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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Parkinson’s Disease and Aging-related Movement Disorders
Volume 16 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1426754
This article is part of the Research Topic The Neuroscience of Parkinson's Disease: Exploring Causes, Symptoms, and Potential Treatments View all articles

Thalamic-limbic circuit dysfunction and white matter topological alteration in Parkinson's disease are correlated with gait disturbance

Provisionally accepted
Qingguo Ren Qingguo Ren 1Shuai Zhao Shuai Zhao 1*Rong Yu Rong Yu 2*Ziliang Xu Ziliang Xu 3Shuangwu Liu Shuangwu Liu 4Bin Zhang Bin Zhang 5*Qicai Sun Qicai Sun 6*Qingjun Jiang Qingjun Jiang 1*cuiping zhao cuiping zhao 1*Xiangshui Meng Xiangshui Meng 1*
  • 1 Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
  • 2 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 3 Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
  • 4 School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 5 Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao), Qingdao, Shandong, China
  • 6 People's Hospital of Xuecheng, Zaozhuang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Limbic structures have recently garnered increased attention in Parkinson's disease (PD) research. This study aims to explore changes at the whole-brain level in the structural network, specifically the white matter fibres connecting the thalamus and limbic system, and their correlation with the clinical characteristics of patients with PD.Methods: Between December 2020 and November 2021, we prospectively enrolled 42 patients with PD and healthy controls at the movement disorder centre. All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), 3D T1-weighted imaging (3D-T1WI), and routine brain magnetic resonance imaging on a 3.0T MR scanner. We employed the tract-based spatial statistical (TBSS) analytic approach, examined structural network properties, and conducted probabilistic fibre tractography to identify alterations in white matter pathways and the topological organisation associated with PD.In patients with PD, significant changes were observed in the fibrous tracts of the prefrontal lobe, corpus callosum, and thalamus. Notably, the fibrous tracts in the prefrontal lobe and corpus callosum showed a moderate negative correlation with the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q) scores (r = -0.423, p = 0.011). The hippocampus and orbitofrontal gyrus exhibited more fibre bundle parameter changes than other limbic structures. The mean streamline length between the thalamus and the orbitofrontal gyrus demonstrated a moderate negative correlation with Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) III (r = -0.435, p = 0.006).Topological parameters, including characteristic path length (Lp), global efficiency (Eg), normalised shortest path length (λ) and nodal local efficiency (Nle), correlated moderately with the MDS-UPDRS, HAMA, MoCA, PDQ-39, and FOG-Q, respectively.DTI is a valuable tool for detecting changes in water molecule dispersion and the topological structure of the brain in patients with PD. The thalamus may play a significant role in the gait abnormalities observed in PD.

    Keywords: Parkinson ' s disease, DTI - Diffusion tensor imaging, Freeing of gait, MRI, network neurodegeneration

    Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 02 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Ren, Zhao, Yu, Xu, Liu, Zhang, Sun, Jiang, zhao and Meng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Shuai Zhao, Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
    Rong Yu, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250355, Shandong Province, China
    Bin Zhang, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266035, Shandong, China
    Qicai Sun, People's Hospital of Xuecheng, Zaozhuang, China
    Qingjun Jiang, Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
    cuiping zhao, Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
    Xiangshui Meng, Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Qingdao, China

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