Morphometric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Children With Primary Monosymptomatic Nocturnal Enuresis

ObjectivePrimary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) refers to bed-wetting in children who have no other lower urinary tract symptoms and are never dry for more than 6 months. Our previous studies demonstrated that children with PMNE exhibited brain functional abnormalities compared with healthy controls; however, researches on the abnormalities in gray matter were limited. This study aimed to investigate brain structural changes in gray matter of children with PMNE using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsGray matter volumes (GMVs) and gyrification indices (GIs) were calculated using voxel-based and surface-based morphometry analyses of structural MRI data acquired from 26 children with PMNE and 28 healthy children. To identify between-group differences in gray matter, two-sample t-tests were conducted on GMV and GI images separately.ResultsCompared with the controls, children with PMNE showed significantly increased GMVs in the supplementary motor area and medial prefrontal cortex regions (mean GMV in PMNE: 0.54 ± 0.07 l; mean GMV in controls: 0.50 ± 0.06 l) and reduced GIs in the right precuneus (mean GI in PMNE: 25.74° ± 2.34°; mean GI in controls: 27.97° ± 1.79°).ConclusionChildren with PMNE showed abnormal GMVs in frontal lobe and GIs in precuneus, and these changes might be involved in the pathological mechanism of PMNE.