Evaluating white matter alterations in Parkinson's disease-related parkin S/N167 mutation carriers using tract-based spatial statistics

• Main Authors: Cai, G. (Author), Chen, L. (Author), Chen, X. (Author), Hong, W. (Author), Wang, Y. (Author), Ye, Q. (Author), Yu, J. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AME Publishing Company 2022
• Subjects: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI); parkin gene S/N 167 polymorphism; Parkinson's disease (PD); white matter alteration
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Background: Genetic susceptibility plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). parkin S/N167 mutations may increase the risk of PD and affect white matter fibers in the brain. This cross-sectional study explored the effects of gene polymorphisms on white matter fiber damage in PD. Methods: In all, 54 cases were enrolled in the study, including PD patients carrying parkin gene S/N167 mutations (G/A), PD patients without gene S/N167 mutations (G/G), and healthy controls (HC). The whole-brain white matter fiber skeleton was analyzed using the tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests were used for data analyses. Results: Two classification methods were used; one was based on disease classification, with 26 patients in the PD group (n=12 G/G, n=14 G/A) and 28 in the HC group (n=15 G/G, n=13 G/A), and the other was based on genetic classification, with 27 patients in the G/G group and 27 in the G/A group. In the G/A group, there was a wide range of significant changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and mean diffusivity (MD) values (P<0.05). There was also a significant decrease in FA in the PD-G/A group compared with the PD-G/G and HC-G/A groups (P<0.05). Conclusions: There were more extensive brain white matter fiber damage and changes in PD patients; the G/A polymorphism may cause more extensive brain white matter damage. © Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. All rights reserved