Altered Gray Matter Volume in Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Subclinical Cognitive Impairment: an Exploratory Study

Abstract

Gray matter volume deficits have been identified in cognitively impaired patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, it remains unknown whether the gray matter volume is altered in COPD patients with subclinical cognitive impairment. To determine whether any gray matter abnormalities are present in these patients, neuropsychological tests and structural MRI data were analyzed from 60 patients with COPD and 60 age-, gender-, education-, and handedness-matched normal controls (NCs). The COPD patients had similar Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores compared with the NCs. However, they had reduced Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores for visuospatial and executive and naming and memory functions (P < 0.001). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis revealed that the COPD patients had significantly lowered gray matter volumes in several brain regions, including the left precuneus (PrCU), bilateral calcarine (CAL), right superior temporal gyrus/middle temporal gyrus (STG/MTG), bilateral fusiform gyrus (FG), and right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) (P < 0.01, corrected). Importantly, the forced vital capacity (FVC) was found to be associated with the gray matter volume in the calcarine. The present study confirmed that brain structural changes were present in stable COPD patients with subclinical cognitive impairment. These findings may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of COPD.

Altered amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuation in basal ganglia correlates to pulmonary ventilation function in COPD patients: A resting‐state fMRI study

“…Impaired white matter microstructural integrity in COPD patients has been reported by many studies (Dodd et al, ; Spilling, Jones, Dodd, & Barrick, ); van Dijk et al, ). However, the results of GM volume change reported by previous studies are inconsistent (Dodd et al, ; Esser et al, ; Spilling et al, ; Wang et al, ). Some studies revealed that there existed regional or global brain atrophy in COPD patients (Esser et al, ; Wang et al, ), while other studies did not find a significant difference in GM volume between COPD patients and normal controls (Dodd et al, ; Spilling et al, ).…”

“…However, the results of GM volume change reported by previous studies are inconsistent (Dodd et al, ; Esser et al, ; Spilling et al, ; Wang et al, ). Some studies revealed that there existed regional or global brain atrophy in COPD patients (Esser et al, ; Wang et al, ), while other studies did not find a significant difference in GM volume between COPD patients and normal controls (Dodd et al, ; Spilling et al, ). In our study, the COPD patients did not demonstrate a significant different GM or WM volume when compared to normal controls.…”

“…Meanwhile, a few studies have attempted to explore the brain pathology involving the brain structural change and vascular disease in the COPD patient through MRI (Cleutjens, Ponds, et al, ; Wang et al, ). However, the number of such studies is still small and the conclusions are lack of agreement.…”

Neurocognitive Impairment as Systemic Effects of COPD

“…Neuroimaging studies showed there are signiicantly lowered gray mater volumes in several brain regions as hippocamp [7], limbic and paralimbic structures [77], precuneus, bilateral calcarine, right superior temporal gyrus/middle temporal gyrus, bilateral fusiform, right inferior parietal lobule [78], cingulate and amygdala [8], dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [77] etc., evidenced by diferent neuroimaging techniques based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Performance accuracy has increased by introducing voxel-based morphometry analysis also based on MRI.…”

Correlations between serum amyloid A, C‐reactive protein and clinical indices of patients with acutely exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…It also participates in inflammatory responses as a chemokine of immune cells such as monocytes, neutrophils, mast cells, and T lymphocytes. The clinical applications of SAA have been highlighted . SAA increases earlier and more obviously than CRP does during bacterial infections, which also works upon viral infections, so it can be combined with CRP to improve the accuracy of detection .…”