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Aberrant brain structural large-scale connectome in Crohn's disease
Anne K Thomann1, Wolfgang Reindl1, Torsten Wüstenberg2
1Department of Medicine II, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Neurogastroenterology and Motility
|April 16, 2019
Summary
Crohn's disease (CD) patients exhibit altered brain network organization, with reduced global network segregation and regional connectivity changes. This may explain comorbid anxiety and depression in inflammatory bowel disease.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Gastroenterology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn's disease (CD) are linked to disturbed brain-gut interactions and psychiatric symptoms.
- Brain alterations in IBD patients show heterogeneous results, with unclear whether they are localized deficits or systemic network disruptions.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the gray matter structural connectome in patients with Crohn's disease (CD).
- Determine if brain changes in CD represent localized deficits or systematic disruption of large-scale brain networks.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high-resolution 3T brain MRI on 30 quiescent CD patients and 30 healthy controls (HC).
- Analyzed global and regional network properties using graph theoretical metrics.
Main Results:
- Both groups displayed small-world brain network organization.
- CD patients showed significantly reduced global network segregation (transitivity).
- Regional analysis revealed decreased connectivity in the right insula, cuneus, left superior frontal cortex, left cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex in CD patients.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the hypothesis of altered global and regional brain network organization in CD.
- Understanding neural network changes in IBD may aid in treating comorbid conditions like depression and anxiety.