Irregular Baseline Brain Activity in Coronary Artery Disease Patients with Cognitive Impairment: A Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

• Published in: Current neurovascular research Vol. 19; no. 2; p. 131
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jingchen, Yan, Jueyue, Niu, Jianhua, Xu, Zhipeng, Fang, Xing, You, Jingyu, Li, Tong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United Arab Emirates 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Brain - pathology; Cognitive Dysfunction - pathology; Coronary Artery Disease - complications; Coronary Artery Disease - diagnostic imaging; Coronary Artery Disease - pathology; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Neuropsychological Tests; montreal cognitive assessment; low-frequency fluctuations; minimental state examination; cognition; Coronary artery disease; functional magnetci resonance imaging
• ISSN: 1875-5739
• DOI: 10.2174/1567202619666220516124552

Cognitive impairment has been suggested to be associated with coronary artery disease [CAD]; however, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Our current study aimed to explore the brain activity in CAD patients compared to healthy controls [HCs]. Twenty-two CAD patients and 23 HCs were enrolled in our study. A low-frequency oscillation at the voxel level in all participants based on the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations [ALFF] was measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. All participants underwent neuropsychological examinations [Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA] and visual acuity examination. CAD patients showed significantly lower ALFF values [P < 0.05] in the right precuneus gyrus [Precuneus_R], left supramarginal gyrus [Supramarginal_L], left angular gyrus [Angular_L], and left middle cingulum gyrus [Cingulum_Mid_L] than healthy controls. Lower MoCA scores in CAD patients significantly correlated with lower Supramarginal_L [P = 0.001] and Cingulate_ Mid_L [P = 0.004] ALFF values. Reduced visual acuity significantly correlated with lower Precuneus_R [P = 0.019] and Cingulate_Mid_L [P = 0.011] ALFF values in CAD patients. These findings may provide further insight into the underlying neuropathophysiology of CAD with cognitive impairment.