy controls, Hip = hippocampus, IPL = inferior parietal lobule, LG = lingual gyrus, LT = liver transplantation, LTC = lateral temporal cortex, MCC = middle cingulate cortex, PCu = precuneus, PHG = parahippocampal gyrus, PoCG = postcentral gyrus, SFG = superior frontal gyrus, SMA = supplementary motor area

  • Fig. 2 ALFF maps show differences between post-LT patients and HCs (p < 0.05, corrected by AlphaSim). ALFF decreases in right IPL, calcarine, and SMA and increases in right SFG, IFG, left PHG, and MFG are detected in post-LT patients. ALFF = amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, HCs = healthy controls, IFG = inferior frontal gyrus, IPL = inferior parietal lobule, LT = liver transplantation, MFG = middle frontal gyrus, PHG = parahippocampal gyrus, SFG = superior frontal gyrus, SMA = supplementary motor area

  • Fig. 3 ALFF maps show differences between post- and pre-LT patients (p < 0.05, corrected by AlphaSim). Paired t tests reveal ALFF increases in left IPL and right PCu and decreases in bilateral MTG, right PreCG, and Hip after LT. ALFF = amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, Hip = hippocampus, IPL = inferior parietal lobule, LT = liver transplantation, MTG = middle temporal gyrus, PCu = precuneus, PreCG = precentral gyrus

  • Fig. 4 Six brain regions were altered significantly in post-LT patients (p < 0.05, corrected by AlphaSim). A. U. = arbitrary unit, ALFF = amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, Hip = hippocampus, IPL = inferior parietal lobule, LT = liver transplantation, MTG = middle temporal gyrus, PCu = precuneus, PreCG = precentral gyrus

  • Fig. 5 Correlations between brain regions with altered ALFF and neuropsychological tests. ΔALFF in right PCu was negatively correlated with ΔNCT-A (r = 0.507, p < 0.05). Δrepresents differences before and after LT. A. U. = arbitrary unit, ALFF = amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, LT = liver transplantation, NCT-A = number connection test-A, PCu = precuneus


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