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Original Article
A pilot study of resting-state brain function in naive patients with primary hypothyroidism
QIN Rui  ZHAO Lianping  HAN Yalan  SHAO Feifei  CAO Jiancang  GUO Qian  TIAN Limin 

Cite this article as: Qin R, Zhao LP, Han YL, et al. A pilot study of resting-state brain function in naive patients with primary hypothyroidism[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2022, 13(1): 81-85. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2022.01.016.


[Abstract] Objective To explore the neurophysiological mechanisms of the brain damage in naive patients with primary hypothyroidism by using the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) of the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).Meterials and Methods: Twenty-five untreated patient with hypothyroidism (hypothyroidism group) and 19 healthy volunteers (healthy control group) were assessed with cognitive psychological scales and cranial rs-fMRI scan. The two-sample t test was used to compare the difference of whole brain fALFF value between groups and Pearson correlation analysis with clinical variables and cognitive psychological scores.Results In the hypothyroidism group, the cognitive scores of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (P=0.009), and the scores of Hamilton Depression Scale-24 and Hamilton Anxiety Scale increased (P=0.013; P=0.041). Compared to controls, the fALFF values in the hypothyroidism group were decreased in the left inferior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus and right fusiform gyrus, superior occipital gyrus,insula, and central posterior gyrus (GRF correction, voxel level P<0.005, mass level P<0.05). Meanwhile, the fALFF values of left inferior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus and right fusiform gyrus were positively correlated with cognitive scores (r=0.514, P=0.009; r=0.468, P=0.018; r=0.400, P=0.048). When the voxel decreased to P<0.001, the fALFF of the left lingual gyrus still decreased significantly and was positively correlated with Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores (r=0.547, P=0.005). Additionally, thyroxine was negatively correlated with depression scores in hypothyroidism group (r=-0.363, P=0.005).Conclusions Patients with hypothyroidism have cognitive impairment, depression and anxiety. In the resting state, the spontaneous neuronal activity is decreased in multiple brain regions closely related to cognitive function and emotion, which may be a crucially neurophysiological mechanism of cognitive impairment and emotional abnormality in patients with hypothyroidism.
[Keywords] hypothyroidism;cognition;resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging;fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations

QIN Rui1, 5   ZHAO Lianping1, 2   HAN Yalan1   SHAO Feifei3, 5   CAO Jiancang1   GUO Qian3, 5   TIAN Limin1, 4, 5*  

1 The First Clinical Medical College of Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou 730000,China

2 Department of Radiology, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, China

3 Department of Cadre Endocrinology, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, China

4 Department of Endocrinology, Gansu Provincial People's Hospital, Lanzhou 730000, China

5 Gansu Provincial Clinical Research Center For Metabolic Diseases, Lanzhou 730000, China

Tian LM, Email: tlm7066@sina.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS National Natural Science Found of China (No. 82060152).
Received  2021-08-08
Accepted  2021-11-09
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2022.01.016
Cite this article as: Qin R, Zhao LP, Han YL, et al. A pilot study of resting-state brain function in naive patients with primary hypothyroidism[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2022, 13(1): 81-85. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2022.01.016.

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