Regional homogeneity abnormalities in patients with transient ischaemic attack: a resting-state fMRI study.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate regional activity abnormalities in the resting state in patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) using a regional homogeneity (ReHo) method combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and to examine the relationship between regional activity abnormalities and clinical variables.


METHODS
Resting-state fMRI was conducted in 21 patients with right-sided TIA and in 21 healthy volunteers. The ReHo was calculated to assess the strength of the local signal synchrony and was compared between the two groups.


RESULTS
Compared with the controls, the TIA patients exhibited a decreased ReHo in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the right inferior prefrontal cortex (iPFC), the right ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) and the right dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (dPCC). In addition, the mean ReHo values in the right dlPFC and the right iPFC were significantly correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in TIA patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Neural activities in the resting state are changed in TIA patients even without visible ischaemic lesions on conventional MRI. The positive correlation between the ReHo of resting-state fMRI and cognition suggests that ReHo could be a promising tool to observe the neurobiological consequences of TIA.


CONCLUSIONS
The present study revealed abnormal local synchronisation of spontaneous neural activities in patients with TIA.
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Jian
J
Guo
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Ning
N
Chen
Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Rong
R
Li
Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Qizhu
Q
Wu
Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Huafu
H
Chen
Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China.
Qiyong
Q
Gong
Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, PR China. Electronic address: heli2003new@126.com.
Li
L
He
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*
Functional MRI; Regional homogeneity; Resting state; Transient ischaemic attack