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. 2017 Apr 4;12(4):e0174169.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174169. eCollection 2017.

Reduced brain activity in female patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy

Atsushi Takahashi  1 , Soichi Kono  2 , Akira Wada  3 , Sachie Oshima  2 , Kazumichi Abe  1 , Hiromichi Imaizumi  1 , Masashi Fujita  1 , Manabu Hayashi  1 , Ken Okai  1 , Itaru Miura  2 , Hirooki Yabe  2 , Hiromasa Ohira  1
Affiliations

Reduced brain activity in female patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy

Atsushi Takahashi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have impaired health-related quality of life including physical and mental state. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a useful tool for evaluation of brain activity and depressive state. This study aimed to determine the brain activity of female NAFLD patients using NIRS. Cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration during a verbal fluency task (VFT) was measured using NIRS in 24 female NAFLD patients and 15 female healthy controls. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) questionnaire was administered to both groups before NIRS. There was no significant difference in CES-D score between groups. However, the oxy-Hb concentration and number of words during the VFT were less in NAFLD compared to healthy controls. The mean value of oxy-Hb concentration during 0-60 s VFT in the frontal lobe was also smaller in NAFLD patients compared to healthy controls (0.082 ± 0.126 vs. 0.183 ± 0.145, P < 0.001). Cerebral oxygen concentration is poorly reactive in response to VFT in female NAFLD patients. This may indicate an association between decreased brain activity and NAFLD regardless of depression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Location of the 52-channel Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) probes in the right temporal, frontal, and left temporal brain regions.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Time-dependent changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in response to a verbal fluency task in NAFLD patients (red) and healthy controls (blue).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Topographic images of the differences in mean of oxygenated hemoglobin changes between NAFLD patients and healthy controls.
Red circles indicate the channels that were significantly smaller in NAFLD patients compared to healthy controls.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Comparison of the mean of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in frontal channels (ch 36–38, ch 46–49) during the 0-60-s task period between NAFLD patients (n = 24) and healthy controls (n = 15).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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