Reorganization of the structural connectome in primary open angle Glaucoma

Ciò, Francesco Di; Garaci, Francesco; Minosse, Silvia; Passamonti, Luca; Martucci, Alessio; Lanzafame, Simona; Giuliano, Francesca Di; Picchi, Eliseo; Cesareo, Massimo; Guerrisi, Maria; Floris, Roberto; Nucci, Carlo Alberto; Toschi, Nicola

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102419

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Thus, we speculated that the PACG might lead to the reorganization of auditory and cognitive function. Similar results that no disruption of measures were also observed in a previous study regarding glaucoma patients ( 39 – 41 ), hinting that the efficiency of communication in the brain network was conserved and the brain was homogeneously well reorganized.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Altered functional connectivity of the thalamus in primary angle-closure glaucoma patients: A resting-state fMRI study

Wang

Chen²,

Cai³

et al. 2022

Front. Neurol.

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Background and objectivesGlaucoma is one of the leading irreversible causes of blindness worldwide, and previous studies have shown that there is abnormal functional connectivity (FC) in the visual cortex of glaucoma patients. The thalamus is a relay nucleus for visual signals; however, it is not yet clear how the FC of the thalamus is altered in glaucoma. This study investigated the alterations in thalamic FC in patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) by using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). We hypothesized that PACG patients have abnormal FC between the thalamus and visual as well as extravisual brain regions.MethodsClinically confirmed PACG patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) were evaluated by T1 anatomical and functional MRI on a 3 T scanner. Thirty-four PACG patients and 33 HCs were included in the rs-fMRI analysis. All PACG patients underwent complete ophthalmological examinations; included retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), intraocular pressure (IOP), average cup-to-disc ratio (A-C/D), and vertical cup-to-disc ratio (V-C/D). After the MRI data were preprocessed, the bilateral thalamus was chosen as the seed point; and the differences in resting-state FC between groups were evaluated. The brain regions that significantly differed between PACG patients and HCs were identified, and the correlations were then evaluated between the FC coefficients of these regions and clinical variables.ResultsCompared with the HCs, the PACG patients showed decreased FC between the bilateral thalamus and right transverse temporal gyrus, between the bilateral thalamus and left anterior cingulate cortex, and between the left thalamus and left insula. Concurrently, increased FC was found between the bilateral thalamus and left superior frontal gyrus in PACG patients. The FC between the bilateral thalamus and left superior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with RNFLT and negatively correlated with the A-C/D and V-C/D. The FC between the left thalamus and left insula was negatively correlated with IOP.ConclusionExtensive abnormal resting-state functional connections between the thalamus and visual and extravisual brain areas were found in PACG patients, and there were certain correlations with clinical variables, suggesting that abnormal thalamic FC plays an important role in the progression of PACG.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Altered functional connectivity of the thalamus in primary angle-closure glaucoma patients: A resting-state fMRI study

Wang

Chen²,

Cai³

et al. 2022

Front. Neurol.

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“…NTG changes the information processing in the brain by reorganizing the information flows between visual cortices and non-visual brain areas, and these alterations are consistent with microstructural injury of visual cortices [ 69 ]. Li reported decreased information outflows in NTG patients from the left BA17 to bilateral cuneus and increased effective connectivity, reflecting integration within a distributed system, from BA19 and BA18 to cuneus (BA17) [ 70 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual Tract Degradation in Bilateral Normal-Tension Glaucoma—Cortical Thickness Maps and Volumetric Study of Visual Pathway Areas

Pankowska

Matwiejczuk

Kozioł

et al. 2022

JCM

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The aim of the study was to evaluate changes in the central visual pathways during the early and advanced stages of bilateral normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). Methods: The studied groups constituted patients with bilateral normal-tension glaucoma of the same stage (n = 45) and age-matched healthy volunteers (n = 17). All patients underwent ophthalmic examination and examination on a 1.5 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Scanner (Optima 360, GE Healthcare). Volume and cortical thickness analyses were performed using the open-source automated software package FreeSurfer. Results: There was a significant difference in lateral geniculate nuclei volume between the control and advanced glaucoma groups in the right hemisphere (p = 0.03) and in the left hemisphere between the early and advanced glaucoma patients (p = 0.026). The optic chiasm volume differed significantly between the control and advanced NTG groups (p = 0.0003) and between early and advanced glaucoma patients (p = 0.004). Mean cortical thickness analysis revealed a significant increase in values in the advanced glaucoma group in the right Brodmann area 17 (BA17) (p = 0.007) and right BA18 (p = 0.049) as compared to early NTG. In the left BA18 area, the mean thickness of the cortex in the early glaucoma group was significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The increase in the grey matter thickness in the V1 region with more-advanced glaucoma stages may reflect compensatory hypertrophy. Additionally, the regions of the brain early affected during glaucoma with reduced thickness were the right lateral occipital gyrus and left lingual gyrus. The most prominent change during the course of glaucoma was the increase in grey matter thickness in the right cuneus.

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“…Furthermore, this study showed that, while the diffuse structural and functional abnormalities of the entire brain during glaucoma are partially due to nerve damage and degeneration caused by elevated intraocular pressure, they are also partially independent of elevated intraocular pressure and subsequent retinal degeneration (Giorgio et al, 2018 ). Recent imaging evidence shows that in the imaging examination of glaucoma patients, the effective connectivity between the visual cortex and the entire brain is significantly reduced (Li et al, 2020 ), and the decrease in visual acuity in POAG patients is driven by a combination of local (i.e., in the eyes) and broader (i.e., brain) effects (Di Cio et al, 2020 ). Studies of both animal models and human glaucoma patients have shown that there is damage to the central nervous system during glaucoma.…”

Section: Transneuronal Degeneration In Glaucoma Brainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transneuronal Degeneration in the Brain During Glaucoma

You

Rong

Zeng

et al. 2021

Front. Aging Neurosci.

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The death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) is a key factor in the pathophysiology of all types of glaucoma, but the mechanism of pathogenesis of glaucoma remains unclear. RGCs are a group of central nervous system (CNS) neurons whose soma are in the inner retina. The axons of RGCs form the optic nerve and converge at the optic chiasma; from there, they project to the visual cortex via the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the dysfunction and death of CNS and retinal neurons caused by transneuronal degeneration of RGCs, and the view that glaucoma is a widespread neurodegenerative disease involving CNS damage appears more and more frequently in the literature. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of LGN and visual cortex neuron damage in glaucoma and possible mechanisms behind the damage. This review presents an updated and expanded view of neuronal damage in glaucoma, and reveals new and potential targets for neuroprotection and treatment.

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Reorganization of the structural connectome in primary open angle Glaucoma

Cited by 28 publications

References 83 publications

Altered functional connectivity of the thalamus in primary angle-closure glaucoma patients: A resting-state fMRI study

Altered functional connectivity of the thalamus in primary angle-closure glaucoma patients: A resting-state fMRI study

Visual Tract Degradation in Bilateral Normal-Tension Glaucoma—Cortical Thickness Maps and Volumetric Study of Visual Pathway Areas

Transneuronal Degeneration in the Brain During Glaucoma

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