PD23-12 A CLOSER LOOK AT CEREBELLAR REGIONS INVOLVED IN LOWER URINARY TRACT CONTROL IN MEN AND WOMEN: A 7T FUNCTIONAL MRI RESTING-STATE STUDY

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023PD23-12 A CLOSER LOOK AT CEREBELLAR REGIONS INVOLVED IN LOWER URINARY TRACT CONTROL IN MEN AND WOMEN: A 7T FUNCTIONAL MRI RESTING-STATE STUDY Charles Mazeaud, Jessica Bernard, Betsy Salazar, Hamida Rajab, Christof Karmonik, and Rose Khavari Charles MazeaudCharles Mazeaud More articles by this author , Jessica BernardJessica Bernard More articles by this author , Betsy SalazarBetsy Salazar More articles by this author , Hamida RajabHamida Rajab More articles by this author , Christof KarmonikChristof Karmonik More articles by this author , and Rose KhavariRose Khavari More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003296.12AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an increasingly powerful tool for assessing supraspinal control of lower urinary tract (LUT) function. Cerebellum being a small infratentorial part of the central nervous system has been a challenging region to study with functional neuroimaging until recently. We focused on resting state functional connectivity (FC), which is the temporal dependency link between different brain regions in the absence of a task, to explore the cerebral network. In this study, we evaluated for the first time the FC of the cerebellum with the whole brain utilizing a high-resolution 7 Tesla MRI scanner. METHODS: We included healthy men and women with no reported history of neurological disease or LUT symptoms. Individuals were asked to drink 500ml of water, and then empty their bladder before entering the MRI room. They had a 7T MRI initial run (10min) of resting state fMRI (rsfMRI-empty) acquisition. When patients felt the urge to void a second identical rsfMRI-full acquisition was performed. Data were preprocessed and denoised with the CONN toolbox in Matlab. A blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal contrast map was generated for rsFC-empty and rsFC-full bladder conditions. We established a priori cerebellum regions of interest (ROIs) from the literature to perform seed-to-voxel analysis with nonparametric statistics based on the Threshold Free Cluster Enhancement method and a voxel threshold of p<0.05. RESULTS: Twenty individuals (10 men, 10 women) with an average age of 27 years (IQR [24-27,5]) participated in the study. We placed 26 different 4-mm seeds throughout the cerebellum and assessed their FC with the rest of the brain. Three of these (left cerebellar tonsil, right posterolateral lobe, right posterior lobe) showed significant differences in connectivity with areas associated with the full bladder condition (Figure 1). The FC between men and women was similar for each of these. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary results demonstrate for the first time that cerebellar network connectivity is associated with a full bladder state and is involved in LUT function. Elucidating the role of the cerebellum in bladder function paves the way to a better understanding of urinary pathologies affecting this area. Source of Funding: Funding was provided by the NIH, NIDDK R03DK126994-01 award, and the Houston Methodist Clinician Scientist Award © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e677 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Charles Mazeaud More articles by this author Jessica Bernard More articles by this author Betsy Salazar More articles by this author Hamida Rajab More articles by this author Christof Karmonik More articles by this author Rose Khavari More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...