Altered white matter structural connectivity in primary Sjögren's syndrome: a link-based analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Rheumatology

Background:

• Cognitive impairment is a known issue in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS).
• Underlying white matter structural connectivity (SC) changes in pSS remain understudied.
• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can reveal brain network alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate altered white matter brain networks in pSS patients.
• Utilize DTI to assess structural connectivity (SC) changes.
• Correlate SC alterations with cognitive function and clinical data.

Main Methods:

• 41 pSS patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs) underwent DTI and neuropsychological tests.
• Structural brain networks were constructed using DTI data.
• Link-based SC comparison between pSS and HCs, with adjustments for multiple comparisons.

Main Results:

• pSS patients exhibited decreased SC primarily in frontal and parietal lobes.
• Increased SC was observed between the right caudate nucleus and cingulate gyri.
• Reduced SC between left temporal and occipital gyri negatively correlated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH).

Conclusions:

• pSS patients display widespread decreased SC, mainly in the frontoparietal network.
• A negative correlation exists between reduced SC and WMH in pSS.
• SC alterations may serve as a biomarker for preclinical brain impairment in pSS.