AUTHOR=Wang Mengxing , Zhang Anyi , Zhang Jilei , Lu Haifeng , Xu Shuai , Qin Zhaoxia , Ma Jun , Du Xiaoxia 

TITLE=Morphometric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Children With Primary Monosymptomatic Nocturnal Enuresis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2018.00103

DOI=10.3389/fped.2018.00103

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=Abstract

Objective: Primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) refers to bed-wetting in children who have no other lower urinary tract symptoms and are never dry for more than 6 months. Our previous studies demonstrated that children with PMNE exhibited brain functional abnormalities compared with healthy controls; however, researches on the abnormalities in gray matter were limited. This study aimed to investigate brain structural changes in gray matter of children with PMNE using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). 

Methods: Gray matter volumes (GMVs) and gyrification indices (GIs) were calculated using voxel-based and surface-based morphometry analyses of structural MRI data acquired from 26 children with PMNE and 28 healthy children. To identify between-group differences in gray matter, two-sample t-tests were conducted on GMV and GI images separately. 

Results: Compared with the controls, children with PMNE showed significantly increased GMVs in the supplementary motor area and medial prefrontal cortex regions (mean GMV in PMNE: 0.54 ± 0.07 liters; mean GMV in controls: 0.50 ± 0.06 liters) and reduced GIs in the right precuneus (mean GI in PMNE: 25.74º ± 2.34º; mean GI in controls: 27.97º ± 1.79º). 

Conclusion: Children with PMNE showed abnormal GMVs in frontal lobe and GIs in precuneus, and these changes might be involved in the pathological mechanism of PMNE.