MRI-Based Brain Connectivity Networks Predict Atrophy Progression in Parkinson's Disease, Study Finds

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a prospective study comprising participants with mild PD and controls recruited from a single center between 2012 and 2023. Participants diagnosed with PD underwent three-dimensional T1-weighted brain MRI scans to assess regional gray matter atrophy at baseline and annually for three years.

In healthy controls, structural and functional brain connectomes were generated using diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional MRI. Disease exposure (DE) indexes for each brain region were defined based on the connectivity patterns of all linked regions in the healthy connectome and the extent of atrophy observed in PD participants' connected regions. Partial correlations were examined between the structural and functional DE indexes of each GM region at one- or two-year follow-up and the progression of atrophy at a two- or three-year follow-up. Prediction models for atrophy progression at two- or three-year follow-ups were developed using exhaustive feature selection methods.

The study led to the following findings:

• The study included 86 participants with mild PD (mean age at MRI, 60 years ± 8; 48 male) and 60 healthy controls (mean age at MRI, 62 years ± 9; 31 female).
• DE indexes at 1 and 2 years correlated with atrophy at 2 and 3 years (r range, 0.22–0.33).
• Models including DE indexes predicted GM atrophy accumulation over three years in the right caudate nucleus and some frontal, parietal, and temporal brain regions (R2 range, 0.40–0.61).

"The functional and structural organization of the brain connectome plays a role in atrophy progression in the early stages of Parkinson's disease," the researchers wrote.

Reference:

https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.232454