Disruption of the white matter structural network in patients with hemifacial spasm and changes after microvascular decompression

Abstract Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a syndrome characterized by involuntary contractions of the facial muscles innervated by the ipsilateral facial nerve. Currently, microvascular decompression (MVD) is an effective treatment for HFS. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a non-invasive advanced magnetic resonance technique that allows us to reconstruct white matter (WM) virtually based on water diffusion direction. This enables us to model the human brain as a complex network using graph theory. In our study, we recruited 32 patients with HFS and 32 healthy controls to analyze and compare the topological organization of whole-brain white matter networks between the groups. We also explored the potential relationships between altered topological properties and clinical scale scores. Compared to HC group, the white matter network was disrupted in both preoperative and postoperative groups of HFS patients, mainly located in the somatomotor network, limbic network and default network. There was no significant difference between the preoperative and postoperative groups. There was a correlation between the altered topological properties and clinical scale scores in the postoperative group of patients. Our findings indicate that in HFS, the white matter structural network was disrupted before and after MVD, and these alterations were correlated with the clinical symptoms. It is suggested that these which may be some potential neuroimaging biomarkers for HFS.