Josef Mana1, Manuela Vaneckova2, Jiří Klempíř1,3, Irena Lišková1, Hana Brožová1, Kamila Poláková1, Zdeněk Seidl2, Michal Miovský4, Daniela Pelclová5, Kateřina Bukačová1, Bénédicte Maréchal6,7,8, Tobias Kober6,7,8, Sergey Zakharov5, Evžen Růžička1, Ondrej Bezdicek1. 1. Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. 2. MR Unit, Department of Radiodiagnostics, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. 3. Institute of Anatomy, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. 4. Department of Addictology, Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic. 5. Toxicological Information Centre, Department of Occupational Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic. 6. Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Siemens Healthcare AG, Lausanne, Switzerland. 7. Department of Radiology, University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland. 8. Signal Processing Laboratory (LTS 5), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute methanol poisoning leads to optic neuropathy and necrotic lesions of basal ganglia (BG) and subcortical white matter. Survivors of methanol poisoning exhibit long-term executive and memory deficits. Associations between brain volumetry parameters and cognitive sequelae of methanol poisoning are not known. The aim of our study was to identify long-term associations between the cognitive performance of survivors of methanol poisoning and the volume of the brain structures that are selectively vulnerable to methanol. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional follow-up study on a sample of patients (n = 33, age 50 ± 14 years, 82% males) who survived acute methanol poisoning during methanol mass poisoning outbreak from September 2012 till January 2013 in the Czech Republic. A battery of neuropsychological tests and brain magnetic resonance imaging were included in the clinical examination protocol. Specific brain structures (putamen, globus pallidus, nucleus caudatus, and frontal white matter) were selected as regions of interest, and their volumes were estimated using the MorphoBox prototype software. RESULTS: In robust multiple regression models, sustained visual attention performance (as assessed by Trail Making Test and Prague Stroop Test) was positively associated with BG structures and frontal white matter volumes (Wald = 9.03 to 85.50, p < 0.01), sensitivity to interference (as assessed by Frontal Battery Assessment) was negatively associated with frontal white matter volume (Wald = 35.44 to 42.25, p < 0.001), and motor performance (as assessed by Finger Tapping Test) was positively associated with globus pallidus and frontal white matter volumes (Wald = 9.66 to 13.29, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that smaller volumes of elements of BG-thalamocortical circuitry, namely the BG and frontal white matter, relate to attention and motor performance in methanol poisoning from a long-term perspective. Disruption of those functional circuits may underlie specific cognitive deficits observed in methanol poisoning.
BACKGROUND: Acute methanolpoisoning leads to optic neuropathy and necrotic lesions of basal ganglia (BG) and subcortical white matter. Survivors of methanolpoisoning exhibit long-term executive and memory deficits. Associations between brain volumetry parameters and cognitive sequelae of methanolpoisoning are not known. The aim of our study was to identify long-term associations between the cognitive performance of survivors of methanolpoisoning and the volume of the brain structures that are selectively vulnerable to methanol. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional follow-up study on a sample of patients (n = 33, age 50 ± 14 years, 82% males) who survived acute methanolpoisoning during methanol mass poisoning outbreak from September 2012 till January 2013 in the Czech Republic. A battery of neuropsychological tests and brain magnetic resonance imaging were included in the clinical examination protocol. Specific brain structures (putamen, globus pallidus, nucleus caudatus, and frontal white matter) were selected as regions of interest, and their volumes were estimated using the MorphoBox prototype software. RESULTS: In robust multiple regression models, sustained visual attention performance (as assessed by Trail Making Test and Prague Stroop Test) was positively associated with BG structures and frontal white matter volumes (Wald = 9.03 to 85.50, p < 0.01), sensitivity to interference (as assessed by Frontal Battery Assessment) was negatively associated with frontal white matter volume (Wald = 35.44 to 42.25, p < 0.001), and motor performance (as assessed by Finger Tapping Test) was positively associated with globus pallidus and frontal white matter volumes (Wald = 9.66 to 13.29, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that smaller volumes of elements of BG-thalamocortical circuitry, namely the BG and frontal white matter, relate to attention and motor performance in methanolpoisoning from a long-term perspective. Disruption of those functional circuits may underlie specific cognitive deficits observed in methanolpoisoning.
Authors: Miroslav Barták; Vladimír Rogalewicz; Jaroslav Doubek; Jaroslav Šejvl; Benjamin Petruželka; Sergey Zakharov; Michal Miovský Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-05-19 Impact factor: 2.692