Abstract

Although the prevalence of cognitive impairment and depression is higher in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) than in the general population, the mechanism has not been fully examined and impact of catheter ablation (CA) of AF also remains unclear. Recently, the development of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has enabled noninvasive measurements of regional cerebral blood volume and brain activity, in terms of cerebral oxyhemoglobin in the cerebral cortex. We assessed brain activities by NIRS, depressive symptoms by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and cognitive function by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We then compared the results between AF patients (paroxysmal AF n = 18 and persistent AF n = 14) and control subjects (n = 29). Next, we also followed up persistent AF patients who kept sinus rhythm at 3 months after CA (n = 8) and measured their brain activities using NIRS, CES-D and MMSE after CA to investigate the associations of changes in brain activities with changes in both CES-D and MMSE. Our results showed that (1) frontal and temporal brain activities were lower in patients with persistent AF than both in control subjects and paroxysmal AF patients (P < 0.01), (2) frontal and temporal brain activities were improved in more than half of the persistent AF patients who kept sinus rhythm at 3 months after CA, especially in those who presented impaired brain activity before CA, and (3) improvement of frontal brain activity was associated with improvement of CES-D (R =  − 0.793, P = 0.019), whereas improvement of temporal brain activity was associated with improvement of MMSE (R = 0.749, P = 0.033). NIRS measurement showed reduced frontal and temporal brain activities in the persistent AF patients, CA improved frontal and temporal brain activities in some of these patients, and associated with improvement of depressive state and/or improvement of cognitive function.

Details

Title
Impaired brain activity in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy and its changes after catheter ablation
Author
Akiomi, Yoshihisa 1 ; Kono Soichi 2 ; Kaneshiro Takashi 3 ; Ichijo Yasuhiro 3 ; Misaka Tomofumi 3 ; Yamada Shinya 3 ; Oikawa Masayoshi 3 ; Miura Itaru 2 ; Yabe Hirooki 2 ; Takeishi Yasuchika 3 

 Fukushima Medical University, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fukushima, Japan (GRID:grid.411582.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 1017 9540); Fukushima Medical University School of Health Science, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Fukushima, Japan (GRID:grid.411582.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 1017 9540) 
 Fukushima Medical University, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima, Japan (GRID:grid.411582.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 1017 9540) 
 Fukushima Medical University, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fukushima, Japan (GRID:grid.411582.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 1017 9540) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2663154762
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.