Radiomic alterations and clinical correlates of hypothalamic nuclei in ALS

IF 7 2区医学 Q1 BIOLOGY

Computers in biology and medicine Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.109906

Benedetta Tafuri , Alessia Giugno , Salvatore Nigro , Stefano Zoccolella , Roberta Barone , Ludovica Tamburrino , Valentina Gnoni , Daniele Urso , Eleonora Rollo , Roberto De Blasi , Giancarlo Logroscino

{"title":"Radiomic alterations and clinical correlates of hypothalamic nuclei in ALS","authors":"Benedetta Tafuri , Alessia Giugno , Salvatore Nigro , Stefano Zoccolella , Roberta Barone , Ludovica Tamburrino , Valentina Gnoni , Daniele Urso , Eleonora Rollo , Roberto De Blasi , Giancarlo Logroscino","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.109906","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The aim of this study is to analyze hypothalamic changes and clinical/metabolic correlates with a radiomic approach in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively identified 54 sporadic ALS patients and 53 matched controls. We compared radiomics features over hypothalamic subunits in T1-weighted. Semi-partial correlation (Spearman's correlation) assessed the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and clinical scores with radiomics features. We considered only moderate correlations (rho>|0.4|).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to HC, individuals with ALS showed significantly higher values of radiomic measures in the left Anterior-Inferior, Posterior and Inferior-Tubular hypothalamic subunits. Similarly, right hypothalamic nuclei reported significant differences in Anterior-Superior, Posterior and Inferior-Tubular nuclei. Two radiomics measures of randomness of the intensities in left Anterior-Inferior subunit showed highly significant correlation with greater BMI values. Higher local homogeneity of the right Inferior-Tubular subunit corresponded to higher ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-r), while finer textures of the left Anterior-Superior subunit were negatively related with disease progression rate.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These results support the hypothesis that a degenerative process affecting hypothalamus in ALS extends beyond the atrophy process. Intriguingly, the close relationship between the entropy of left Anterior-Inferior nucleus and the higher BMI may further demonstrate the critical role of hypothalamus in eating abnormalities. Furthermore, the inhomogeneity of the right Inferior-Tubular subunit reflects a more severe clinical condition by ALSFRS-R.</div><div>This work represents a significant advancement in the study of ALS and its association with hypothalamic changes through a novel radiological approach, uncovering new associations between sub-hypothalamic radiomic changes, anthropometric measures, and disease outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 109906"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Computers in biology and medicine","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010482525002574","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study is to analyze hypothalamic changes and clinical/metabolic correlates with a radiomic approach in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Methods

We retrospectively identified 54 sporadic ALS patients and 53 matched controls. We compared radiomics features over hypothalamic subunits in T1-weighted. Semi-partial correlation (Spearman's correlation) assessed the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and clinical scores with radiomics features. We considered only moderate correlations (rho>|0.4|).

Results

Compared to HC, individuals with ALS showed significantly higher values of radiomic measures in the left Anterior-Inferior, Posterior and Inferior-Tubular hypothalamic subunits. Similarly, right hypothalamic nuclei reported significant differences in Anterior-Superior, Posterior and Inferior-Tubular nuclei. Two radiomics measures of randomness of the intensities in left Anterior-Inferior subunit showed highly significant correlation with greater BMI values. Higher local homogeneity of the right Inferior-Tubular subunit corresponded to higher ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-r), while finer textures of the left Anterior-Superior subunit were negatively related with disease progression rate.

Conclusions

These results support the hypothesis that a degenerative process affecting hypothalamus in ALS extends beyond the atrophy process. Intriguingly, the close relationship between the entropy of left Anterior-Inferior nucleus and the higher BMI may further demonstrate the critical role of hypothalamus in eating abnormalities. Furthermore, the inhomogeneity of the right Inferior-Tubular subunit reflects a more severe clinical condition by ALSFRS-R.

This work represents a significant advancement in the study of ALS and its association with hypothalamic changes through a novel radiological approach, uncovering new associations between sub-hypothalamic radiomic changes, anthropometric measures, and disease outcomes.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Computers in biology and medicine 工程技术-工程：生物医学

CiteScore

11.70

自引率

10.40%

发文量

1086

审稿时长

74 days

期刊介绍： Computers in Biology and Medicine is an international forum for sharing groundbreaking advancements in the use of computers in bioscience and medicine. This journal serves as a medium for communicating essential research, instruction, ideas, and information regarding the rapidly evolving field of computer applications in these domains. By encouraging the exchange of knowledge, we aim to facilitate progress and innovation in the utilization of computers in biology and medicine.