Brain functional changes in patients with Crohn's disease: A resting-state fMRI study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gastroenterology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic intestinal inflammatory condition.
• CD is associated with poor adaptation and stress response.
• Neurological mechanisms underlying these CD symptoms remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate brain activity alterations in Crohn's disease patients.
• Examine the relationship between altered brain regions and clinical metrics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on 15 CD patients and 26 healthy controls.
• Assessed spontaneous brain activity using Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations (ALFF) and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo).
• Conducted functional connectivity (FC) analyses and correlated brain activity with disease duration.

Main Results:

• CD patients exhibited higher ALFF in frontal regions and lower in the hippocampus.
• Increased ReHo was observed in the anterior cingulate cortex, motor areas, putamen, and frontal gyri.
• Enhanced FC was detected in regions linked to emotional, pain, and cognitive functions.

Conclusions:

• Crohn's disease is associated with abnormal neural activity and functional connectivity.
• These alterations are primarily in brain regions governing emotion, pain, and cognition.
• Findings offer insights into the neurological underpinnings of Crohn's disease.