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Relationship of diffusion tensor imaging parameters with neurocognitive dysfunction in patients with Behcet’s disease

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Abstract

Behcet’s disease (BD) is a chronic, multisystemic, relapsing–remitting, progressive inflammatory disorder with unknown etiology. The aim of the study is to investigate the white matter integrity and subclinical brain parenchymal involvement in Behcet’s subjects by utilizing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and to correlate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) values measured from the diverse distinct anatomic locations with the disease duration time and neurocognitive function test results. Thirty-five adults with Behcet’s disease and 21 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Neurocognitive functions of the patients were evaluated with the Brief Repetable Battery-Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N). In both groups, DTI metrics were calculated from 19 different locations in the brain. The association between the DTI parameters and disease duration time and neurocognitive function test results were investigated. In Behcet’s disease, at the cingulum and the splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC), FA values were significantly lower compared with the controls (p = 0.0015, p = 0.003, respectively). The ADC values of the corona radiata and RD values of superior longitudinal fasciculus and SCC were significantly higher than the controls (p = 0.023, p = 0.028, p = 0.006, respectively). Significant negative correlations were found between the FA values of cingulum, genu of corpus callosum (GCC), posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) and disease duration time (r = − 0.368; p = 0.029 and r = − 0.337; p = 0.048 and r = − 0.527; p = 0.001 respectively). All BD subjects performed significantly lower test scores on the spatial recall test (SPART) (p = 0.001). In addition, negative correlation was found between the MD values of the parietooccipital white matter and the selective reminding test (SRT) results (r = − 0.353; p = 0.037). Our DTI study presented microstructural alterations in the neurocognitive-related areas and BRB-N test results even in patients without neurological symptoms which may imply insidious neurological involvement.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Associate Professor Ömer Uysal from the Department of Biostatistics for statistical analysis

Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Haseki Training and Research Hospital, Bezmialem Vakif University, 34625, Istanbul, Turkey

    Bahar Atasoy, Huseyin Toprak & Alpay Alkan

  2. Department of Dermatology, Bezmialem Vakif University, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ozlem Su Kucuk

  3. Department of Neurology, Bezmialem Vakif University, Bezmialem Vakif University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Rabia Selvitop, Asli Yaman & Esra Gursoy

Authors
  1. Bahar Atasoy
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  2. Huseyin Toprak
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  4. Rabia Selvitop
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  5. Asli Yaman
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  6. Esra Gursoy
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  7. Alpay Alkan
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Correspondence to Bahar Atasoy.

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The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

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Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

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Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. This study was supported by Bezmialem Vakif University Scientific research projects unit.

Study subjects or cohorts overlap

The subjects of the study have never been reported before.

Methodology

The study is prospective cross-sectional study.

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Atasoy, B., Toprak, H., Su Kucuk, O. et al. Relationship of diffusion tensor imaging parameters with neurocognitive dysfunction in patients with Behcet’s disease. Acta Neurol Belg 122, 1177–1186 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-021-01610-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-021-01610-8

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