Abnormal Spatial Patterns of Intrinsic Brain Activity in Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Shengyi Feng; Bo Li; Gang Li; Xuyun Hua; Bo Zhu; Xuejia Li; Wenting Lu; Jianguang Xu

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.551470

Abnormal Spatial Patterns of Intrinsic Brain Activity in Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Front Hum Neurosci. 2020 Sep 17:14:551470. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.551470. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Shengyi Feng¹, Bo Li¹, Gang Li², Xuyun Hua¹, Bo Zhu¹, Xuejia Li², Wenting Lu³, Jianguang Xu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Quyang Community Health Service Center of Hongkou District, Shanghai, China.
⁴ School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Objective: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a common condition that is encountered in clinical practice, and yet, little is known about its characteristics and manifestations in the brain. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to investigate the spatial patterns of spontaneous brain activity in the brain of ONFH patients. Methods: The study included ONFH patients and healthy controls. The pattern of intrinsic brain activity was measured by examining the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) of blood oxygen level-dependent signals using rs-fMRI. Meanwhile, we also used Harris hip scores to evaluate the functional performance of ONFH patients and healthy controls. Result: Ten ONFH patients and 10 health controls were investigated. We found global ALFF differences between the two groups throughout the occipital, parietal, frontal, prefrontal, and temporal cortices. In the ONFH patients, altered brain activity was found in the brain regions in the sensorimotor network, pain-related network, and emotion and cognition network. The results of the correlation investigations also demonstrated that the regions with ALFF changes had significant correlations with the functional performance of the patients evaluated by Harris hip scores. Conclusions: Our study has revealed the abnormal pattern of brain activity in ONFH patients, and our findings could be used to aid in understanding the mechanisms behind the gait abnormality and intractable pain associated with ONFH at the central level.

Keywords: Harris hip scores; amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations; magnetic resonance imaging; osteonecrosis; osteonecrosis of the femoral head; sensorimotor network; spatial patterns; spontaneous brain activity.