[Research Advances in Ocular Myasthenia Gravis].

Ocular myasthenia gravis(OMG)is an autoimmune disease caused by neuromuscular junction transmission disorders and manifested mainly as fluctuating blepharoptosis and diplopia,with the extraocular muscles as the main involveed sites.While the pathogenesis of OMG remains unclear,some antibodies,complements,and cytokines may be the contributing factors.The diagnosis and treatment of OMG have been defined in recent years.This article reviews the pathogenesis,diagnosis,and treatment of OMG.

[Mechanism of Th1/Th2 Cytokines in HLA-DQ8 Transgenic Mice Model of Ocular Experimental Autoimmune Myasthenia Gravis].

Objective To analyze the levels of cytokines (IL-2,IFN-γ,IL-6,IL-10) associated with Th1 and Th2 cells in HLA-DQ8 transgenic mice model of ocular experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (oEAMG) induced by recombinant H-AChR γ subunit immunization.Methods DQ8 mice were immunized with 20 µg of AChR γ subunit,20 µg of crude E. coli extract (E. coli group),or complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) only (CFA group). All mice were immunized on days 0,30,and 60. Mice were euthanized 28 days after the third immunization,and draining lymph node cells (LNC) and spleen lymphocytes were cultured in vitro. The supernatant was collected to observe the interleukin(IL)-2,interferon(IFN)-γ,IL-6,IL-10 production by ELISA.Results LNCs and spleen lymphocytes of H-AChR γ subunit-immunized mice exhibited significantly enhanced IFN-γ (F=76.332,P<0.001;F=34.865,P<0.001) and IL-2 (F=42.835,P<0.001;F=38.030,P<0.001),which associated with Th1 cells,as compared to E. coli group and CFA group. There were no significant differences in IL-6 (F=1.325,P=0.284;F=1.935,P=0.166) and IL-10 (F=0.908,P=0.417;F=1.189,P=0.322) levels,which secreted by Th2 cells,among these three groups.Conclusion Th1 cytokines play key roles in the pathogenesis of oEAMG,while the mechanism of Th2 cytokines for oEAMG remains unclear.

[Advances in Retinopathy of Prematurity].

Retinopathy of prematurity(ROP)is a pathological neovascularization with fibrotic changes in the fundus of premature infants.It is a major cause of preventable blindness in children in both developing and developed countries.Treatment of ROP has long been a hot research topic in ophthalmology and pediatrics.With a clearer knowledge of the pathogenesis of ROP,more basic and clinical studies have been carried out.The anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy and surgical treatment have become mature strategies,and a variety of therapeutic drugs including insulin-like growth factor-1,transforming growth factor-ß,polyunsaturated fatty acids,and ß-adrenergic receptor blockers have been developed.This article reviews the recent advances in ROP.

[Strong and tunable field enhancement obtained by periodic rectangular pit structure].

The authors have designed a novel type of periodic rectangular pit nanostructure substrate based on the surface plasmon principle. Finite element method was employed to simulate the optical near-field distribution. Strongly enhanced field whose electric intensity Emax/E0 can be as high as 20 at resonance frequency appears around pithead of the periodic structure. As the period of structure, pit length l, width w and environment change, the authors observe the regular shifting of plasmon resonant wavelength which can cover the range from 500 to 1000 nm. The red shifts of SPR resonance peaks are increased with the increment of period Px when incident light is polarized along x axis. An abrupt decrease in localized electric field in the pit is observed as incident wavelength approaches Px. This is due to the satisfaction of wave vector matching condition and the excitation of propagating SPP. SPR resonance peaks also red shifts with the increment on pit length l and environment dielectric refractive index, presenting a linear dependence with pit length l. While the resonance peaks are blue shifted with the increment of pit width w. The results presented in this paper will provide a way to tune the plasmon resonant wavelength. Inspired by Jain's report, SPR resonance peaks' shifting with the changing of structure parameters can be explained by viewing the rectangular pit nanostructure as combination of two pairs of dipole-dipole coupling models along x and y axis respectively.

