Gray and white matter alterations in early HIV-infected patients: Combined voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 1474 - 1483
• Main Authors: Wang, Bo, Liu, Zhenyu, Liu, Jiaojiao, Tang, Zhenchao, Li, Hongjun, Tian, Jie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - pathology; Data Interpretation, Statistical; diffusion tensor imaging; Diffusion Tensor Imaging - methods; Encephalitis, Viral - diagnostic imaging; Encephalitis, Viral - pathology; Female; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Gray Matter - pathology; HIV Infections - diagnostic imaging; HIV Infections - pathology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Imaging, Three-Dimensional - methods; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Patients; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spatio-Temporal Analysis; Statistics; Studies; tract-based spatial statistics; voxel-based morphometry; White Matter - diagnostic imaging; White Matter - pathology; human immunodeficiency virus; diffusion tensor imaging; magnetic resonance imaging; voxel-based morphometry; tract-based spatial statistics
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25100

Purpose To investigate both the gray matter (GM) and whiter matter (WM) alterations in a homogeneous cohort of early HIV‐infected patients by combining voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) and tract‐based spatial statistics (TBSS). Materials and Methods Twenty‐six HIV and 26 control subjects enrolled in this study with 3D T1 and diffusion‐tensor imaging acquired on a 3.0T Siemens scanner. Group differences in regional GM were assessed using VBM analysis, while differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and relative anisotropy (RD) of WM were evaluated using TBSS analysis. After that, interactions between GM changes and white matter alterations were investigated by using a correlation analysis. Results The HIV‐infected patients displayed decreased GM volume, mainly located in the bilateral frontal cortices, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, and left supplementary motor area (P < 0.05, false discovery rate‐corrected). Meanwhile, the patient group showed decreased FA in the genu of capsule callosum, body of capsule callosum, and bilateral anterior corona radiate (P < 0.05, family wise error [FEW]‐corrected). Areas of increased MD, RD, and AD in HIV patients were more extensive and observed in most skeleton locations (P < 0.05, FEW‐corrected). The interaction analysis in the patient group revealed that there were no significant correlations between GM changes and WM alterations (P > 0.05). Conclusion Our results indicate that structural brain alterations occurred early in HIV‐infected patients. The current study may shed further light on the potential brain effects of HIV. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1474–1483.