Korean J Radiol.
2021 Dec;22(12):2052-2061. 10.3348/kjr.2020.1432.
Renormalization of Thalamic Sub-Regional Functional Connectivity Contributes to Improvement of Cognitive Function after Liver Transplantation in Cirrhotic Patients with Overt Hepatic Encephalopathy
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Radiology, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
- 2Tianjin Key Lab of Cognitive Computing and Application, College of Intelligence and Computing, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
- KMID: 2522942
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3348/kjr.2020.1432
Abstract
Objective
The role of preoperative overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE) in the neurophysiological mechanism of cognitive improvement after liver transplantation (LT) remains elusive. This study aimed to explore changes in sub-regional thalamic functional connectivity (FC) after LT and their relationship with neuropsychological improvement using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data in cirrhotic patients with and without a history of OHE.
Materials and Methods
A total of 51 cirrhotic patients, divided into the OHE group (n = 21) and no-OHE group (n = 30), and 30 healthy controls were enrolled in this prospective study. Each patient underwent rs-fMRI before and 1 month after LT. Using 16 bilateral thalamic subregions as seeds, we conducted a seed-to-voxel FC analysis to compare the thalamic FC alterations before and after LT between the OHE and no-OHE groups, as well as differences in FC between the two groups of cirrhotic patients and the control group. Correction for multiple comparisons was conducted using the false discovery rate (p < 0.05).
Results
We found abnormally increased FC between the thalamic sub-region and prefrontal cortex, as well as an abnormally decreased FC between the bilateral thalamus in both OHE and no-OHE cirrhotic patients before LT, which returned to normal levels after LT. Compared with the no-OHE group, the OHE group exhibited more extensive abnormalities prior to LT, and the increased FC between the right thalamic subregions and right inferior parietal lobe was markedly reduced to normal levels after LT.
Conclusion
The renormalization of FC in the cortico-thalamic loop might be a neuro-substrate for the recovery of cognitive function after LT in cirrhotic patients. In addition, hyperconnectivity between thalamic subregions and the inferior parietal lobe might be an important feature of OHE. Changes in FC in the thalamus might be used as potential biomarkers for recovery of cognitive function after LT in cirrhotic patients.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- Brain Regional Homogeneity Changes in Cirrhotic Patients with or without Hepatic Encephalopathy Revealed by Multi-Frequency Bands Analysis Based on Resting-State Functional MRI
- Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Findings in Cirrhotic Patients with Hepatic Encephalopathy : The Significance of Decreased Myoinositol / Creatine Ratio
- Fatal neurological complication after liver transplantation in acute hepatic failure patient with hepatic encephalopathy
- Brief Review of the Revised Korean Association for the Study of the Liver Clinical Practice Guidelines for Liver Cirrhosis: Varices, Hepatic Encephalopathy and Related Complications
- Aberrant Resting-state Functional Connectivity in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Network-based Statistics Analysis