Significance of serum procalcitonin as biomarker for detection of bacterial peritonitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial peritonitis is serious disease and remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. Many studies have highlighted the potential usefulness of procalcitonin (PCT) for identification of bacterial peritonitis, however, the overall diagnostic value of PCT remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of PCT for detection of bacterial peritonitis. METHODS: We performed a systematic searched in MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, China Biology Medicine Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI) and Cochrane databases for trials that evaluated the diagnostic role of PCT for bacterial peritonitis. Sensitivity, specificity and other measures of accuracy of PCT were pooled using bivariate random effects models. RESULTS: Eighteen studies involving 1827 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of serum PCT for the diagnosis bacterial peritonitis were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.76-0.89) and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.87-0.96), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 11.06 (95% CI: 6.31-19.38), negative likelihood ratio was 0.18 (95% CI: 0.12-0.27) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 61.52 (95% CI: 27.58-137.21). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.94. Use of a common PCT cut-off value could improve the DOR to 75.32 and the AUROC to 0.95. Analysis of the seven studies that measured serum C-reactive protein (CRP) indicated that PCT was more accurate than CRP for the diagnosis of bacterial peritonitis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that PCT determination is a relatively sensitive and specific test for the diagnosis of bacterial peritonitis. However, with regard to methodological limitations and significant heterogeneity, medical decisions should be based on both clinical findings and PCT test results.

Is lead chelation therapy effective for chronic kidney disease? A meta-analysis.

The heavy metal lead (Pb) is a major environmental and occupational hazard. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a strong association between lead exposure and the presence of chronic kidney injury. Some studies have suggested that chelation therapy with calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (calcium disodium EDTA) might help decrease the progression of chronic kidney disease among patients with measurable body lead burdens. However, calcium disodium EDTA chelation in lead exposure is controversial due to the potential for adverse effects such as acute tubular necrosis. Therefore, we investigated the available randomized controlled trials assessing the renoprotective effects of calcium disodium EDTA chelation therapy. Our meta-analysis shows that calcium disodium EDTA chelation therapy can effectively delay the progression of chronic kidney disease in patients with measurable body lead burdens reflected by increasing the levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and creatinine clearance rate (Ccr). There appears to be no conclusive evidence that calcium disodium EDTA can decrease proteinuria.

Effects of vitamin E-coated dialyzer on oxidative stress and inflammation status in hemodialysis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin E-coated dialyzer may have an effect on oxidative stress and inflammation status in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Therefore, we performed a systematic review to assess the anti-oxidation and anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin E-coated dialyzer in HD patients. METHODS: The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs of vitamin E-coated dialyzer versus conventional dialyzer for HD patients were searched from multiple databases. We screened relevant studies according to predefined inclusion criteria and performed meta-analyses using RevMan 5.1 software. RESULTS: Meta-analysis showed vitamin E-coated dialyzer therapy could significantly decrease the serum thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) (SMD, -0.95; 95% CI, -1.28 to -0.61; p < 0.00001), oxLDL (SMD, -0.61; 95% CI, -1.04 to -0.19; p = 0.005), interleukin-6 (IL-6) (SMD, -0.65; 95% CI, -0.97 to -0.32; p < 0.0001) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (SMD, -0.46; 95% CI, -0.87 to -0.05; p = 0.03) compared with that of the control group. However, vitamin E-coated dialyzer did not result in increasing the total antioxidant status (TAS) (SMD, 0.23; 95% CI, -0.16 to 0.61; p = 0.25) and the fractional clearance of urea index (Kt/v) levels (MD, -0.07; 95% CI, -0.14 to 0.00; p = 0.06), in addition, there was no significant difference in plasma superoxide dismutase (SOD) level compared with that of the conventional dialyzer & oral vitamin E group (SMD, 0.28; 95% CI, -0.20 to 0.75; p = 0.26). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin E-coated dialyzer can reduce the oxidative stress and inflammation status reflected by the decreasing of serum TBARS, oxLDL, CRP, and IL-6 levels, and this new dialyzer does not affect the dialysis adequacy.

