Differential Brain Structural and Functional Patterns in Crohn's Disease Patients are Associated with Different...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Gastroenterology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory condition with alternating active and remission phases.
• Previous neuroimaging studies primarily focused on CD patients in remission, leaving a gap in understanding inflammation's impact on the brain during active disease.
• This study investigates how different disease activity levels in CD influence brain structure and function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore differential effects of active inflammation versus remission on brain structure and function in Crohn's disease patients.
• To compare brain imaging findings between Crohn's disease patients with active inflammation (CD-A), in remission (CD-R), and healthy controls (HCs).

Main Methods:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including structural and functional sequences was performed on 14 CD-R patients, 19 CD-A patients, and 18 HCs.
• Between-group comparisons were conducted to identify morphological and functional brain differences.

Main Results:

• CD-A patients exhibited reduced gray matter in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) compared to CD-R patients.
• Resting-state fMRI revealed distinct connectivity patterns: increased fronto-parietal network connectivity in CD-R vs. CD-A, and decreased motor network connectivity in CD-A vs. HCs.
• Reduced connectivity in motor and language networks was observed in CD-R patients compared to HCs.

Conclusions:

• Brain morphological and functional changes in Crohn's disease are distinct between active and remission stages.
• These findings advance the understanding of the relationship between systemic inflammation in CD and neurological alterations.