title: Structural brain alterations in hemifacial spasm: A voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is characterized by involuntary, irregular clonic or tonic movement of muscles innervated by the facial nerve. We evaluated structural reorganization in brain gray matter and white matter and whether neuroplasticity is linked to clinical features in HFS patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  High-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired by 3.0 T MRI from 42 patients with HFS and 30 healthy subjects. The severity of the spasm was assessed according to Jankovic disability rating scale. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis were performed to identify regional grey matter volume (GMV) changes and whole-brain microstructural integrity disruption measured by fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The VBM analysis showed that patients with HFS reduced GMV in the right inferior parietal lobule and increased GMV in the cerebellar lobule VIII, when compared with healthy subjects. Furthermore, within the HFS disease group, GMV decreased with the disease duration in the right inferior parietal lobule. TBSS did not identify group differences in diffusivity parameters.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While no white matter integrity disruption was detected in the brain of patients with HFS, our study identified evident GMV changes in brain areas which were known to be involved in motor control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that HFS, a chronic neurovascular conflict disease, is related to structural reorganization in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; Department of Anesthesiology, Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi 563003, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi 563003, China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Yongxu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Weiguo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address: buweiyu1997@163.com.
authors.forename: Buwei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019569:Hemifacial Spasm / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Diffusion tensor imaging; Hemifacial spasm; Tract-based spatial statistics; Voxel-based morphometry