Aberrant Resting-State Functional Connectivity Density in Patients with Hepatitis B Virus-Related Cirrhosis

Biomed Res Int. 2016:2016:4168512. doi: 10.1155/2016/4168512. Epub 2016 Jun 14.

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that cirrhosis may affect functional connectivity among various brain regions in patients prior to onset of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE). However, most investigators have focused mainly on alterations in functional connectivity strengths, and the changes in functional connectivity density (FCD) are largely unknown. Here, we investigated alterations in resting-state FCD in patients with hepatitis B virus-related cirrhosis (HBV-RC) without overt HE. Totally, 31 patients with HBV-RC without overt HE and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional MRI examinations. FCD mapping was employed to compute local and global FCD maps. Then, short-range and long-range FCD values were calculated and voxel-based comparisons were performed between the two groups. The HBV-RC group showed significant decreases in FCD, including decreased short-range FCDs in the bilateral middle cingulum gyrus/precuneus, the bilateral cuneus, and the left lingual gyrus/inferior occipital gyrus and decreased long-range FCD in the bilateral cuneus/precuneus. In addition, the decreased long-range FCD in the bilateral cuneus/precuneus in the HBV-RC group was related to performance on the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) test. These findings suggest aberrant functional connectivity density in cirrhotic patients prior to overt HE onset, which may provide better insight into understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the cirrhotic-related cognitive impairment.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain / physiopathology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Female
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / complications
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / diagnostic imaging*
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / physiopathology
  • Hepatic Encephalopathy / virology
  • Hepatitis B virus / pathogenicity
  • Humans
  • Liver Cirrhosis / complications
  • Liver Cirrhosis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / physiopathology*
  • Liver Cirrhosis / virology
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Membrane Potentials / physiology
  • Middle Aged