A multi-modal MRI study of the central response to inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis

Andrew Schrepf (), Chelsea M. Kaplan, Eric Ichesco, Tony Larkin, Steven E. Harte, Richard E. Harris, Alison D. Murray, Gordon D. Waiter, Daniel J. Clauw and Neil Basu
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Andrew Schrepf: University of Michigan Health System
Chelsea M. Kaplan: University of Michigan Health System
Eric Ichesco: University of Michigan Health System
Tony Larkin: University of Michigan Health System
Steven E. Harte: University of Michigan Health System
Richard E. Harris: University of Michigan Health System
Alison D. Murray: University of Aberdeen
Gordon D. Waiter: University of Aberdeen
Daniel J. Clauw: University of Michigan Health System
Neil Basu: University of Aberdeen

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract It is unknown how chronic inflammation impacts the brain. Here, we examined whether higher levels of peripheral inflammation were associated with brain connectivity and structure in 54 rheumatoid arthritis patients using functional and structural MRI. We show that higher levels of inflammation are associated with more positive connections between the inferior parietal lobule (IPL), medial prefrontal cortex, and multiple brain networks, as well as reduced IPL grey matter, and that these patterns of connectivity predicted fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction. At a second scan 6 months later, some of the same patterns of connectivity were again associated with higher peripheral inflammation. A graph theoretical analysis of whole-brain functional connectivity revealed a pattern of connections spanning 49 regions, including the IPL and medial frontal cortex, that are associated with peripheral inflammation. These regions may play a critical role in transducing peripheral inflammatory signals to the central changes seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04648-0

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