Reduced glucose metabolism in the frontal cortex and basal ganglia of multiple sclerosis patients with fatigue

Abstract

To investigate the pathophysiology of fatigue in MS, we assessed cerebral glucose metabolism (CMR-Glu) in 47 MS patients using PET and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. Applying the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), we first compared MS patients with severe fatigue (MS-FAT, n = 19, FSS > 4.9) and MS patients without fatigue (MS-NOF, n = 16, FSS < 3.7) on a pixel-by-pixel basis using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM95). Second, we compared FSS values of all 47 patients covering the whole range of this scale with CMRGlu using an analysis of covariance (SPM95). In addition, we determined global CMRGlu by region-of-interest analysis. Sixteen healthy subjects served as control subjects (CON). Global CMRGlu was significantly lower in both MS groups compared with CON (CON 43.3 +/- 6.9 mumol/100 mL/min, MS-FAT 34.7 +/- 4.4, MS-NOF 35.4 +/- 4.5) but was not related to fatigue severity. Comparing the two MS groups, SPM95 analysis revealed predominant CMRGlu reductions bilaterally in a prefrontal area involving the lateral and medial prefrontal cortex and adjacent white matter, in the premotor cortex, putamen, and in the right supplementary motor area of MS-FAT. In addition, there were CMRGlu reductions in the white matter extending from the rostral putamen toward the lateral head of the caudate nucleus. FSS values were inversely related to CMRGlu in the right prefrontal cortex. CMRGlu in the cerebellar vermis and anterior cingulate was relatively higher in MS-FAT than in MS-NOF patients. CMRGlu of both regions showed positive correlations with FSS values. Our data suggest that fatigue in MS is associated with frontal cortex and basal ganglia dysfunction that could result from demyelination of the frontal white matter.

Perceptions of effort during handgrip and tongue elevation in Parkinson's disease

“…Brain-imaging studies revealed involvement of the prefrontal cortex in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome [36], and in the prefrontal cortex and thalamus in patients with fatigue associated with multiple sclerosis [37]. Abnormal metabolic findings have also been reported in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia (putamen) in patients with fatigue and multiple sclerosis [38].…”

Fatigue and progression of corpus callosum atrophy in multiple sclerosis

“…The pathophysiology of MS-related fatigue is not fully understood and seems to be multifactorial [7]. Functional imaging studies [12,34,35] have demonstrated an abnormal recruitment of cortical and subcortical networks in MS patients with fatigue supporting the theory of a central origin. It has been suggested that diffuse wide-spread axonal loss in MS patients might play a role in the pathogenesis of fatigue.…”

Expression of Stathmin, a Developmentally Controlled Cytoskeleton-Regulating Molecule, in Demyelinating Disorders

“…Glucose deprivation was the apoptotic stimulus of choice because it affects the energetic metabolism of the cell (Almeida et al, 2002;Y. Liu et al, 2003;Majewski et al, 2004), thus mimicking the environment encountered by oligodendrocytes in pathological conditions such as MS (Roelcke et al, 1997;Bakshi et al, 1998).…”