Functional Changes in the Glymphatic System in Children With Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Study of Diffusion Tensor...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics

Background:

• The glymphatic system (GS) clears waste from the brain.
• Diffusion tensor imaging-analysis along the perivascular space (DTI-ALPS) and free-water (FW) mapping are noninvasive markers of GS function.
• Investigating GS function in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is crucial, especially during auditory development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate glymphatic system (GS) function in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).
• To assess the relationship between SNHL and GS function during sensitive auditory development periods.
• To evaluate the utility of DTI-ALPS and FW mapping in pediatric SNHL.

Main Methods:

• Enrolled 53 children with SNHL and 42 healthy controls (HC).
• Divided participants into two age groups: 0-36 months (Group A) and 36-180 months (Group B).
• Collected DTI data to calculate ALPS index and fractional volume of free water in white matter (FW-WM).

Main Results:

• Children with SNHL showed significantly lower ALPS index in both hemispheres compared to HC.
• Group B (36-180 months) SNHL children had significantly higher FW-WM and a negative correlation between FW-WM and ALPS index.
• Group A (0-36 months) SNHL children showed a significantly lower left-hemisphere ALPS index.

Conclusions:

• Children with SNHL, especially those over 3 years old, may have compromised cerebral glymphatic function.
• This compromise may be due to impaired clearance and interstitial fluid retention.
• Integrating DTI-ALPS with FW mapping offers a promising approach for noninvasive evaluation of glymphatic function in SNHL.