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A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy
Published on: November 13, 2016
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Functional brain connectivity in young adults with post-stroke epilepsy.
Esther M Boot1, Quinty P M Omes1, Noortje Maaijwee2
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Neurology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen 6525GA, The Netherlands.
Brain Communications
|November 13, 2023
Summary
Young stroke patients developing epilepsy show weaker, less-integrated brain networks. This functional reorganization is linked to cognitive impairment, particularly in processing speed.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Post-stroke epilepsy affects 10% of young stroke survivors (18-50 years) and is linked to cognitive deficits.
- Altered brain connectivity is known in epilepsy, but its role in young stroke patients with post-stroke epilepsy and cognitive impairment is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate functional brain network alterations in young ischemic stroke patients with post-stroke epilepsy.
- To determine the relationship between these network changes and cognitive impairment.
Main Methods:
- 164 young ischemic stroke patients (18-50 years) and 77 controls underwent neuropsychological testing and resting-state functional MRI.
- Graph theoretical analysis was used to assess functional connectivity networks over a 10.5-year follow-up.
Main Results:
- Participants with post-stroke epilepsy exhibited weaker, less-integrated, and less-segregated functional networks compared to those without epilepsy and controls.
- A trend towards decreased network efficiency was observed in contralesional brain regions (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex, precuneus).
- Post-stroke epilepsy patients showed more frequent processing speed impairments, with precuneus network properties correlating with performance.
Conclusions:
- Post-stroke epilepsy in young ischemic stroke patients is associated with significant functional brain network reorganization.
- This disrupted network, particularly involving contralesional hub regions, may underlie cognitive impairment in these patients.
- Findings support a role for disrupted functional networks in the pathophysiology of cognitive deficits following stroke and epilepsy.
