Diffusion tensor imaging findings in the hunger and satiety centers of the brain after bariatric surgery: a preliminary study.

Purpose: To investigate the alterations in the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters measured in the hunger and satiety centers of the brain before and after bariatric surgery (BS) in morbidly obese patients.

Methods: Fourty morbidly obese patients were evaluated before and after BS. Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were calculated from 14 related brain locations, and the DTI parameters were analyzed.

Results: After the BS, the mean BMI of the patients decreased from 47.53 ± 5.21 to 31.48 ± 4.21. The MD and FA values in the all of the hunger and satiety centers was found statistically significant different in the pre-surgery period compared to the post-surgery period (for each; p-value < 0.001).

Conclusion: The FA and MD changes after BS may be attributed to reversible neuroinflammatory alterations in the hunger and satiety centers. Decreased MD and FA values after BS may be explained by the neuroplastic structural recovery in the related brain locations.