[Rapid quantitative analysis of hydrocarbon composition of furfural extract oils using attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy].

A set of rapid analysis system for hydrocarbon composition of heavy oils was designed using attenuated total reflection FTIR spectrometer and chemometrics to determine the hydrocarbon composition of furfural extract oils. Sixty two extract oil samples were collected and their saturates and aromatics content data were determined according to the standard NB/SH/T0509-2010, then the total contents of resins plus asphaltenes were calculated by the subtraction method in the percentage of weight. Based on the partial least squares (PLS), calibration models for saturates, aromatics, and resin+asphaltene contents were established using attenuated total reflection FTIR spectroscopy, with their SEC, 1.43%, 0.91% and 1.61%, SEP, 1.56%, 1.24% and 1.81%, respectively, meeting the accuracy and repeatability required for the standard. Compared to the present standard method, the efficiency of hydrocarbon composition analysis for furfural extract oils is significantly improved by the new method which is rapid and simple. The system could also be used for other heavy oil analysis, with excellent extension and application foreground.

[The evaluation of hydrocarbon potential generation for source rocks by near-infrared diffuse reflection spectra].

Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) diffuse reflection spectra were compared and evaluated for hydrocarbon potential generation of source rocks. Near-infrared diffuse reflectance often exhibits significant differences in the spectra due to the non-homogeneous distribution of the particles, so the signal-to-noise ratio of NIR is much lower than MIR It is too difficult to get accurate results by NIR without using a strong spectral preprocessing method to remove systematic noise such as base-line variation and multiplicative scatter effects. In the present paper, orthogonal signal correction (OSC) and an improved algorithm of it, i.e. direct orthogonal signal correction (DOSC), are used as different methods to preprocess both the NIR and MIR spectra of the hydrocarbon source rocks. Another algorithm, wavelet multi-scale direct orthogonal signal correction (WMDOSC), which is a combination of discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and DOSC, is also used as a preprocessing method. Then, the calibration model of hydrocarbon source rocks before and after pretreatment was established by interval partial least square (iPLS). The experimental results show that WMDOSC is more successfully applied to preprocess the NIR spectra data of the hydrocarbon source rocks than other two algorithms, and NIR performed as good as MIR in the analysis of hydrocarbon potential generation of source rocks with WMDOSC-iPLS pretreatment calibration model.

[Using PAA template to fabricate SERS substrate and the SERS detection of melamine].

The authors have got silver film with orderly arranged nanoparticles as the surface-enhanced Raman spectra (SERS) substrates using porous anodic alumina templates (PAA). A silver film (99.99%) with the thickness of several millimeters was thermally evaporated onto the PAA templates and the SERS substrate was got after removing the PAA templates in hydrochloric acid. SERS spectra of pyridine (0.01 mol x L(-1)) were measured on Renishaw 2000 Ramanscope with a He-Ne (632.8 nm) laser as an excitation source in backscattering geometry, and the average enhancement factors were more than 10(5). The authors compared SERS spectra of pyridine from the SERS substrates and from Ag film evaporated directly on glass slide, and the former was 30 times stronger than the latter. The authors got different SERS spectra of pyridine while changing the excitation laser power. It was found that the relationship between the peak intensity of SERS spectra and the excitation laser power was linear as the normal Raman spectrum. We used the substrates to detect melamine, 2.5 mg x L(-1) melamine solution could be recognized al though excitation laser power was below 1 mW.

Vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling versus its flap insertion for macular hole in high myopia: a Meta-analysis.

