Investigation of the relationship between the cognitive functions and dti analysis findings in patients with behcet's disease

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the DTG parameters obtained from the different brain localizations and the neurocognitive function test results. Material and Method: 35 adults with Behcet's disease and 21 healthy controls were participated in this study. Neurocognitive functions of the patients and the controls were evaluated with the Brief Battery Test which comprises the PASAT, Selective reminding test. Spatial recall test, Symbol digit modalities test and Word list generation test. In both of the patients and the controls, FA, ADC, MR and RD values were calculated at the 19 different localizations in the brain and the obtained values were compared with each other. Also, the correlation between the DTI parameters and the neurocognitive function test results were investigated. In addition, the effect of the presence of neurological symptoms and Neurobehcet diagnosis on the DTG parameters and neurocognitive functions were evaluated. Results: In Behcet's disease, at the cingulum and the splenium of the corpus callosum, the measured FA values were significantly lower compared with the controls. The ADC values of the corona radiata were significantly higher than the controls. Significant differences were found at the different brain localizations in patients with or without neurological symptoms and Neurobehcet. Also, between the neurocognitive functon test results and the DTI parameters, significant correlations were detected. Conclusion: Our results suggested that these findings could be an early indication of the detriment to the myelinated fibers, existence of the axonal dejeneration and the local cellular damage due to Behcet's disease and the secondary impairment of the neurocognitive functions. In addition to that, these DTI findings could be an early sign of the microstrucrural changes before the appearance of the neurologic symptoms and the conventional brain MRI findings. Our results suggested that in this patients, brain injury have been started at the cellular level due to the disease and the secondary impairment of the neurocognitive functions could be developed.