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Faculty of Medical Sciences

The potential role of the brainstem and putamen in cortical myoclonus: an 18F-FDG PET study

Booi, J. (Jesse) (2021) The potential role of the brainstem and putamen in cortical myoclonus: an 18F-FDG PET study. thesis, Medicine.

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Abstract

1.1 Background Cortical myoclonus is the most common subtype of myoclonus and is characterized by sudden, brief, shock-like movements of the face and upper distal limbs. These symptoms are presumed to be caused by an abnormally functioning cerebello-thalamico-cortical network. In this study, we aimed to explore the differences in grey matter activation of the whole brain in cortical myoclonus. Specific attention was paid to the grey matter regions involved in this network. 1.2 Methods We analyzed grey matter activation by performing 18F-FDG PET scans of the brains of cortical myoclonus patients (n=12) and healthy participants (n=12). We displayed and tested resting-state glucose metabolism in 39 grey matter structures throughout the brain by performing a volume of interest (VOI) based analyses. 1.3 Results We did not observe significant differences in resting-state glucose metabolism for all 39 grey matter structures (p>0.05). No differences or trends were found in the primary motor cortex (p=0.56) and primary sensory cortex (p=0.67). We did observe a trend of reduced glucose metabolism in the cerebellum (p=0.14). Unexpectedly, we observed trends of increased glucose metabolism in the putamen (p=0.08) and decreased glucose metabolism brainstem (p=0.07). 1.4 Conclusion Although our data are not conclusive, the main findings indicate an altered cerebello-thalamico-cortical network in cortical myoclonus. We also observed involvement of grey matter in the brainstem and putamen, which implies involvement of basal ganglia and ponto-cerebellar networks. Our findings indicate that future research focusing on these white matter networks could provide more insight into the pathophysiology of cortical myoclonus.

Item Type: Thesis (UNSPECIFIED)
Supervisor name: Koning-Tijssen, prof. dr. M. de (Marina) and Dalenberg, dr. J. (Jelle)
Faculty: Medical Sciences
Date Deposited: 24 Dec 2021 08:40
Last Modified: 24 Dec 2021 08:40
URI: https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2905

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