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Increased FDG uptake in the ipsilesional sensorimotor cortex in congenital hemiplegia
Yves Vandermeeren1, Etienne Olivier, Guillaume Sébire
1Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Catholique de Louvain School of Medicine, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Children with congenital hemiplegia show increased brain metabolism in motor areas, unlike adults with stroke. This suggests long-term adaptation in their developing brains, potentially involving synaptic changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Congenital hemiplegia (CH) is a motor disorder affecting one side of the body.
- Subcortical lesions are a common cause of CH in children.
- Brain metabolism in CH is not well understood, especially in developing brains.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate resting brain metabolism in children with subcortical congenital hemiplegia.
- To compare brain metabolism in CH children with healthy controls.
- To explore potential adaptive mechanisms in the developing brain.
Main Methods:
- Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to measure 18F-labeled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) uptake.
- Six children with right congenital hemiplegia and six age-matched controls participated.
- Statistical parametric mapping (SPM99) was employed for group comparisons.
Main Results:
- CH children exhibited higher FDG uptake in ipsilesional motor and somatosensory cortices, and contralesional motor cortex.
- Control subjects showed higher FDG uptake in temporal, hippocampal, thalamic, and frontal regions.
- Crossed cerebellar diaschisis was not observed in the CH children.
Conclusions:
- Children with CH display distinct patterns of brain metabolism compared to adult stroke patients.
- Increased metabolism in motor areas may represent adaptive plasticity in the developing brain.
- Findings suggest potential changes in synaptic density or glucose transporter activity in CH.
Abstract:
The resting brain metabolism was estimated in six children suffering from a right congenital hemiplegia (CH) of subcortical origin. This estimate was based on the 18F-labeled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) uptake measured by means of positron emission tomography and compared, using statistical parametric mapping (SPM99), with that of six control subjects. The contrast [CH children - Controls] showed that CH children had two loci of relatively higher FDG uptake. The larger voxel cluster was found in the ipsilesional hemisphere and comprised the primary motor and somatosensory cortices and left inferior parietal lobule. The other cluster was located in the contralesional hemisphere and encompassed the primary motor cortex, callosomarginal sulcus, and cingulate gyrus. The reverse contrast [Controls - CH children] showed that control subjects had a relatively higher FDG uptake bilaterally in the temporal and hippocampal gyri, the rostral part of the brain stem, the thalami, the putamen, and the superior frontal gyri. A crossed cerebellar diaschisis was not observed in CH children. This relatively higher FDG uptake in the ipsi- and contralesional motor areas of CH children stands out in contrast to the hypometabolism (diaschisis) frequently observed in adult stroke patients with a subcortical lesion. This increased FDG uptake in the disconnected ipsilesional motor areas may reflect a long-term adaptation leading, for example, to an increased synaptic density and/or activity or to a change in the density of glucose transporters.