Hyperintense sensorimotor T1 spin echo MRI is associated with brainstem abnormality in chronic fatigue syndrome

Publication date: Available online 11 July 2018Source: NeuroImage: ClinicalAuthor(s): Leighton R. Barnden, Zack Y. Shan, Donald R. Staines, Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Kevin Finegan, Timothy Ireland, Sandeep BhutaAbstractWe recruited 43 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) subjects who met Fukuda criteria and 27 healthy controls and performed 3T MRI T1 and T2 weighted spin-echo (T1wSE and T2wSE) scans. T1wSE signal follows T1 relaxation rate (1/T1 relaxation time) and responds to myelin and iron (ferritin) concentrations. We performed MRI signal level group comparisons with SPM12. Spatial normalization after segmentation was performed using T2wSE scans and applied to the coregistered T1wSE scans. After global signal-level normalization of individual scans, the T1wSE group comparison detected decreased signal-levels in CFS in a brainstem region (cluster-based inference controlled for family wise error rate, PFWE= 0.002), and increased signal-levels in large bilateral clusters in sensorimotor cortex white matter (cluster PFWE < 0.0001). Moreover, regional brainstem T1wSE values were negatively correlated with sensorimotor values for both CFS (R2 = 0.31, P = 0.00007) and healthy controls (R2 = 0.34, P = 0.0009), and the regressions were co-linear. This relationship, previously unreported in either healthy controls or CFS, in view of known thalamic projection-fibre plasticity, suggests brainstem conduction deficits in CFS may stimulate the upregulation of myelin in the sensorimotor c...
Source: NeuroImage: Clinical - Category: Radiology Source Type: research