Brain Functional Network Analysis of Patients with Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Glaucoma is associated with neuronal degeneration, but functional brain network topology differences in primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) are understudied.
• Resting-state fMRI reveals spontaneous brain activity patterns relevant to neurological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate alterations in functional brain network topology and efficiency in patients with PACG.
• To compare network properties between PACG patients and healthy controls using graph theory.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state fMRI data acquired from 33 PACG patients and 33 matched healthy controls.
• Functional connectivity networks constructed and analyzed using graph theoretical approaches.
• Partial correlations assessed between altered regional network values and clinical glaucoma parameters (RNFLT, V C/D).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in global topological network measures between PACG patients and controls.
• Significant regional topological alterations observed in PACG patients, affecting visual, somatomotor, and cognition-emotion networks.
• Right superior parietal gyrus efficiency correlated with RNFLT and V C/D; left middle frontal gyrus betweenness correlated with V C/D.

Conclusions:

• Regional network inefficiencies and compensatory increases in local properties in PACG patients maintain global network integrity.
• Functional brain network alterations in PACG extend beyond visual processing areas.