A Resting-state FMRI Study Of Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy With Non-alcoholic Cirrhosis Based On ALFF And ReHo

Background As an early stage of hepatic encephalopathy,MHE patients have no clinical symptoms and clinical signs that can be detected by the naked eye,but after careful examination,the patient’s cognitive judgment ability declines,visual motor function declines,and mildness Potential effects such as decreased attention and decreased memory.In patients with decompensated cirrhosis,the incidence of MHE is high.Previous studies have shown that the course of MHE is reversible,and appropriate treatment of MHE patients at an early stage can improve cognitive function and quality of life.Because of resting state functional magnetic resonance non-invasive,no radiation,patient compliance,and early detection of functional changes in brain tissue,it helps to provide clinical intervention in the period of functional change,so in the study of MHE Unique advantages.As a different functional algorithm,ALFF and ReHo can reflect the changes of neural activity in related brain regions from different angles.Objective Changes in neuronal functional activity in patients with MHE based on nonalcoholic cirrhosis were demonstrated by ALFF and ReHo methods.Methods Twenty-two patients with MHE(MHE group),23 patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis without MHE(NHE group),and 31 healthy controls(HC group)underwent a BOLD-fMRI scan at rest to obtain a functional sequence.Brain regions with statistically significant differences in ALFF and ReHo values between groups were obtained using advanced post-processing software,and the clinical significance of the corresponding differential brain regions was analyzed.Results Compared with the HC group,the ALFF was differences in the right insula,the right putamen,the right precuneus,the bilateral cuneus,the bilateral occipital lobe and parietal lobe and other brain regions in MHE group.However,the ALFF was differences in the bilateral hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus,the left cuneus,some regions of left temporal lobe in NHE group(all P<0.05).Compared with the NHE group,there was no significant difference in brain areas(P>0.05).Compared with HC group,the ReHo was differences in the right middle frontal gyrus,the right precuneus,the bilateral cuneus and other brain regions.Moreover,the ReHo was differences in the bilateral caudate nucleus,the right anterior cingulum gyrus,the right precuneus,the bilateral cuneus and other brain regions in NHE group(all P<0.05).Compared with NHE group,there also was no significant difference in brain areas(P>0.05).Conclusion Function magnetic resonance imaging can be used to assess the early changes in MHE patients without non-alcoholic cirrhosis.meanwhile,it provides the basis for studying the mechanism of the function recovery.