- Results. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Figure 1.Differences between CFS patients and controls.
- Figure 2.(Left) Correlations between volume and the performance status of CFS patients in the right prefrontal cortex (BA9; Talairach's coordinates: x = 48, y = 32 and z = 41)
- BWe observed a significant reduction in gray-matter volume in the bilateral prefrontal areas of CSF patients (Figure 1). The affected areas extended from BA8 to 9 in the right cerebral hemisphere, and from BA9 to 11 in the left. In comparison with healthy controls, there was an average of 11.8% volume reduction in CSF patients. Within these areas, there was a significant negative correlation between the gray-matter volume of the right prefrontal cortex and the performance status of the CFS group (r2 = 0.46, P = 0.004; Figure 2). This relationship was confirmed using Spearman's rank-correlation coefficient (P = 0.004). In this area, the gray-matter volume was reduced by 16.9% for patients compared with controls. No significant atrophy was observed in the white matter of CFS patients.
- Discussion.
- The present study provides the first report of focal gray-matter atrophy in the prefrontal cortex of CFS patients. Previous MRI studies of CFS revealed non-specific abnormalities: hyperintense small punctuated subcortical white-matter foci were observed predominantly in the frontal lobes [16] and their prevalence did not differ from an age-matched control group [17,18]. Ventricular enlargement was also reported [19]. Usually, MRI abnormalities in CSF patients cause the physician to conclude that the symptoms might be secondary to another medical condition [20].
