Regional brain atrophy and functional connectivity changes related to fatigue in multiple sclerosis

PLoS One. 2013 Oct 22;8(10):e77914. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077914. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS), and recent studies have described a relationship between the sensorimotor cortex and its afferent and efferent pathways as a substrate of fatigue. The objectives of this study were to assess the neural correlates of fatigue in MS through gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) atrophy, and resting state functional connectivity (rs-FC) of the sensorimotor network (SMN). Eighteen healthy controls (HCs) and 60 relapsing-remitting patients were assessed with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Patients were classified as fatigued (F) or nonfatigued (NF). We investigated GM and WM atrophy using voxel-based morphometry, and rs-FC changes with a seed-based method and independent component analysis (ICA). F patients showed extended GM and WM atrophy focused on areas related to the SMN. High FSS scores were associated with reductions of WM in the supplementary motor area. Seed analysis of GM atrophy in the SMN showed that HCs presented increased rs-FC between the primary motor and somatosensory cortices while patients with high FSS scores were associated with decreased rs-FC between the supplementary motor area and associative somatosensory cortex. ICA results showed that NF patients presented higher rs-FC in the primary motor cortex compared to HCs and in the premotor cortex compared to F patients. Atrophy reduced functional connectivity in SMN pathways and MS patients consequently experienced high levels of fatigue. On the contrary, NF patients experienced high synchronization in this network that could be interpreted as a compensatory mechanism to reduce fatigue sensation.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Atrophy
  • Fatigue* / pathology
  • Fatigue* / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multiple Sclerosis* / pathology
  • Multiple Sclerosis* / physiopathology
  • Nerve Net* / pathology
  • Nerve Net* / physiopathology

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Brainglot project of the CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 Program grant number CSD2007-00012; by grants PSI2010-20168 from MINECO and P1·1B2011-09 from Universitat Jaume I as well as an educational grant from Biogen Idec to CA. The authors take the opportunity to clarify that the funders of this research did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Finally, the authors state that receiving funding from a commercial company (Biogen Idec) or a government agency (MINECO) does not alter their adherence to all the PLOS ONE polices on sharing data and materials.