Brain Networks Route Neurodegeneration Patterns in Patients with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
- Department of Neurology
- Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
- Magna Græcia University
- Max Planck School of Cognition
Abstract
Background: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease driven by 4-repeat τ pathology, which is thought to propagate across interconnected neurons. Objectives: We hypothesized that interconnected brain regions exhibit correlated atrophy, and that atrophy propagates network-like from fast-declining epicenters to connected regions in PSP. Methods: We combined resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) connectomics with two independent 12-month longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets of PSP-Richardson syndrome (PSP-RS) patients (ndiscovery/nvalidation = 114/90). MRI-based gray matter volumes were assessed for 246 regions of the Brainnetome atlas and converted to w-scores indicating local atrophy (ie, volumes adjusted for age, sex, and intracranial volume based on regression models determined in a sample of 377 healthy amyloid- and τ-negative controls from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative [ADNI]). Annual volume changes were determined for each Brainnetome region of interest using longitudinal structural MRI. Resting-state fMRI from 69 ADNI healthy controls was used to determine a connectivity template. Results: We observed pronounced atrophy and volume decline in the frontal lobe and subcortical regions bilaterally. Correlated atrophy and volume changes were found among interconnected brain regions, with regions with severe atrophy or rapid decline being strongly connected to similarly affected areas, whereas minimally affected regions were connected to less affected areas. Connectivity patterns of atrophy epicenters predicted patient level atrophy and volume decline. Conclusions: Our findings show that key subcortical and frontal brain regions undergo atrophy in PSP-RS and that gray matter atrophy expands across interconnected brain regions, supporting the view that neurodegeneration patterns may follow the trans-neuronal τ propagation pattern in PSP-RS.
Details
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 2102-2115 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Movement disorders |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 9 Jun 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2025 |
| Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
| PubMed | 40485628 |
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Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- functional connectivity, gray matter atrophy, imaging, PSP, tauopathies