Altered resting functional network topology in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy assessed by minimum spanning tree based graph theoretical analysis
10.3760/cma.j.cn112149-20240328-00168
- VernacularTitle:基于最小生成树的图论分析评估原发性全面性癫痫患者的静息态脑网络拓扑改变
- Author:
Gaoping LIU
1
;
Ruijia YANG
;
Xin LI
;
Menghan ZHAI
;
Zhaojie WANG
;
Zhiqiang ZHANG
;
Guangming LU
;
Zhengge WANG
;
Bing ZHANG
Author Information
1. 南京大学医学院附属鼓楼医院医学影像科，南京 210008
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Epilepsy, generalized;
Magnetic resonance imaging;
Graph theory;
Minimum spanning tree
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiology
2025;59(2):192-198
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To evaluate the topological alterations of resting-state brain networks in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizure (IGE-GTCS) using minimum spanning tree (MST) based on graph theoretic analysis, and to further analyze the relationships between topological features, duration, and antiepileptic drug response.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. Retrospectively, 75 IGE-GTCS patients and 37 healthy controls (HC) who underwent brain MR imaging at the Affiliated of Nanjing University Medical School Drum Tower Hospital from January 2013 to December 2020 were enrolled. IGE-GTCS patients were grouped into well-controlled subgroup (WC; n=55) and drug-resistant subgroup (DR; n=20) according to their response to antiepileptic drugs. Firstly, the time series correlations between 116 regions of the whole brain of each subject were calculated to construct functional connectivity matrices. For each functional connectivity matrix, the Kruskal algorithm was used to MST, and the topological metrics of each MST were calculated, including leaf fraction, tree hierarchy, and diameter. The comparison of MST topological metrics between the two groups was performed using two-sample t-test. Pearson correlation analysis was used to calculate the correlation between disease duration and MST metrics in the WC subgroup and the DR subgroup. Results:Compared with the HC group, the MST leaf fraction ( t=2.27, P=0.025) increased in the IGE-GTCS patient group, and the diameter decreased ( t=-2.24, P=0.027), there was no statistically significant difference in tree hierarchy between IGE-GTCS patient group and HC group ( t=0.98, P=0.328). The MST leaf fraction ( t=-2.39, P=0.019) and tree hierarchy ( t=-2.24, P=0.027) in the WC subgroup was decreased compared with the DR subgroup, while there was no statistically significant difference in diameter between WC subgroup and DR subgroup ( P=0.093). The correlation analysis showed the MST diameter in WC subgroup was significantly correlated with disease duration ( r=0.452, P<0.001), while the MST diameter in DR subgroup was not significantly correlated with disease duration ( r=-0.062, P=0.847). Conclusions:Patients with IGE-GTCS exhibit specific alterations in the global topology of brain network, characterized by increased centralization and efficiency. The effective antiepileptic drug treatment is associated with a recovery of brain network abnormalities.
