The predictive potential of altered spontaneous brain activity patterns in diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy

Objective The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) fMRI technique was used to study the changes of spontaneous brain activity in patients with diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy (DRN), and to explore the application of ALFF technique in the potential prediction and the targeted prevention of diabetic microangiopathy. Methods Nineteen patients with diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy and 19 healthy controls (HCs) were matched for age and gender. Spontaneous cerebral activity variations were investigated using the ALFF technique. The average ALFF values of the DRN patients and the HCs were classified utilizing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results In contrast to the results in the HCs, the patients with DRN had significantly higher ALFF values in the cerebellum (bilaterally in the posterior and anterior lobes) and the left inferior temporal gyrus, but the ALFF values of the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, left middle/inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, and left inferior parietal lobule were lower. ROC curve analysis of each brain region showed the accuracy of AUC was excellent. However, the mean ALFF values in the different regions did not correlate with clinical performance. The subjects showed abnormal neuronal synchronization in many areas of the brain, which is consistent with cognitive and visual functional deficits. Conclusion Abnormal spontaneous activity was detected in many areas of the brain, which may provide useful information for understanding the pathology of DRN. Abnormal ALFF values of these brain regions may be of predictive value in the development of early DRN and be a targeted intervention indicator for individualized treatment of diabetic microvascular diseases.