title: Whole brain functional connectivity in clinically isolated syndrome without conventional brain MRI lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate brain functional connectivity (FC) alterations in patients with clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) presenting without conventional brain MRI lesions, and to identify the FC differences between the CIS patients who converted to multiple sclerosis (MS) and those not converted during a 5-year follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 20 CIS patients without conventional brain lesions, 28 patients with MS and 28 healthy controls (HC). Normalized voxel-based functional connectivity strength (nFCS) was determined using resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) and compared among groups. Furthermore, 5-years clinical follow-up of the CIS patients was performed to examine the differences in nFCS between converters and non-converters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to HC, CIS patients showed significantly decreased nFCS in the visual areas and increased nFCS in several brain regions predominately in the temporal lobes. MS patients revealed more widespread higher nFCS especially in deep grey matter (DGM), compared to CIS and HC. In the four CIS patients converting to MS, significantly higher nFCS was found in right anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC) and fusiform gyrus (FG), compared to non-converted patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated both functional impairment and compensation in CIS by R-fMRI. nFCS alteration in ACC and FG seems to occur in CIS patients at risk of developing MS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • Both functional impairment and compensation occur in CIS without conventional brain lesions. • MS patients revealed more widespread higher nFCS especially in deep grey matter. • nFCS alteration may help stratifying CIS at risk of developing MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.|Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1007 MB, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurology and Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University, General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yaou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China.|State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhengjia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yunyun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhuoqiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huiqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1007 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vrenken
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1007 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mike P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Wattjes
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1007 MB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barkhof
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People's Republic of China. yong.h.he@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100053, People's Republic of China. kunchengli55@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kuncheng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003711:Demyelinating Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Clinically isolated syndrome; Deep grey matter; Functional connectivity strength; Multiple sclerosis; Resting-state fMRI