AIM: To compare the anatomic and functional outcomes between vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and internal ILM flap insertion technique for high myopia macular hole (MH). METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and CNKI were systematically searched, and all studies involved MH were included. The closure rate of MH and the postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 6mo after the initial surgery were the primary measures. All statistical tests were performed in Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS: Five studies that included 151 eyes of 151 patients were finally included, all of which were retrospectively comparative studies. Between the pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with ILM peeling surgery and the ILM insertion technique, the latter had significantly better efficacy with respect to the closure rate of MH (OR=21.32, 95%CI=7.25-62.67, P<0.001); However, regarding BCVA at 6mo after the initial surgery in MH, there was no statistical significance between the groups (OR=-0.04, 95%CI=-0.22-0.14, P=0.66). In addition, regarding the rate of retinal reattachment after the initial surgery, the two different methods were not significantly different (OR=2.22, 95%CI=0.34-14.32, P=0.4). CONCLUSION: Both ILM peeling and ILM insertion technique could significantly improve anatomic outcomes of MH in high myopia with or without retinal detachment (RD), and anatomic outcomes are more effective. However, there is no statistical significance in BCVA at 6mo after the initial surgery in MH, or in the rate of retinal reattachment after the first surgery, between the two methods.

[Quantities analysis of the infrared diffuse reflection spectrum of hydrocarbon source rocks by OSC-iPLS].

In many cases, the scattering can be an overpowering contributor to the spectrum, sometimes accounting for most of the variance in the data. Although the degree of scattering is dependent on the wavelength of the light that is used and the particle size and refractive index of the sample, the scattering is not uniform throughout the spectrum. In order to remove the effects of scattering and noise on multivariate calibration of IR spectral signals, orthogonal signal correction (OSC) was used as a method to preprocess the infrared spectra of the hydrocarbon source rocks to be quantitatively determined, thus to establish the calibration model of hydrocarbon source rocks before and after pretreatment by inetval partial least square (iPLS). Pretreatment was smoother and more orderly array. This indicated that the major information in hydrocarbon source rocks spectra could be reserved while part of noise was removed by OSC method. In this study, pretreatment calibration model was obtained, the model's correlation coefficient is 0.994 04 and RMSE is 0.635 2, but with no pretreatment the calibration model's correlation coefficient is 0.770 9 and RMSE is 3.925 7.

Risk factors for postoperative recurrence of ovarian endometriosis: long-term follow-up of 358 women.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the risk factors for the recurrence of endometrioma and the risk factors for the recurrence of endometriosis-related pain after long-term follow-up. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 358 women with endometriomas who had a minimum of 5-years follow up after laparoscopic endometrioma excision, which was performed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2009 to April 2013. All women were divided into recurrence group and nonrecurrence group. Analysis was performed with regard to preoperative history, laboratory analysis, findings during surgery, and symptoms during follow-up, including improvement and recurrence. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence rates of recurrence from 5 to 10 years after surgery were 15.4, 16.8, 19.3, 22.5, 22.5, and 22.5%, respectively. Significant differences were found between two groups in terms of age at surgery (RR: 0.764, 95% CI: 0.615-0.949, p = 0.015), duration of dysmenorrhea (RR: 1.120, 95% CI: 1.054-1.190, p < 0.001), presence of adenomyosis (RR: 1.629, 95% CI: 1.008-2.630, p = 0.046), CA125 level (RR: 1.856, 95% CI: 1.072-3.214, p = 0.021) and severity of dysmenorrhea. The severity of dysmenorrhea (RR: 1.711, 95% CI: 1.175-2.493, p = 0.005) and postoperative pregnancy (RR: 0.649, 95% CI: 0.460-0.914, p = 0.013) were significantly correlated with endometrioma recurrence in the multivariate analysis. No significant associations were found between the recurrence rate and gravida, parity, body mass index, infertility, leiomyoma presence, the size of ovarian endometrioma, the presence of deep infiltrating endometriosis, disease stage or postoperative medication. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of dysmenorrhea and postoperative pregnancy were independent risk factors for the recurrence of ovarian endometriomas after surgery during the long-time follow up.

[Study of electroreflectance spectrum and Franz-Keldysh effect at metal-GaAs interfaces].

