Dataset Information

Whole brain-based analysis of regional white matter tract alterations in rare motor neuron diseases by diffusion tensor imaging.

ABSTRACT: Different motor neuron disorders (MNDs) are mainly defined by the clinical presentation based on the predominance of upper or lower motor neuron impairment and the course of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mostly serves as a tool to exclude other pathologies, but novel approaches such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have begun to add information on the underlying pathophysiological processes of these disorders in vivo. The present study was designed to investigate three different rare MNDs, i.e., primary lateral sclerosis (PLS, N = 25), hereditary spastic paraparesis (HSP, N = 24), and X-linked spinobulbar muscular atrophy (X-SBMA, N = 20), by use of whole-brain-based DTI analysis in comparison with matched controls. This analysis of white matter (WM) impairment revealed widespread and characteristic patterns of alterations within the motor system with a predominant deterioration of the corticospinal tract (CST) in HSP and PLS patients according to the clinical presentation and also in patients with X-SBMA to a lesser degree, but also WM changes in projections to the limbic system and within distinct areas of the corpus callosum (CC), the latter both for HSP and PLS. In summary, DTI was able to define a characteristic WM pathoanatomy in motor and extra-motor brain areas, such as the CC and the limbic projectional system, for different MNDs via whole brain-based FA assessment and quantitative fiber tracking. Future advanced MRI-based investigations might help to provide a fingerprint-identification of MNDs.

SUBMITTER: Unrath A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6871219 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Whole brain-based analysis of regional white matter tract alterations in rare motor neuron diseases by diffusion tensor imaging.

Unrath Alexander A Müller Hans-Peter HP Riecker Axel A Ludolph Albert C AC Sperfeld Anne-Dorte AD Kassubek Jan J

Human brain mapping 20101101 11

Different motor neuron disorders (MNDs) are mainly defined by the clinical presentation based on the predominance of upper or lower motor neuron impairment and the course of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) mostly serves as a tool to exclude other pathologies, but novel approaches such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have begun to add information on the underlying pathophysiological processes of these disorders in vivo. The present study was designed to investigate three different ...[more]

PMID: 20336652

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Project description:Well-established literature indicates that older adults have poorer cerebral white matter integrity, as measured through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Age differences in DTI have been observed widely across white matter, although some tracts appear more sensitive to the effects of aging than others. Factors like APOE ε4 status and sex may contribute to individual differences in white matter integrity that also selectively impact certain tracts, and could influence DTI changes in aging. The present study explored the degree to which age, APOE ε4, and sex exerted global vs. tract specific effects on DTI metrics in cognitively healthy late middle-aged to older adults. Data from 49 older adults (ages 54-92) at two time-points separated by approximately 2.7 years were collected. DTI metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were extracted from nine white matter tracts and global white matter. Results showed that across timepoints, FA and MD increased globally, with no tract-specific changes observed. Baseline age had a global influence on both measures, with increasing age associated with lower FA and higher MD. After controlling for global white matter FA, age additionally predicted FA for the genu, callosum body, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), and both anterior and posterior cingulum. Females exhibited lower global FA on average compared to males. In contrast, MD was selectively elevated in the anterior cingulum and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), for females compared to males. APOE ε4 status was not predictive of either measure. In summary, these results indicate that age and sex are associated with both global and tract-specific alterations to DTI metrics among a healthy older adult cohort. Older women have poorer white matter integrity compared to older men, perhaps related to menopause-induced metabolic changes. While age-related alterations to white matter integrity are global, there is substantial variation in the degree to which tracts are impacted, possibly as a consequence of tract anatomical variability. The present study highlights the importance of accounting for global sources of variation in DTI metrics when attempting to investigate individual differences (due to age, sex, or other factors) in specific white matter tracts.

Project description:Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown white matter compromise in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may relate to reduced connectivity and impaired function of distributed networks. However, tract-specific evidence remains limited in ASD. We applied tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) for an unbiased whole-brain quantitative estimation of the fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusion (MD) and axial and radial diffusion of the white matter tracts in children and adolescents with ASD.DTI was performed in 26 ASD and 24 typically developing (TD) participants, aged 9-20 years. Groups were matched for age and IQ. Each participant's aligned FA, MD and axial and radial diffusion data were projected onto the mean FA skeleton representing the centers of all tracts and the resulting data fed into voxelwise group statistics.TBSS revealed decreased FA and increased MD and radial diffusion in the ASD group compared to the TD group in the corpus callosum, anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum, anterior thalamic radiation, and corticospinal tract. No single site with inverse effects (increased FA, reduced MD or radial diffusion in the ASD group) was detected. In clusters of significant group difference, age was positively correlated with FA and negatively correlated with MD and radial diffusion in the TD, but not the ASD group.Our findings reveal white matter compromise affecting numerous tracts in children and adolescents with ASD. Slightly varying patterns of diffusion abnormalities detected for some tracts may suggest tract-specific patterns of white matter abnormalities associated with ASD. Age-dependent effects further show that maturational changes (increasing FA, decreasing MD and radial diffusion with age) are diminished in ASD from school-age childhood into young adulthood.

Dataset Information

Whole brain-based analysis of regional white matter tract alterations in rare motor neuron diseases by diffusion tensor imaging.

Publications

Whole brain-based analysis of regional white matter tract alterations in rare motor neuron diseases by diffusion tensor imaging.

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