Alteration of brain structural organization after sepsis with Fatigue - a structural brain network analysis

• Main Authors: Gundula Seidel (Author), Alexander Ritter (Author), Florian Bähr (Author), Farsin Hamzei (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Archives of Community Medicine and Public Health - Peertechz Publications, 2021-06-07.
• Subjects: Research Article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

<p>In our recent cross-sectional investigation, we found in sepsis survivors with persistent cognitive impairment a high number of patients who still suffer from Fatigue. This finding is of importance because Fatigue is highlighted as an associated long-term sequela after sepsis and therefore these patients require an appropriate rehabilitation therapy. </p><p>The aim of this study was to verify whether sepsis survivors with both cognitive impairment and Fatigue show any alteration in brain structure. </p><p>19 survivors of severe sepsis (longer than 2 years post sepsis) with persistent cognitive deficits ascertained with a battery of neuropsychological tests with cognitive and motor Fatigue symptoms (according to two German Fatigue scales) were investigated with a high-resolution. </p><p>T1 weighted image of the brain at a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. The Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed using VBM8 toolbox. 19 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were also scanned with MRI. </p><p>VBM analysis revealed significant gray matter volume reduction in sepsis survivors particularly in the lateral frontal operculum and anterior cingulate cortex. These regions are part of the cingulo-opercular network which maintains alertness. Gray matter volume loss of the orbitofrontal cortex is functionally associated with Fatigue. </p><p>These findings emphasize that networks of structural brain organization can be altered with corresponding clinical symptoms and neuropsychological deficits after sepsis. </p>