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Abstract Details

Progression of Brain Functional Connectivity Changes Associated with Altered Cognition in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Neuromuscular and Clinical Neurophysiology (EMG)
P9 - Poster Session 9 (12:00 PM-1:00 PM)
1-005
To investigate the progression of brain functional connectivity alterations in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to define the relationship between ALS cognitive alterations and Resting State-Functional Connectivity (RS-FC) changes over time.

No studies so far investigated the relationship between cognitive and brain RS-FC changes in ALS.
At baseline and after six months, 23 newly diagnosed ALS patients underwent 3D T1-weighted MRI and RS-fMRI and a neuropsychological computer-based battery (Test of Attentional Performance-TAP), investigating the whole spectrum of frontal involvement in ALS accounting for patients’ motor impairment. To assess RS-FC over time, an independent component analysis was performed using MELODIC in FSL. For each network of interest, delta images between baseline and follow-up were obtained. General linear models accounting for voxel-based grey matter assessed: RS-FC changes over time; the relationship between RS-FC changes, baseline cognitive scores and cognitive changes over time.
Longitudinally, ALS patients showed an increased FC in the left anterior cingulate cortex, left middle frontal gyrus and bilateral superior frontal gyrus within the frontostriatal network, and in the left middle frontal gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral inferior parietal gyri within the left frontoparietal network. We observed that a worse performance at baseline TAP divided attention subtest was related with increased FC over time in the left middle frontal gyrus within the frontostriatal network. No association emerged between RS-fMRI and cognitive changes over time.

Over six months, FC progressed beyond the brain motor network. Increased connectivity in frontal regions in relation with greater frontal-executive deficits at baseline suggests that it is likely not a mechanism of compensation but rather a sign of disease progression as observed in the frontotemporal lobar degeneration. These findings offer new potential markers for monitoring the ALS progression.
Authors/Disclosures
Elisa Canu (Ospedale San Raffaele)
PRESENTER 		The institution of Elisa Canu has received research support from Italian Ministry of Health .
Federica Agosta (San Raffaele Scientific Institute) Federica Agosta has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Philips. Federica Agosta has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Elsevier INC.
Veronica Castelnovo, MSc (San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University) Dr. Castelnovo has nothing to disclose.
No disclosure on file
No disclosure on file
Yuri Falzone Yuri Falzone has nothing to disclose.
No disclosure on file
Vincenzo Silani, MD, FÂ鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ (University of Milan Medical School - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano) Dr. Silani has nothing to disclose.
Massimo Filippi, MD, FÂ鶹´«Ã½Ó³»­ (Ospedale San Raffaele, Neuroimaging Research Unit) Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $5,000-$9,999 for serving as a Consultant for Alexion, Almirall, Biogen, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Alexion, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Novartis, Roche, Sanofi, Sanofi-Aventis, Sanofi-Genzyme, Takeda. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Speakers Bureau for Bayer, Biogen, Celgene, Chiesi Italia SpA, Eli Lilly, Genzyme, Janssen, Merck-Serono, Neopharmed Gentili, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Sanofi, Takeda, and TEVA. Dr. Filippi has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an Editor, Associate Editor, or Editorial Advisory Board Member for Springer Nature. The institution of Dr. Filippi has received research support from Biogen Idec, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Roche, the Italian Ministry of Health, the Italian Ministry of University and Research, and Fondazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla.