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Alterations in the structural covariance network of the hypothalamus in patients with narcolepsy

  • Diagnostic Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Purpose

The hypothalamus plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of narcolepsy. This study aimed to evaluate the differences in the structural covariance network of thehypothalamus based on volume differences between patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 15 patients with narcolepsy and 19 healthy controls.All subjects underwent three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging using a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Hypothalamic subunits were segmented, and the volumes of individual hypothalamic subunits were obtained using the FreeSurfer program. Subsequently, we conducted a structural covariance network analysis of the subunit volumes with graph theory using the BRAPH program in patients with narcolepsy and in healthy controls.

Results

There were no significant differences in the volumes of the entire right and left hypothalamus nor in the hypothalamic subunit between patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls. However, we found significant differences in the structural covariance network in the hypothalamus between these groups. The characteristic path length was significantly lower in patients with narcolepsy than in healthy controls (1.698 vs. 2.831, p = 0.001). However, other network measures did not differ between patients with narcolepsy and healthy controls.

Conclusion

We found that the structural covariance network of the hypothalamus, as assessed from the subunit volumes of hypothalamic regions using a graph theoretical analysis, is different in patients with narcolepsy compared to healthy controls. These findings may contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of narcolepsy.

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Data availability

Data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Author notes

  1. Hyung Chan Kim and Dong Ah Lee contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Haeundae-ro 875, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 48108, South Korea

    Hyung Chan Kim, Dong Ah Lee, Kyong Jin Shin & Kang Min Park

  2. Department of Radiology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea

    Ho-Joon Lee

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  1. Hyung Chan Kim
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Correspondence to Kang Min Park.

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All procedures performed in the studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Kim, H.C., Lee, D.A., Lee, HJ. et al. Alterations in the structural covariance network of the hypothalamus in patients with narcolepsy. Neuroradiology 64, 1351–1357 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-021-02878-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-021-02878-6

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