Regional brain structural abnormality in ischemic stroke patients: a voxel-based morphometry study

Abstract

Our previous study used regional homogeneity analysis and found that activity in some brain areas of patients with ischemic stroke changed significantly. In the current study, we examined structural changes in these brain regions by taking structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 11 ischemic stroke patients and 15 healthy participants, and analyzing the data using voxel-based morphometry. Compared with healthy participants, patients exhibited higher gray matter density in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right anterior white matter tract. In contrast, gray matter density in the right cerebellum, left precentral gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus was less in ischemic stroke patients. The changes of gray matter density in the middle frontal gyrus were negatively associated with the clinical rating scales of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (r = -0.609, P = 0.047) and the left middle temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with the clinical rating scales of the nervous functional deficiency scale (r = -0.737, P = 0.010). Our findings can objectively identify the functional abnormality in some brain regions of ischemic stroke patients.

Keywords: Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment; brain structure abnormality; functional deficiency; functional magnetic resonance imaging; gray matter density; ischemic stroke; nerve regeneration; nervous functional deficiency scale; neural regeneration; neural reorganization; neuroplasticity; voxel-based morphometry.

Figure 1

Significant differences in GMD between ischemic stroke patients and healthy participants. (A) Compared with healthy participants, the ischemic stroke patients showed lower GMD in the left precentral gyrus, right cerebellum, left middle temporal gyrus, and right middle frontal gyrus. Higher GMD was seen in the left inferior occipital gyrus and right anterior cingulum. (B) A significant negative correlation was found between the GMD index in the left middle temporal gyrus and NDS score (r = –0.737, P = 0.010). (C) A significant negative correlation was also found between the GMD index in the right middle frontal gyrus and FMA scores (r = –0.609, P = 0.047). GMD: Gray matter density; NDS: nervous functional deficiency scale; FMA: Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment.