title: White-matter microstructural changes in functional dyspepsia: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recent neuroimaging studies have identified brain microstructural changes in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders, especially in irritable bowel syndrome. However, whether the microstructure is changed in patients with postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) remains elusive. Therefore, the present study was aimed to examine the white-matter (WM) microstructural changes in patients with PDS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed on 36 PDS patients recruited according to the Rome III criteria and 36 healthy controls. Tract-based spatial statistics were adopted to examine the between-group differences in DTI measures including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity (RD). The correlations between DTI measures and clinical variables were evaluated using a non-parametric permutation-based test. Multiple comparisons were corrected using the threshold-free cluster enhancement method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patient group showed increased FA along with reduced MD and RD in multiple WM tracts, including the corona radiata, internal capsule, posterior thalamic radiation, corpus callosum, external capsule, sagittal stratum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus (P<0.05, corrected). The inclusion of anxiety and depression as covariates abolished the between-group difference in these tracts with the exception of the corona radiata. The DTI measures were not found to be correlated with the severity of symptoms or the duration of disease (P>0.05, corrected).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings have provided preliminary evidence of WM microstructural changes in patients with PDS. Part of the changes could be accounted for by a higher level of psychosocial distress in the patient group.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Guangyu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xuejuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Karen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: von Deneen
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Fanrong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D004415:Dyspepsia / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D056784:Leukoencephalopathies / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D019518:Postprandial Period; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology