Abnormal Dynamic Functional Connectivity in Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease

Dynamic functional connectivity (FC) analysis can capture time-varying properties of connectivity; however, studies focusing on dynamic FC in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are very limited. This is the first study to explore the dynamic aspects of whole-brain FC and topological properties in ESRD patients. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 100 ESRD patients [50 hemodialysis (HD) patients and 50 non-dialysis patients] and 64 healthy controls (HCs). Independent component analysis, a sliding-window approach and graph-theory methods were used to study the dynamic FC properties. The intrinsic brain FC were clustered into four configuration states. Compared with HCs, both patient groups spent longer time in State 3, in which decreased FC between subnetworks of the default mode network (DMN) and between the dorsal DMN and language network was observed in these patients, and a further reduction in FC between the DMN subnetworks was found in HD patients compared to non-dialysis patients. The number of transitions and the variability of global and local efficiency progressively decreased from that in HCs to that of non-dialysis patients to that of HD patients. The completion time of Trail Making Test A and Trail Making Test B positively correlated with the mean dwell time of State 3 and negatively correlated with the number of transitions in ESRD patients. Our findings suggest impaired functional flexibility of network connections and state-specific FC disruptions in patients with ESRD, which may underlie their cognitive deficits. HD may have an adverse effect on time-varying FC.

Automated summary

This study is the first to explore the dynamic aspects of whole-brain FC and topological properties in ESRD patients. The findings suggest impaired functional flexibility of network connections and state-specific FC disruptions in patients with ESRD.