Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome
Introduction: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem genetic imprinting disorder mainly characterized by hyperphagia and childhood obesity. Extensive structural alterations are expected in PWS patients, and their influence on brain nuclei should be early and profound. To date, few studies have...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroinformatics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.1032636/full |
| _version_ | 1811219870923096064 |
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| author | Ning Wu Huan Yu Mingze Xu |
| author_facet | Ning Wu Huan Yu Mingze Xu |
| author_sort | Ning Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem genetic imprinting disorder mainly characterized by hyperphagia and childhood obesity. Extensive structural alterations are expected in PWS patients, and their influence on brain nuclei should be early and profound. To date, few studies have investigated brain nuclei in children with PWS, although functional and structural alterations of the cortex have been reported widely.Methods: In the current study, we used T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to investigate alterations in brain nuclei by three automated analysis methods: shape analysis to evaluate the shape of 14 cerebral nuclei (bilateral thalamus, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens), automated segmentation methods integrated in Freesurfer 7.2.0 to investigate the volume of hypothalamic subregions, and region of interest-based analysis to investigate the volume of deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN). Twelve age- and sex-matched children with PWS, 18 obese children without PWS (OB) and 18 healthy controls participated in this study.Results: Compared with control and OB individuals, the PWS group exhibited significant atrophy in the bilateral thalamus, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, right caudate, bilateral hypothalamus (left anterior-inferior, bilateral posterior, and bilateral tubular inferior subunits) and bilateral DCN (dentate, interposed, and fastigial nuclei), whereas no significant difference was found between the OB and control groups.Discussion: Based on our evidence, we suggested that alterations in brain nuclei influenced by imprinted genes were associated with clinical manifestations of PWS, such as eating disorders, cognitive disability and endocrine abnormalities, which were distinct from the neural mechanisms of obese children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:33:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09d5d362b3a54f6e9c43c6d56a3e78fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5196 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:33:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neuroinformatics |
| spelling | doaj.art-09d5d362b3a54f6e9c43c6d56a3e78fd2022-12-22T03:42:01ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroinformatics1662-51962022-11-011610.3389/fninf.2022.10326361032636Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndromeNing Wu0Huan Yu1Mingze Xu2Department of Medical Imaging, Yanjing Medical College, Capital Medical University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Radiology, Liangxiang Hospital, Beijing, ChinaCenter for MRI Research, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaIntroduction: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multisystem genetic imprinting disorder mainly characterized by hyperphagia and childhood obesity. Extensive structural alterations are expected in PWS patients, and their influence on brain nuclei should be early and profound. To date, few studies have investigated brain nuclei in children with PWS, although functional and structural alterations of the cortex have been reported widely.Methods: In the current study, we used T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging to investigate alterations in brain nuclei by three automated analysis methods: shape analysis to evaluate the shape of 14 cerebral nuclei (bilateral thalamus, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens), automated segmentation methods integrated in Freesurfer 7.2.0 to investigate the volume of hypothalamic subregions, and region of interest-based analysis to investigate the volume of deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN). Twelve age- and sex-matched children with PWS, 18 obese children without PWS (OB) and 18 healthy controls participated in this study.Results: Compared with control and OB individuals, the PWS group exhibited significant atrophy in the bilateral thalamus, pallidum, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, right caudate, bilateral hypothalamus (left anterior-inferior, bilateral posterior, and bilateral tubular inferior subunits) and bilateral DCN (dentate, interposed, and fastigial nuclei), whereas no significant difference was found between the OB and control groups.Discussion: Based on our evidence, we suggested that alterations in brain nuclei influenced by imprinted genes were associated with clinical manifestations of PWS, such as eating disorders, cognitive disability and endocrine abnormalities, which were distinct from the neural mechanisms of obese children.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.1032636/fullchildhood obesitygenetic imprintingPrader-Willi syndromebrain nucleishape analysishypothalamus |
| spellingShingle | Ning Wu Huan Yu Mingze Xu Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome Frontiers in Neuroinformatics childhood obesity genetic imprinting Prader-Willi syndrome brain nuclei shape analysis hypothalamus |
| title | Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome |
| title_full | Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome |
| title_fullStr | Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome |
| title_short | Alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without Prader-Willi syndrome |
| title_sort | alteration of brain nuclei in obese children with and without prader willi syndrome |
| topic | childhood obesity genetic imprinting Prader-Willi syndrome brain nuclei shape analysis hypothalamus |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fninf.2022.1032636/full |
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