IMR Press / JIN / Volume 23 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2304077
Open Access Systematic Review
Thalamic Alterations in Motor Neuron Diseases: A Systematic Review of MRI Findings
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1 Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, 14496 14535 Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 14177 55469 Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 14176 13151 Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, 14496 14535 Tehran, Iran
5 Department of Radiology, Imam Khomeini Hospital of Piranshahr, 57818 33318 Piranshahr, Iran
*Correspondence: s_ghaderi@razi.tums.ac.ir (Sadegh Ghaderi)
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2024, 23(4), 77; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2304077
Submitted: 17 November 2023 | Revised: 3 January 2024 | Accepted: 9 January 2024 | Published: 10 April 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Imaging-Volume II)
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Motor neuron diseases (MNDs) are progressive neurodegenerative disorders characterized by motor impairment and non-motor symptoms. The involvement of the thalamus in MNDs, especially in conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and its interaction with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), has garnered increasing research interest. This systematic review analyzed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies that focused on thalamic alterations in MNDs to understand the significance of these changes and their correlation with clinical outcomes. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, the PubMed and Scopus databases were searched from inception to June 2023 for studies related to MRI findings in the thalamus of patients with MNDs. Eligible studies included adult patients diagnosed with ALS or other forms of MND who underwent brain MRI, with outcomes related to thalamic alterations. Studies were evaluated for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results: A total of 52 studies (including 3009 MND patients and 2181 healthy controls) used various MRI techniques, including volumetric analysis, diffusion tensor imaging, and functional MRI, to measure thalamic volume, connectivity, and other alterations. This review confirmed significant thalamic changes in MNDs, such as atrophy and microstructural degradation, which are associated with disease severity, progression, and functional disability. Thalamic involvement varies across different MND subtypes and is influenced by the presence of cognitive impairment and mutations in genes including chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72). The synthesis of findings across studies indicates that thalamic pathology is a prevalent early biomarker of MNDs that contributes to motor and cognitive deficits. The thalamus is a promising target for monitoring as its dysfunction underpins a variety of clinical symptoms in MNDs. Conclusions: Thalamic alterations provide valuable insights into the pathophysiology and progression of MNDs. Multimodal MRI techniques are potent tools for detecting dynamic thalamic changes, indicating structural integrity, connectivity disruption, and metabolic activity.

Keywords
motor neuron disease
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
MRI
thalamus
biomarkers
Figures
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