Primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) is an irreversible blinding eye disease. Previous neuroimaging studies have reported abnormal brain function changes in PACG patients, but the potential association of PACG with changes in brain functional networks remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the impact of PACG on brain networks, with the goal of enhancing understanding of its neurobiological mechanisms for improved diagnosis and treatment through the application of graph theory analysis.
MethodA cohort comprising 44 PACG patients and 44 healthy controls was recruited for the study. Functional brain networks were constructed based on fMRI data utilizing the Automated Anatomical Labeling 90 template. Subsequently, graph theory analysis was conducted to assess global metrics, nodal metrics, modular organization, and network-based statistics(NBS), facilitating a comparative analysis between PACG patients and the control group.
ResultThe global metrics( including small world and network e ciency) did not reveal signi cant differences between the two groups. However, PACG patients showed increased nodal metrics (including centrality and e ciency) in the left frontal superior medial, right frontal superior medial, and right posterior central brain regions, alongside decreased values in the right temporal superior gyrus region compared with health controls. Moreover, Module 5 demonstrated signi cant differences in intra-module connectivity, while signi cant variations in inter-module connectivity were observed between Module 1 and Module 7, as well as Module 1 and Module 8. Notably, the NBS analysis revealed a signi cantly modi ed network when comparing the PACG and HC groups.
Conclusionthe study suggests that PACG patients exhibit differences in nodal metrics and modularity of functional brain networks, with changes observed mainly in prefrontal, occipital, and temporal lobes, as well as cerebellar regions. However, global metrics analysis indicates that the global connectivity patterns of the entire brain network remain unchanged in PACG patients. These ndings may serve as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PACG, and interventions targeting brain regions with high degree centrality and nodal e ciency may help to optimize therapeutic strategies.With the advancement of neuroimaging techniques, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has emerged as a non-invasive method for measuring blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in diverse brain regions, offering valuable insight into neural activity. ( 14). fMRI plays a pivotal role in investigating the neural mechanism alterations associated with glaucoma. Prior research has revealed varying degrees of changes in brain structure and function in glaucoma patients. For instance, a study by Jiang found differences in the whole brain grey matter volume of glaucoma patients, primarily concentrated in multiple brain regions relevant to visual motion function, the thalamocortical pathway, and emotional function. These regions incl...