#2547 THE EFFECTS OF HEMODIALYSIS ON THE FUNCTIONAL BRAIN CONNECTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE

Abstract

Abstract Background and Aims The aim of this study was to investigate functional brain connectivity in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and analyzed the effect of hemodialysis on the functional brain connectivity. Method We prospectively enrolled the patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis for more than six months without any previous history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. The fNIRS data acquisition was made with a NIRSIT Lite device. Measurements were made three times in the resting state for each patient; before the start of hemodialysis (Pre-HD), one hour after the start of hemodialysis (Mid-HD), and after the end of hemodialysis (Post-HD). We processed and exported the entire data, and made a weighted connectivity matrix using a Pearson correlation analysis. From the connectivity matrix, we obtained the functional connectivity measures by applying a graph theoretical analysis (Fig. 1). We compared the differences of the functional connectivity measures according to hemodialysis in patients with ESRD. Results We included 34 patients with ESRD. Table 1 and Fig. 2 show the differences in functional brain connectivity according to hemodialysis. There were significant changes in the functional connectivity measures of the mean clustering coefficient, transitivity, and assortative coefficient in the comparisons between Pre-HD and Post-HD periods (0.353 vs. 0.399, p = 0.047; 0.523 vs. 0.600, p = 0.042; 0.043 vs. -0.012, p = 0.044; respectively). However, there were no changes in the connectivity measures of the mean clustering coefficient, transitivity, and assortative coefficient in the comparisons between Pre-HD and Mid-HD periods, and between Mid-HD and Post-HD periods. In addition, there were no significant differences in the connectivity measures of the average strength, global efficiency, and local efficiency in the comparisons among Pre-HD, Mid-HD, and Post-HD periods. Conclusion We demonstrate the significant effect of hemodialysis on the functional brain connectivity in patients with ESRD. The functional brain connectivity would change in a more efficient direction through hemodialysis.