1. Hippocampal subfields and thalamic nuclei associations with clinical outcomes in multiple sclerosis: An ultrahigh field MRI study.
- Author
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Santini T, Chen C, Zhu W, Liou JJ, Walker E, Venkatesh S, Farhat N, Sajewski A, Alkhateeb S, Saranathan M, Xia Z, and Ibrahim TS
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Adult, Middle Aged, Cross-Sectional Studies, Hippocampus diagnostic imaging, Hippocampus pathology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Thalamic Nuclei diagnostic imaging, Thalamic Nuclei pathology, Multiple Sclerosis diagnostic imaging, Multiple Sclerosis pathology
- Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown that thalamic and hippocampal neurodegeneration is associated with clinical decline in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, contributions of the specific thalamic nuclei and hippocampal subfields require further examination., Objective: Using 7 Tesla (7T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we investigated the cross-sectional associations between functionally grouped thalamic nuclei and hippocampal subfields volumes and T1 relaxation times (T1-RT) and subsequent clinical outcomes in MS., Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted and T2-weighted images were acquired at 7T (n=31), preprocessed, and segmented using the Thalamus Optimized Multi Atlas Segmentation (THOMAS, for thalamic nuclei) and the Automatic Segmentation of Hippocampal Subfields (ASHS, for hippocampal subfields) packages. We calculated Pearson correlations between hippocampal subfields and thalamic nuclei volumes and T1-RT and subsequent multi-modal rater-determined and patient-reported clinical outcomes (∼2.5 years after imaging acquisition), correcting for confounders and multiple tests., Results: Smaller volume bilaterally in the anterior thalamus region correlated with worse performance in gait function, as measured by the Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS). Additionally, larger volume in most functional groups of thalamic nuclei correlated with better visual information processing and cognitive function, as measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). In bilateral medial and left posterior thalamic regions, there was an inverse association between volumes and T1-RT, potentially indicating higher tissue degeneration in these regions. We also observed marginal associations between the right hippocampal subfields (both volumes and T1-RT) and subsequent clinical outcomes, though they did not survive correction for multiple testing., Conclusion: Ultrahigh field MRI identified markers of structural damage in the thalamic nuclei associated with subsequently worse clinical outcomes in individuals with MS. Longitudinal studies will enable better understanding of the role of microstructural integrity in these brain regions in influencing MS outcomes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Tamer S. Ibrahim reports financial support was provided by National Institutes of Health. Zongqi Xia reports financial support was provided by National Institutes of Health. Tales Santini reports financial support was provided by Coordination of Higher Education Personnel Improvement. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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