Dataset Information

Altered white matter microarchitecture in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A voxel-based meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The results of recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are inconclusive and controversial. We performed a voxel-based meta-analysis to identify a statistical consensus among published DTI studies of altered white matter (WM) microarchitecture in ALS.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted for relevant studies that used voxel-wise analyses of WM microarchitecture in patients with ALS. Anisotropic effect size-signed differential mapping (AES-SDM) was applied to analyze fractional anisotropy (FA) differences between ALS patients and healthy controls. Meta-regression analysis was used to explore the effects of clinical characteristics on WM integrity in patients with ALS.

Results

A total of 14 studies with 16 datasets that included 396 patients and 360 healthy controls were identified. The pooled meta-analysis revealed that patients with ALS exhibited significant FA reductions in two clusters relative to healthy controls. The largest cluster exhibited a peak coordinate in the left corona radiata, extending to the body and splenium of the corpus callosum, left superior longitudinal fasciculus, posterior limb of the internal capsule, right corona radiata, and bilateral cingulate gyrus. The other cluster exhibited decreased FA in the right corticospinal tract that extended to the right cerebral peduncle. The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score was positively correlated with the FA reduction in the left corona radiata. Mean age and illness duration were not linearly correlated with the FA reductions.

Conclusions

This study provides a thorough profile of WM microarchitecture alterations in patients with ALS and further evidence that the neuronal degeneration is not limited to the corticospinal tract but also includes extra-motor areas, which supports the view that ALS is a multisystem degenerative disorder that involves the white matter.

SUBMITTER: Zhang F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6051469 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Altered white matter microarchitecture in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A voxel-based meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

Zhang Feifei F Chen Guangxiang G He Manxi M Dai Jing J Shang Huifang H Gong Qiyong Q Jia Zhiyun Z

NeuroImage. Clinical 20180404

<h4>Background</h4>The results of recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are inconclusive and controversial. We performed a voxel-based meta-analysis to identify a statistical consensus among published DTI studies of altered white matter (WM) microarchitecture in ALS.<h4>Methods</h4>A systematic search was conducted for relevant studies that used voxel-wise analyses of WM microarchitecture in patients with ALS. Anisotropic effect size-signed differen ...[more]

PMID: 30035009

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Project description:Primary lateral sclerosis is a sporadic disorder characterized by slowly progressive corticospinal dysfunction. Primary lateral sclerosis differs from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by its lack of lower motor neuron signs and long survival. Few pathological studies have been carried out on patients with primary lateral sclerosis, and the relationship between primary lateral sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains uncertain. To detect in vivo structural differences between the two disorders, diffusion tensor imaging of white matter tracts was carried out in 19 patients with primary lateral sclerosis, 18 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and 19 age-matched controls. Fibre tracking was used to reconstruct the intracranial portion of the corticospinal tract and three regions of the corpus callosum: the genu, splenium and callosal fibres connecting the motor cortices. Both patient groups had reduced fractional anisotropy, a measure associated with axonal organization, and increased mean diffusivity of the reconstructed corticospinal and callosal motor fibres compared with controls, without changes in the genu or splenium. Voxelwise comparison of the whole brain white matter using tract-based spatial statistics confirmed the differences between patients and controls in the diffusion properties of the corticospinal tracts and motor fibres of the callosum. This analysis further revealed differences in the regional distribution of white matter alterations between the patient groups. In patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the greatest reduction in fractional anisotropy occurred in the distal portions of the intracranial corticospinal tract, consistent with a distal axonal degeneration. In patients with primary lateral sclerosis, the greatest loss of fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity occurred in the subcortical white matter underlying the motor cortex, with reduced volume, suggesting tissue loss. Clinical measures of upper motor neuron dysfunction correlated with reductions in fractional anisotropy in the corticospinal tract in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and increased mean diffusivity and volume loss of the corticospinal tract in patients with primary lateral sclerosis. Changes in the diffusion properties of the motor fibres of the corpus callosum were strongly correlated with changes in corticospinal fibres in patients, but not in controls. These findings indicate that degeneration is not selective for corticospinal neurons, but affects callosal neurons within the motor cortex in motor neuron disorders.

Dataset Information

Altered white matter microarchitecture in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A voxel-based meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Altered white matter microarchitecture in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A voxel-based meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging.

Similar Datasets

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