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• Clinical Article •
MRI based subcortical structure and function changes in patients with chronic heart failure
LIU Yuting  YANG Yuting  KONG Xiang  ZHANG Longjiang 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.005.


[Abstract] Objective To evaluate subcortical structure and function changes in patients with chronic heart failure (HF) by using structural and functional MRI.Materials and Methods Forty-nine patients with chronic HF and forty-nine age, sex and education-matched healthy controls were included in our hospital. For every participant, demographic data, MRI and cognition data were acquired. Differences in subcortical structure volumes and their functional connectivity with whole brain between two groups were analyzed. We further conducted correlation analysis to assess the relationships among subcortical structure volumes, functional connectivity, and clinical/cognitive variables.Results Compared with healthy controls, HF group showed decreased volumes in bilateral thalamus and left amygdala (P < 0.05, FDR correction), decreased functional connectivity between amygdala and left superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus (P < 0.05, GRF correction). However, there was no significant difference in functional connectivity between thalamus and other brain regions between two groups. In addition, HF groups also exhibited decreased cognitive scores (P < 0.001). Bilateral thalamus volume positively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (left: r = 0.416, P = 0.003; r = 0.547, P < 0.001; right: r = 0.426, P = 0.002; r = 0.536, P < 0.001), negatively correlated with HF duration and heart function class (left: r = -0.287, P = 0.045; r = -0.366, P = 0.010; right: r = -0.308, P = 0.031; r = -0.343, P = 0.016).Conclusions Subcortical structure volume and functional connectivity abnormalities were associated with cognitive dysfunction, suggesting that subcortical structures may serve as an anatomical basis and potential intervention target for cognitive impairment in chronic HF.
[Keywords] chronic heart failure；subcortical structure；magnetic resonance imaging；cognitive function

LIU Yuting   YANG Yuting   KONG Xiang   ZHANG Longjiang*  

Department of Radiology, Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University/General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command, Nanjing 210002, China

Corresponding author: ZHANG L J, E-mail: kevinzhlj@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-10-15
Accepted  2026-01-05
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.005
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.02.005.

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