Neuropsychiatric manifestations, such as cognitive impairment, are relatively prevalent in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. This study aimed to investigate the resting state (RS) functional alternations of SSc patients and the potential influenced factors. Forty-four SSc patients (mean age, 46.3 ± 11.4 years; 40 females) and 19 age and sex comparable healthy volunteers (mean age, 42.6 ± 11.3 years; 16 females) were recruited and underwent RS functional MR imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Functional segregation analysis was performed to calculate the amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo). Functional integration analysis was conducted using group independent component analysis to calculate intra-network and inter-network functional connectivity (FC). The fMRI measurements were compared between SSc patients and healthy volunteers using voxel-based pairwise two-sample t-tests. The correlations between clinical characteristics and fMRI measurements were also analyzed. Compared to healthy volunteers, SSc patients exhibited significantly decreased ALFF and increased ReHo (all P < 0.01, FWE corrected). SSc patients predominantly showed decreased intra-network and inter-network FC in the auditory network, visual network, default mode network, frontoparietal network and attention network (intra-network FC: P < 0.01, uncorrected, cluster size > 30; inter-network FC: P < 0.05, FDR correction). Furthermore, clinical characteristics including disease duration (r value ranged from − 0.31 to 0.36), elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = 0.35), Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (r = 0.43), and Hamilton Depression Scale score (r = -0.40) were significantly associated with fMRI measurements (all P < 0.05). Spontaneous activity and functional connectivity alternations can be seen in SSc patients, which are partially associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations and tend to aggravate with disease duration.

中文翻译：

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系统性硬化症患者的脑功能交替：静息态功能磁共振成像研究


神经精神表现，例如认知障碍，在系统性硬化症 （SSc） 患者中相对普遍。本研究旨在探讨 SSc 患者静息态 （RS） 功能变化及其潜在影响因素。招募了 44 名 SSc 患者 （平均年龄 46.3 ± 11.4 岁;40 名女性） 和 19 名年龄和性别相当的健康志愿者 （平均年龄 42.6 ± 11.3 岁;16 名女性） 并接受了 RS 功能性 MR 成像 （fMRI） 和神经心理学评估。进行功能分离分析以计算低频波动 （ALFF） 和区域均匀性 （ReHo） 的幅度。使用组独立组件分析进行功能集成分析，以计算网络内和网络间功能连接 （FC）。使用基于体素的成对双样本 t 检验比较 SSc 患者和健康志愿者的 fMRI 测量值。还分析了临床特征与 fMRI 测量之间的相关性。与健康志愿者相比，SSc 患者 ALFF 显著降低，ReHo 升高 （均 P < 0.01，FWE 校正）。SSc 患者主要在听觉网络、视觉网络、默认模式网络、额顶网络和注意力网络中表现出网络内和网络间 FC 降低 （网络内 FC： P < 0.01，未校正，簇大小 > 30;网络间 FC： P < 0.05，FDR 校正）。此外，病程 （r 值范围为 -0.31 至 0.36）、红细胞沉降率升高 （r = 0.35）、蒙特利尔认知评估评分 （r = 0.43） 和汉密尔顿抑郁量表评分 （r = -0.40） 等临床特征与 fMRI 测量显著相关 （均 P < 0.05）。 在 SSc 患者中可见自发活动和功能连接变化，这部分与神经精神表现相关，并且往往会随着疾病持续时间的增加而加重。