Electronic properties (electric field, Fermi level pinning and density of interface states) of Au-GaAs, Al-GaAs and Ni-GaAs interfaces were studied by optical methods. These interfaces were fabricated by depositing metals (Ni, Au and Al) on specialized surface-intrinsic-n+ (SIN+) GaAs samples. Electroreflectance (ER) was used to study the electric fields and Fermi level pinnings of metal-GaAs interfaces. Fourier transformation (FT) of ER spectra was used to analyze these interfacial properties. Assuming that only a fraction of the total illuminated area was the effective interface state area, the density of interface states was obtained by measuring the relation between the photovoltage induced by an exciting He-Ne laser beam and the illumination intensity of the laser beam.

[DWT-iPLS applied in the infrared diffuse reflection spectrum of hydrocarbon source rocks].

Infrared spectroscopy is useful to monitor the quality of products on-line, or to quality multivariate properties simultaneously. The IR spectrometer satisfies the requirements of users who want to have quantitative product information in real-time because the instrument provides the information promptly and easily. However, Samples that are measured using diffuse reflectance often exhibit significant differences in the spectra due to the non-homogeneous distribution of the particles. In fact, multiple spectral measurements of the same sample can look completely different. In many cases, the scattering can be an overpowering contributor to the spectrum, sometimes accounting for most of the variance in the data. Although the degree of scattering is dependent on the wavelength of the light that is used and the particle size and refractive index of the sample, the scattering is not uniform throughout the spectrum. Typically, this appears as a baseline shift, tilt and sometimes curvature, where the degree of influence is more pronounced at the longer-wavelength end of the spectrum. The diffuse reflection spectrum is unsatisfactory and the calibration may provide unsatisfactory prediction results. So we must use some methods to remove the effects of the scattering for multivariate calibration of IR spectral signals. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is a good method to remove the effects of the scattering for multivariate calibration of IR spectral signals. By using DWT on individual signals as a preprocessing method in regression modeling on IR spectra, good compression is achieved with almost no loss of information, the low-frequency varying background and the high-frequency noise be removed simultaneously. In this report, we use the iPLS method to establish the calibration models of hydrocarbon source rocks. iPLS is a new regression method and the authors can get better results by using DTW- iPLS.

[Raman spectra studies of MBE-grown n-GaAs/SI-GaAs films].

n-GaAs films doped with Si were grown by MBE on semi-insulated GaAs (100) substrates. The films with different doping concents were characterized by Raman spectra at room temperature. It is obviously that the Raman peaks shifted. Some peaks were enhanced and some were weakened. This is attributed to the fact that the higher the doping contents, the highertge lattice mismatch. And the lattice misfit induced the imperfection in epitaxy layers. This experimental result coincides with the theory.

[Application of wavelet transform to the infrared diffusion reflectance spectrum of rocks].

The infrared diffuse reflectance spectra of hydrocarbon source rocks with different particle sizes were measured. The result indicated that the absorbency of the raw spectrum decreased with the reduction of particle size, but the relationship turned to be reverse after we pretreated the original spectra by using wavelet transform to eliminate the background and calibrate the baseline drift, both of which were caused by scattering. The reversed relations showed that the spectral lines were influenced deeply by the scattering of the samples. So the particle size of the samples to be measured and the particle size of the model samples must be consistent to reduce the error. The low frequency part of the spectrum filtrated by wavelet transform corresponds to the scattering, and the authors used it to set up a model at the latent absorbance wave number (near 2 820 cm(-1)) to forecast the particle size. By comparing this model with the other model based on the original spectrum the authors found that the pertinence of the anterior model is higher than the latter one and the value reaches 0.999 7. So the authors can accurately forecast and control the distribution of the particle size by this model, which can be used to improve the accuracy in the quantitative analysis of the infrared reflectance spectrum. Also the study validated that both scattering and absorption coefficients are inversely correlated with the particle size.

[Study on electro-degradation of new conjugated polymer PFO-BT15 light emitting diodes].

