Structural and Functional Changes of Brain in Children With Intermittent Exotropia: A Study Combining Multiple MRI Modalities

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Title Structural and Functional Changes of Brain in Children With Intermittent Exotropia: A Study Combining Multiple MRI Modalities
Creator Hui Zhu; Wei Guo; Qian Wu; Hao Hu; Xiaoquan Xu; Feiyun Wu; Jiangbo Du; Hu Liu; Zhibin Hu
Affiliation Ophthalmology (HZ, WG, HL), The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Radiology (QW, HH, XX, FW), The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine (JD, ZH), Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; and Epidemiology (JD, ZH), School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
Abstract Background: To investigate structural and functional changes of brain in children with intermittent exotropia (IXT) and their relationship with clinical features. Methods: Twenty-one IXT patients (mean age 9.38 ± 2.62 years) and 21 age-, gender-, education-, and handedness-matched healthy controls (HCs, mean age 9.52 ± 3.28 years) underwent high-resolution T1 imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). The gray and white matter volume analyzed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) based on T1 imaging, the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) indices based on DTI, and the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) value based on rs-fMRI were compared between these 2 groups. The correlations between MRI-derived parameters in significant brain regions and various clinical characteristics of IXT were analyzed. Results: Compared with HCs, IXT children showed significantly decreased FA in right precentral gyrus (PRG) and right postcentral gyrus (POG), and significantly decreased ALFF in bilateral calcarine sulcus, bilateral cuneus, left lingual gyrus, and left superior occipital gyrus. The FA value in right PRG and right POG was negatively correlated with disease duration (r = -0.520, P = 0.016), angle of exodeviation at near (r = -0.549, P = 0.010), and angle of exodeviation at distance (r = -0.547, P = 0.010). Conclusions: IXT children exhibited abnormalities of white matter microstructure and reduced spontaneous neural activities in brain regions involving in oculomotor performance and binocular fusion. Further studies are needed to determine whether these findings are related to the neuropathologic mechanism or downstream changes of IXT.
Subject Brain / diagnostic imaging; Brain / pathology; Child; Chronic Disease; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Diffusion Tensor Imaging / methods; Exotropia / diagnostic imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Date 2023-12
Date Digital 2023-12
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Language eng
Format application/pdf
Type Text
Publication Type Journal Article
Source Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, December 2023, Volume 43, Issue 4
Collection Neuro-Ophthalmology Virtual Education Library: Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology Archives: https://novel.utah.edu/jno/
Publisher Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Rights Management © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society
ARK ark:/87278/s6qqejs2
Setname ehsl_novel_jno
ID 2635316
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qqejs2
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