Altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in hypertensive retinopathy using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors:   Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi Medical College, Eye Hospital of Shangrao City, Shangrao 334000, Jiangxi Province, China, Wang Xue-Lin , Zhang Li-Juan ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai Engineering Center for Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, Hu Jin-Yu ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai Engineering Center for Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China; Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, Wei Hong ,   Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, Ling Qian ,   Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, He Liang-Qi ,   Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, Chen Cheng ,   Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi Province, China, Wang Yi-Xin ,   School of Optometry and Vision Science, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, Wales, UK, Chen Xu ,   Ophthalmology Centre of Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200MS, Limburg Provincie, Netherlands, Shao Yi ,   Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Eye Diseases, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Ocular Fundus Diseases, Shanghai Engineering Center for Visual Science and Photomedicine, Shanghai Engineering Center for Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Eye Diseases, Shanghai 200080, China
Published: August 2024

AIM: To study functional brain abnormalities in patients with hypertensive retinopathy (HR) and to discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms of HR by fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFFs) method.
METHODS: Twenty HR patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) were respectively recruited. The age, gender, and educational background characteristics of the two groups were similar. After functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, the subjects’ spontaneous brain activity was evaluated with the fALFF method. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to classify the data. Further, we used Pearson’s correlation analysis to explore the relationship between fALFF values in specific brain regions and clinical behaviors in patients with HR.
RESULTS: The brain areas of the HR group with lower fALFF values than HCs were the right orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus (RO-MFG) and right lingual gyrus. In contrast, the values of fALFFs in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), left superior temporal pole (STP), left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left superior marginal gyrus (SMG), left superior parietal lobule (SPL), and right supplementary motor area (SMA) were higher in the HR group. The results of a t-test showed that the average values of fALFFs were statistically significantly different in the HR group and HC group (P<0.001). The fALFF values of the left middle frontal gyrus in HR patients were positively correlated with anxiety scores (r=0.9232; P<0.0001) and depression scores (r=0.9682; P<0.0001).
CONCLUSION: fALFF values in multiple brain regions of HR patients are abnormal, suggesting that these brain regions in HR patients may be dysfunctional, which may help to reveal the pathophysiological mechanisms of HR.