In the present paper electroluminescence spectrum and Raman spectrum were used to study electro-degradation of polymer light emitting devices (PLEDs) of PFO-BT15, a new and high-efficiency emitting polymer synthesized by the institute of polymer optoelectronic material & devices (IPOM) in South China University of Technology. The PLEDs with a configuration of ITO glass/PEDOT(120 nm)/PFO-BT15(80 nm)/Ba(4 nm)/Al(200 nm) emitted green light at 550 nm when 5 V dc voltage was applied. Three of those devices were used to study the electro-degradation mechanism of PLEDs. Device A was deposited in vacuum box in dark room to keep sample fresh; Device B was first lighted with current of 1 mA x 0.25 cm(-2) for 200 minutes, then with current of 5 mA x 0.25 cm(-2) for 60 minutes, finally with current of 10 mA x 0.25 cm(-2) for 40 minutes; Device C was lighted with current of 20 mA x 0.25 cm(-2) until the electroluminescence failure. Our experimental results indicate that the degradation speeds highly depend on the current through the devices. The stressed devices show the decrease in electroluminescence efficiency. However, the luminescence spectrum of the stressed device did not change compared with the fresh device, which suggest that the structure of the luminescent polymer did not change with the electro-stress. Raman spectrum was employed to probe the structure changes of the materials used in the device. We found that the PEDOT Raman peak disappeared andthe PFO-BT15 Raman peak still existed in electro-stress device. The results confirmed that it was the breakage of the PEDOT layer instead of degradation of emitting polymer, that led to the final failure of the PLEDs device. This work gives some valuable information for the design and development of highly stable organic light-emitting device.

Identification of Circular RNAs as a Novel Biomarker for Ovarian Endometriosis.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a challenging disease with symptoms such as dysmenorrhea and infertility. However, its etiology is still vague and there is still no effective markers or treatment. This study aimed to profile the circular RNAs (circRNAs) expressed in eutopic endometrium from patients with ovarian endometriosis and explore potential clues to the pathogenesis of endometriosis, providing an evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: A total of 63 clinical samples, including control endometrium (n = 22) and eutopic endometrium (n = 41), were collected from Peking Union Medical College Hospital between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016. Of them, four samples in each group were used for circRNA microarray. Then, four upregulated circRNAs were screened out for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validation. After that, bioinformatics analysis was performed to predict miRNAs targeted by validated circRNAs and investigate the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA interactions. RESULTS: Among 88 differentially expressed circRNAs, 11 were upregulated and 77 were downregulated in eutopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis. qRT-PCR validation results for two upregulated circRNAs (circ_0004712 and circ_0002198) matched the microarray results. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of circ_0002198 for distinguishing ovarian endometriosis was 0.846 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.752-0.939; P < 0.001) while that of circ_0004712 was 0.704 (95% CI: 0.571-0.837; P = 0.008). On the basis of target prediction, we depicted the molecular interactions between the identified circRNAs and their dominant target miRNAs, as well as constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that circRNAs are differentially expressed between eutopic and normal endometrium, which suggests that circRNAs are candidate factors in the activation of endometriosis. circ_0002198 and circ_0004712 may be potential novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis.

Abnormal resting-state functional network centrality in patients with high myopia: evidence from a voxel-wise degree centrality analysis.

AIM: To investigate the functional networks underlying the brain-activity changes of patients with high myopia using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method. METHODS: In total, 38 patients with high myopia (HM) (17 males and 21 females), whose binocular refractive diopter were -6.00 to -7.00 D, and 38 healthy controls (17 males and 21 females), closely matched in age, sex, and education levels, participated in the study. Spontaneous brain activities were evaluated using the voxel-wise DC method. The receiver operating characteristic curve was measured to distinguish patients with HM from healthy controls. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, HM patients had significantly decreased DC values in the right inferior frontal gyrus/insula, right middle frontal gyrus, and right supramarginal/inferior parietal lobule (P<0.05). In contrast, HM patients had significantly increased DC values in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, left precentral gyrus/postcentral gyrus, and right middle cingulate gyrus (P<0.05). However, no relationship was found between the observed mean DC values of the different brain areas and the behavioral performance (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: HM is associated with abnormalities in many brain regions, which may indicate the neural mechanisms of HM. The altered DC values may be used as a useful biomarker for the brain activity changes in HM patients.