Journal article
Self-reported fatigue was associated with increased white-matter alterations in long-term traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder patients
Neuroscience, Vol.520, pp.46-57
2023
PMCID: PMC10357124
PMID: 37080447
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Fatigue is a long-lasting problem in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with limited research that investigated the fatigue-related white-matter changes within TBI and/or PTSD cohorts. This exploratory cross-sectional study used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neuropsychological data collected from 153 male Vietnam War veterans, as part of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative - Department of Defense, and were divided clinically into control veterans, PTSD, TBI, and with both TBI and PTSD (TBI + PTSD). The existence of fatigue was defined by the question “Do you often feel tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the daytime?”. DTI data were compared between fatigue and non-fatigue subgroups in each clinical group using tract-based spatial statistics voxel-based differences. Fatigue was reported in controls (29.55%), slightly higher in TBI (52.17%, PBenf = 0.06), and significantly higher in both TBI + PTSD (66.67%, PBenf = 0.001) and PTSD groups (79.25%, PBenf < 0.001). Compared to non-fatigued subgroups, no white-matter differences were observed in the fatigued subgroups of control or TBI, while the fatigued PTSD subgroup only showed increased diffusivity measures (i.e., radial and axial), and the fatigued TBI + PTSD subgroup showed decreased fractional anisotropy and increased diffusivity measures (PFWE ≤ 0.05). The results act as preliminary findings suggesting fatigue to be significantly reported in TBI + PTSD and PTSD decades post-trauma with a possible link to white-matter microstructural differences in both PTSD and TBI + PTSD. Future studies with larger cohorts and detailed fatigue assessments would be required to identify the white-matter changes associated with fatigue in these cohorts.
Details
- Title
- Self-reported fatigue was associated with increased white-matter alterations in long-term traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress disorder patients
- Authors
- Abdalla Z Mohamed (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteJim Lagopoulos (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteFatima A Nasrallah (Author) - The University of QueenslandZack Shan (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteDepartment of Defense Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Author)
- Publication details
- Neuroscience, Vol.520, pp.46-57
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.03.029
- ISSN
- 1873-7544
- PMID
- 37080447; PMC10357124
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99719098902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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