Abstract:
While striatal changes in Huntington\'s Disease (HD) are well established, few studies have investigated changes in the hippocampus, a key neuronal hub. Using MRI scans obtained from the IMAGE-HD study, hippocampi were manually traced and then analysed with the Spherical Harmonic Point Distribution Method (SPHARM-PDM) in 36 individuals with presymptomatic-HD, 37 with early symptomatic-HD, and 36 healthy matched controls. There were no significant differences in overall hippocampal volume between groups. Interestingly we found decreased bilateral hippocampal volume in people with symptomatic-HD who took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared to those who did not, despite no significant differences in anxiety, depressive symptoms, or motor incapacity between the two groups. In symptomatic-HD, there was also significant shape deflation in the right hippocampal head, showing the utility of using manual tracing and SPHARM-PDM to characterise subtle shape changes which may be missed by other methods. This study confirms previous findings of the lack of hippocampal volumetric differentiation in presymptomatic-HD and symptomatic-HD compared to controls. We also find novel shape and volume findings in those with symptomatic-HD, especially in relation to decreased hippocampal volume in those treated with SSRIs.
摘要:
虽然亨廷顿病(HD)的纹状体变化是公认的,很少有研究调查海马体的变化,一个关键的神经元中枢.使用从IMAGE-HD研究中获得的MRI扫描,手动追踪海马,然后用球谐点分布法(SPHARM-PDM)对36例症状前-HD患者进行分析,37例早期有症状的HD,和36个健康匹配的对照。两组之间的总海马体积没有显着差异。有趣的是,我们发现,与那些没有服用选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂的患者相比,有症状的HD患者的双侧海马体积减少,尽管焦虑没有显着差异,抑郁症状,或两组之间的运动能力丧失。在有症状的HD中,右侧海马头部也有明显的形状收缩,显示使用手动跟踪和SPHARM-PDM来表征可能被其他方法遗漏的细微形状变化的实用性。这项研究证实了先前的发现,即与对照组相比,有症状的HD和有症状的HD缺乏海马体积分化。我们还在有症状的HD患者中发现了新颖的形状和体积发现,特别是与SSRIs治疗的海马体积减少有关。