White matter lesions characterise brain involvement in moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but cerebral atrophy does not.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Brain pathology is relatively unexplored in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study is a comprehensive investigation of grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) changes and how these relate to disease severity and cognitive function.

Methods

T1-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images were acquired for 31 stable COPD patients (FEV₁ 52.1% pred., PaO₂ 10.1 kPa) and 24 age, gender-matched controls. T1-weighted images were segmented into GM, WM and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tissue classes using a semi-automated procedure optimised for use with this cohort. This procedure allows, cohort-specific anatomical features to be captured, white matter lesions (WMLs) to be identified and includes a tissue repair step to correc

SUBMITTER: Spilling CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5474872 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature