MRI study of abnormal changes of brain structure in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy
Xia Xinjian1,2, Li Ning2, Chen Jinge1, Yu Qiaowen1, Hou Zhongyu1
1Department of Medical Imaging, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China; 2Department of Medical Imaging, Shouguang People's Hospital, Shouguang 262700, China
Abstract：Objective Abnormal changes in brain morphology in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) were discussed using deep learning brain age prediction and FreeSurfer image analysis software. Methods This retrospective case-control study recruited 144 patients with IGE diagnosed in the Department of Neurology of Shandong Provincial Hospital and Shouguang People's Hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. The participants consisted of 84 males and 60 females and aged 10-70 years. Based on the public brain imaging database (human connectivity group project, Chinese human connectivity group project), the T1-weighted (T1WI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the normal human brain was trained to deeply learn the brain age prediction model, and the brain cortex and white matter maps were inputted. The T1WI MRI of patients with IGE was incorporated into the brain age prediction model to obtain the predicted age of the brain. Twenty-seven untreated patients with early IGE were divided into the observation group and comprised 18 males and 9 females aged (16.1±3.2) years. Twenty-nine healthy volunteers matched with the age and sex of the observation group were recruited as the control group. These volunteers consisted of 19 males and 10 females aged (16.4±4.5) years who underwent MR examination. (1) The predicted age and the actual age of patients with IGE were compared among different age groups (10-20 years old, >20-30 years old, >30-40 years old, >40-50 years old, >50-60 years old, >60-70 years old). (2) Freesurfer software was used to analyze and compare the volume, thickness, surface area, and local morphology of the cerebral cortex between the observation and control groups. Results (1) In different age groups of IGE patients, except for >30-40 years old (t=-1.58, P=0.138), the predicted value of brain age was greater than the actual age, and the difference was statistically significant (all P values <0.05). (2) No significant difference in age, sex, education, and other baseline data was found between the observation and control groups (all P values >0.05). Compared with the control group, the cortical thickness of the left and right hemispheres in the observation group was slightly thinner (t=3.91,3.40; all P values <0.01), and the cortical volume and surface area of the two groups had no significant changes, and the difference was not statistically significant (all P values >0.05). Compared with the control group, the volume of the right orbitofrontal cortex in the observation group increased, and the volume of the cortex in the non-brain area decreased. The cortical thickness of the right posterior central gyrus, the posterior central gyrus near the left central sulcus, the posterior part of the right lingual gyrus, the left lingual gyrus, and the wedge increased. Meanwhile, the cortical thickness of the right anterior central gyrus, the bilateral superior frontal gyrus (dorsal), and the right entorhinal cortex decreased. The cortical surface area of the right parahippocampal gyrus increased, and that of the anencephalic area decreased. The volumes of left and right globus pallidus and right thalamus in the observation group were smaller than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=4.01,4.23,2.12; all P values <0.05). The volumes of left thalamus and bilateral caudate nucleus, putamen, hippocampus and amygdala in the two groups had little change, and the difference was not statistically significant (all P values >0.05). Conclusion The brain structure of patients with IGE changes abnormally at multiple age groups. The cerebral cortex and subcortical nuclei of patients with early IGE have only subtle structural abnormalities.
夏新建, 李宁, 陈金鸽, 于乔文, 侯中煜. 特发性全面性癫痫患者大脑结构异常改变的MRI研究[J]. 中华解剖与临床杂志, 2023, 28(3): 141-146.
Xia Xinjian, Li Ning, Chen Jinge, Yu Qiaowen, Hou Zhongyu. MRI study of abnormal changes of brain structure in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Chinese Journal of Anatomy and Clinics, 2023, 28(3): 141-146.
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2023, Vol. 28 
