Volume changes of subcortical structures in patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis: A magnetic resonance imaging...

To investigate volume changes of subcortical structures in patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis.

Thirty patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis (the cirrhosis group) and 24 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (the control group) were enrolled in this prospective study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological tests, blood biochemical determinations, and cerebral MRI. Volumes of 18 selected subcortical structures were automatically segmented and analyzed by the FreeSurfer. In the cirrhosis group, the relationships between abnormal subcortical volumes and clinical index or neurocognitive performance were investigated. The relationships between globus pallidus volumes and pallidal hyperintensity were also examined.

Compared with the healthy controls, patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis displayed smaller bilateral putamen, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens volumes and larger bilateral globus pallidus volumes (P<0.001 or P=0.001). In the cirrhosis group, the volumes of left putamen and amygdala were negatively correlated with the number connection test-A (NCT-A)(left putamen r=-0.410, P=0.034; left amygdala r=-0.439, P=0.022), and the volumes of bilateral globus pallidus were positively correlated with pallidal index (PI) (left globus pallidus r=0.889, P<0.001; right globus pallidus r=0.900, P<0.001).

Abnormalities of subcortical volumes appear bilaterally symmetrical in patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis. Atrophy of left putamen and amygdala might contribute to poor neurocognitive performance, and the manganese deposition might contribute to the increased globus pallidus volumes in patients with post-hepatitis B cirrhosis.