Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Structural Covariance Changes of the Striatum in Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Patients

Background The striatum has been reported to be implicated in various neurological diseases, including lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE). Altered striatum-related functional connectivity was investigated in LPE patients in previous studies; however, structural abnormalities in the striatum have been less studied in LPE. Purpose To identify the gray matter volume (GMV) and structural covariance patterns of the striatum between LPE patients and healthy controls (HCs). Study Type Prospective. Subjects Forty-three LPE patients and 31 male HCs. Field Strength/Sequence 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner; T1-weighted imaging using a spoiled gradient recalled echo sequence. Assessment Preprocessing of structural MRI data and the striatum-seeded GMV computation were conducted using SPM12. Statistical Tests Two sample t-test was used to compare differences in GMV of the striatum between patients and HCs. Regions showing altered between-group GMV were considered as seeds for structural covariance analysis in two groups. Additionally, correlations between GMV findings and clinical features were assessed with age and total intracranial volume (TIV) as covariates and with age, TIV, anxiety, and depression scores as covariates in the patient group, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Compared to HCs, LPE patients had significantly decreased GMV in four regions located in the bilateral caudate and putamen. Distinct striatum-based structural covariance patterns in the two groups were mainly related to the thalamus, amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, middle cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, and precuneus/cuneus. LPE patients showed that GMV in the bilateral caudate negatively correlated with the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) scores (r = -0.369, r = -0.377, respectively). Data Conclusion Our findings indicated that LPE patients had altered GMV and structural covariance patterns in the striatum compared to HCs. The correlations between abnormal GMV and PEDT were also shown in the present findings. These findings may contribute to enhancing the understanding of the pathophysiology of LPE. Level of Evidence 1 Technical Efficacy Stage 3

Automated summary

The study compared the gray matter volume of the striatum between LPE patients and healthy controls, finding that LPE patients had significantly decreased GMV in four regions located in the bilateral caudate and putamen. Unique striatum-based structural covariance patterns in the two groups were mainly related to various brain regions.