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Alterations in regional and network-level neural function in patients with HCV infection and its association with cognitive dysfunction
Jia Yan Shi1, Zhong Shuai Zhang2, and Hua Jun Chen1
1Department of Radiology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China, 2SIEMENS Healthcare, Shanghai, China

Synopsis

We aimed to investigate alterations in regional and network-level neural function in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and examine the association between these alterations and patients’ cognition dysfunction. HCV-infected patients performed significantly worse in the cognitive tests. In the HCV group, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) decreased in two prefrontal regions (Region-1and Region-2). The HCV group showed lower FC between the Region-1 and right middle frontal gyrus; whereas they presented an increase in FC between Region-2 and bilateral parietal-temporal cortex. HCV infection affects brain function, including local intrinsic neural activity and global functional integration.

Introduction

There is increasing evidence of the negative impacts of HCV infection on cognitive functions such as attention and executive deficits, memory problems, and learning disability.1 HCV infections can also induce alterations in spontaneous brain activity, including the slow down of the average dominant frequency of electroencephalogram (EEG) 2and the decrease of glucose metabolism in a few brain regions.3 Thus, resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may be potentially utilized in the assessment of brain functional alterations that are related to HCV infection. Analysis of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed-based functional connectivity (FC) was performed to respectively assess regional neural function and functional integration. ALFF reflects regional spontaneous cerebral neural activity,4 whereas FC reveals the functional coordination between various regions.5 This study aimed to investigate alterations in regional and network-level neural function in patients with HCV infection and examine the association between these alterations and patients’ cognition dysfunction.

Methods

The study included 17 patients with HCV infection and 17 healthy controls. These individuals had undergone resting state fMRI as well as cognitive assessment using a battery of tests that was collectively called the “Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES)” examination. Analysis of ALFF and seed-based FC were conducted to respectively assess regional neural function and functional integration.

Results

HCV-infected patients performed significantly worse in the cognitive tests. In the HCV group, ALFF decreased in Region-1 (left medial frontal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus) and Region-2 (right middle and superior frontal gyrus). The HCV group showed lower FC between the Region-1 and right middle frontal gyrus; whereas they presented an increase in FC between Region-2 and the left supramarginal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus and right supramarginal gyrus. No significant correlation was observed between ALFF/FC measurements and PHES result.

Conclusion

This preliminary study presents additional evidence that HCV infection affects brain function, including local intrinsic neural activity and global functional integration.

Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81501450 and 82071900), Fujian Provincial Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No.2018J06023), Fujian Provincial Program for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 2017B023), Fujian Provincial Program for Science and Technology Innovation (No.2019Y9067), Fujian Provincial Health Commission Project for Scientific Research Talents (No. 2018-ZQN-28), and Academic Exchange Fund for Postgraduates of Fujian Medical University supported this study.

References

1. Thein HH, et al (2007) Improved cognitive function as a consequence of hepatitis C virus treatment. HIV Med 8:520-528.

2. Weissenborn K, et al (2004) Hepatitis C virus infection affects the brain-evidence from psychometric studies and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Journal Of Hepatology 41:845-851.

3. Heeren M,et al (2011) Cerebral glucose utilisation in hepatitis C virus infection-associated encephalopathy. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 31:2199-2208.

4. Wang Z, et al (2011) Spatial patterns of intrinsic brain activity in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: a resting-state functional MRI study. Human Brain Mapping 32:1720-1740.

5. Barkhof F, et al (2014) Resting-state functional MR imaging: a new window to the brain. Radiology 272:29-49.

Figures

Figure 1. Within-group ALFF maps in the healthy control (HC) group as well as the patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The letters “L” and “R” represent the left and right sides, respectively.

Figure 2. Brain regions showing decreased ALFF in patients with HCV infection. The patients showed lower ALFF values in two prefrontal regions, including ROI-1 (left medial frontal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus) and ROI-2 (right middle and superior frontal gyrus). The letters “L” and “R” represent the left and right sides, respectively.

Figure 3. The functional connectivity pattern of seed region (i.e. left medial frontal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate gyrus) in the healthy control (HC group) and the patients with Hepatitis C Virus infection (HCV group). Compared with HC group, HCV group shows decreased functional connectivity between seed region and right middle frontal gyrus. The letters “L” and “R” represent the left and right sides, respectively.

Figure 4. The functional connectivity pattern of seed region (i.e. right middle and superior frontal gyrus) in the healthy control (HC group) and the patients with Hepatitis C Virus infection (HCV group). Compared with the HC group, the HCV group shows increased functional connectivity between the seed region and the left supramarginal gyrus/superior temporal gyrus and the right supramarginal gyrus. The letters “L” and “R” represent the left and right sides, respectively.

Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 29 (2021)
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