Key result
Patients with chronic mountain sickness exhibited significant differences in gray and white matter volume and abnormal spontaneous brain activity in multiple brain regions compared to healthy high-altitude controls.
Why the study?
Headache and memory impairment are the primary clinical symptoms of chronic mountain sickness, but the associated changes in brain structure and function required identification.
Does chronic mountain sickness alter brain structure and function in high-altitude residents?
Case-Control (n=49)
No
Does chronic mountain sickness alter brain structure and function in high-altitude residents?
p-value: p=<0.05
Long-term chronic hypoxia in chronic mountain sickness is associated with significant structural and functional brain alterations in multiple regions.
Suggests neuroimaging biomarkers in chronic mountain sickness; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation before clinical use.
Objective: Headache and memory impairment are the primary clinical symptoms of chronic mountain sickness (CMS). In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation method (ALFF) based on blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI) to identify changes in the brain structure and function caused by CMS. Materials and Methods: T1W anatomical images and a resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) of the whole brain were performed in 24 patients diagnosed with CMS and 25 normal controls matched for age, sex, years of education, and living altitude. MRI images were acquired, followed by VBM and ALFF data analyses. Results: Compared with the control group, the CMS group had increased gray matter volume in the left cerebellum crus II area, left inferior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, right insula, right caudate nucleus, and bilateral lentiform nucleus along with decreased gray matter volume in the left middle occipital gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus. White matter was decreased in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus and increased in the right Heschl's gyrus. Resting-state fMRI in patients with CMS showed increased spontaneous brain activity in the left supramarginal gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus along with decreased spontaneous brain activity in the right cerebellum crus I area and right supplementary motor area. Conclusion: Patients with CMS had differences in gray and white matter volume and abnormal spontaneous brain activity in multiple brain regions compared to the controls. This suggests that long-term chronic hypoxia may induce changes in brain structure and function, resulting in CMS.
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Bao et al. (2022) conducted a case-control in Chronic mountain sickness (n=49). Chronic mountain sickness vs. Healthy high-altitude residents was evaluated on Brain structure (gray and white matter volume) and spontaneous brain activity (ALFF) (p=<0.05). Patients with chronic mountain sickness exhibited significant differences in gray and white matter volume and abnormal spontaneous brain activity in multiple brain regions compared to healthy high-altitude controls.
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