Abstract
Background: Seizures are a common symptom in patients with temporal lobe gliomas and may result in brain network alterations. However, brain network changes caused by glioma-related epilepsy (GRE) remain poorly understood.Objective: In this study, we applied graph theory analysis to delineate topological networks with resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (rs-fMRI) and investigated characteristics of functional networks in patients with GRE.Methods: Thirty patients with low-grade gliomas in the left temporal lobe were enrolled and classified into GRE (n = 15) and non-GRE groups. Twenty healthy participants matched for age, sex, and education level were enrolled. All participants had rs-fMRI data. Sensorimotor, visual, default mode, auditory, and right executive control networks were used to construct connection matrices. Topological properties of those sub-networks were investigated.Results: Compared to that in the GRE group, four edges with higher functional connectivity were noted in the non-GRE group. Moreover, 21 edges with higher functional connectivity were identified in the non-GRE group compared to the healthy group. All significant alterations in functional edges belong to the visual network. Increased global efficiency and decreased shortest path lengths were noted in the non-GRE group compared to the GRE and healthy groups. Compared with that in the healthy group, nodal efficiency of three nodes was higher in the GRE and non-GRE groups and the degree centrality of six nodes was altered in the non-GRE group.Conclusion: Temporal lobe gliomas in the left hemisphere and GRE altered visual networks in an opposing manner. These findings provide a novel insight into brain network alterations induced by GRE.
Highlights
Seizures are a frequent symptom of brain tumors [1]
Of the 40 patients enrolled, 10 were excluded; only the data of 30 patients were analyzed in the study. These 30 patients were classified into glioma-related epilepsy (GRE) (n = 15, 8 men) and nonGRE (n = 15, 7 men) groups based on the presence of GRE (Table 1)
Our findings indicated that both temporal glioma and GRE altered both functional connectivity (FC) and topological properties of the healthy visual network
Summary
Seizures are a frequent symptom of brain tumors [1]. Gliomas, diffuse low-grade gliomas (DLGG, WHO grade 2), are highly epileptogenic [2]. Most patients with DLGG experience glioma-related epilepsy (GRE) as a presenting symptom, especially for DLGGs growing in the temporal lobe [3]. Numerous studies have focused on the association between primary seizures and alterations in functional networks. Previous conclusions regarding alterations in functional networks in primary seizures are insufficient, occluding appropriate preoperative prevention and intraoperative treatment. The alterations in functional networks induced by temporal gliomas are unknown. Investigating the characteristics of functional network alterations induced by temporal GRE is critical to optimize preoperative prevention and intraoperative treatment. Seizures are a common symptom in patients with temporal lobe gliomas and may result in brain network alterations. Brain network changes caused by glioma-related epilepsy (GRE) remain poorly understood
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