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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1455294

Glymphatic system dysfunction associated with cognitive impairment in chronic tinnitus patients

Provisionally accepted
Yinjuan Du Yinjuan Du 1Zhichun Huang Zhichun Huang 1Yuanqing Wu Yuanqing Wu 2Yuan Xue Yuan Xue 3*Zigang Che Zigang Che 4*
  • 1 Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 2 Department of Otolaryngology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Nanjing Pukou People’s Hospital, Nanjing, China
  • 4 Department of Radiology, Nanjing Tongren Hospital, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China

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

    Background: The glymphatic system has been regarded as a pivotal factor in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Given the heightened risk of cognitive impairment in chronic tinnitus patients, the possible alterations of the glymphatic system in tinnitus patients remain elusive. This study was designed to evaluate glymphatic dysfunction in chronic tinnitus patients using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) approach.Methods: Fifty chronic tinnitus patients and 50 age, sex, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) with normal hearing thresholds were recruited. The DTI-ALPS was calculated from each group. We investigated the differences in the DTI-ALPS index between the tinnitus patients and HCs. The relationships between the DTI-ALPS index and specific cognitive performance were further assessed.Results: There were significant differences in the DTI-ALPS index between the two groups. The DTI-ALPS index was significantly lower in the tinnitus group than in HCs group (p<0.01). In addition, the Dyyproj index was significantly higher in the tinnitus group than in the HC group (p<0.01). In chronic tinnitus patients, the decreased DTI-ALPS index was negatively associated with worse TMT-B scores (r=-0.309, p=0.039). Moreover, the increased Dyyproj index was negatively correlated with the reduced AVLT performances (r=-0.413, p=0.005).In this current study, glymphatic system activity in chronic tinnitus was investigated for the first time using DTI-ALPS index. Significant decrease in glymphatic system function was detected in chronic tinnitus, which correlated well with the specific cognitive performance. The current study may provide pivotal imaging markers for chronic tinnitus with cognitive impairment.

    Keywords: chronic tinnitus, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Glymphatic system, cognitive impairment

    Received: 26 Jun 2024; Accepted: 26 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Du, Huang, Wu, Xue and Che. 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:
    Yuan Xue, Nanjing Pukou People’s Hospital, Nanjing, China
    Zigang Che, Department of Radiology, Nanjing Tongren Hospital, Nanjing, 211102, Liaoning Province, China

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