Dynamic Changes of Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations in Patients With Diabetic Retinopathy

Background: Growing evidence demonstrate that diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients have a high risk of cognitive decline and exhibit abnormal brain activity. However, neuroimaging studies thus far have focused on static cerebral activity changes in DR patients. The characteristics of dynamic cerebral activity in patients with DR are poorly understood. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the dynamic cerebral activity changes in patients with DR using the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) method. Materials and methods: Thirty-four DR patients (18 men and 16 women) and 38 healthy controls (HCs) (18 males and 20 females) closely matched in age, sex, and education were enrolled in this study. The dALFF method was used to investigate dynamic intrinsic brain activity differences between the DR and HC groups. Results: Compared with HCs, DR patients exhibited increased dALFF variability in the right brainstem, left cerebellum_8, left cerebellum_9, and left parahippocampal gyrus. In contrast, DR patients exhibited decreased dALFF variability in the left middle occipital gyrus and right middle occipital gyrus. Conclusion: Our study highlighted that DR patients showed abnormal variability of dALFF in the visual cortices, cerebellum, and parahippocampal gyrus. These findings suggest impaired visual and motor and memory function in DR individuals. Thus, abnormal dynamic spontaneous brain activity might be involved in the pathophysiology of DR.