多发性硬化患者智能改变与头颅磁共振成像测量及弥散张量成像研究

目的　研究多发性硬化 (MS)患者认知功能障碍的发生情况及认知改变的病理解剖基础。方法　对 70例MS患者进行韦氏智力量表测查及头颅MRI检查 ,对其中 5 0例患者的头颅MRI成像进行了定量测量 ;7例患者进行了弥散张量成像 (DTI)扫描。结果　智能测试发现MS组全量表智商低于正常 (<90分 )者为 4 0 % (2 8/ 70 ) ,与正常组比较差异有非常显著意义 (P <0 0 1)。智能测试与MRI测量中的两侧尾状核比率相关性最显著 ,其次为胼胝体指数。DTI显示病灶周围看似正常组织、看似正常白质及灰质较对照组相应部位脑组织的表观扩散系数增高 ,各向异性值减低。结论　MS患者中存在认知障碍。病灶的范围及其严重程度 ,包括看似正常白质中的微小病灶的数量和严重程度决定认知障碍的程度。灰质功能障碍也与认知改变有关。     

Traumatic brain injury, major depression, and diffusion tensor imaging: Making connections

It is common for depression to develop after traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet despite poorer recovery, there is a lack in our understanding of whether post-TBI brain changes involved in depression are akin to those in people with depression without TBI. Modern neuroimaging has helped recognize degrees of diffuse axonal injury (DAI) as being related to extent of TBI, but its ability to predict long-term functioning is limited and has not been considered in the context of post-TBI depression. A more recent brain imaging technique (diffusion tensor imaging; DTI) can measure the integrity of white matter by measuring the directionality or anisotropy of water molecule diffusion along the axons of nerve fibers. Aim: To review DTI results in the TBI and depression literatures to determine whether this can elucidate the etiology of the development of depression after TBI. Method: We reviewed the TBI/DTI (40 articles) and depression/DTI literatures (17 articles). No articles were found that used DTI to investigate depression post-TBI, although there were some common brain regions identified between the TBI/DTI and depression/DTI studies, including frontotemporal, corpus callosum, and structures contained within the basal ganglia. Specifically, the internal capsule was commonly reported to have significantly reduced fractional anisotropy, which agrees with deep brain stimulation studies. Conclusion: It is suggested that measuring the degree of DAI by utilizing DTI in those with or without depression post-TBI, will greatly enhance prediction of functional outcome.     

弥漫性轴索损伤早期磁共振弥散张量成像检测与恢复期注意力障碍的相关性研究

目的应用磁共振弥散张量成像技术研究患者早期弥漫性轴索损伤(DAI)与恢复期时注意力障碍之间的关系。方法分别对12例DAI患者(伤后4.1±1.7d)和10例健康志愿者(正常对照组)进行MRI弥散张量成像(DTI)检查及神经心理测评量表评估。使用感兴趣区域方法对两组DTI图像的下纵束、上纵束、胼胝体膝部和胼胝体压部的FA值进行比较;分别对恢复期的DAI患者(20.9±7.3 M)与健康志愿者行认知量表评估,并对DAI组的FA值与神经心理测评量表的总分行pearson直线相关分析。结果与健康对照组相比,DAI患者全部感兴趣区的FA值显著降低(P<0.05)、注意力功能显著降低(P<0.05)。DAI患者中的上纵束和下纵束与注意力量表总分呈负性相关(P<0.05),胼胝体膝部和胼胝体压部与注意力量表总分无相关性(P>0.05)。结论利用DTI技术检测早期白质纤维束的损伤可以预测DAI患者在恢复期中的注意力功能障碍,为临床上DAI患者的认知障碍的诊断提供一定的科学依据。     

Quantitative DTI assessment of periventricular white matter changes in neonatal meningitis

Neonatal meningitis is one of the important causes of infant mortality and morbidity. Periventricular white matter of neonatal brain is known to be vulnerable to oxidative and hypoxic/ischemic injury secondary to neuro-infections. The aim of this study was to assess periventricular white matter damage in neonatal bacterial meningitis using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI was performed in 7 age/sex matched controls and 14 neonates with proven bacterial meningitis at the time of diagnosis and after 3 weeks of antibiotic treatment. Region of interest were placed on periventricular white matter to quantify fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Based on the clinical prognosis and conventional MRI, patients were grouped into those with normal and with abnormal outcome. Compared to controls significantly decreased FA values were observed in entire periventricular white matter except for left parietal white matter in patients with abnormal outcome. Even in those with normal outcome significant decrease in FA values were observed in right parietal and bilateral occipital white matter compared to controls. Decreased FA values in the periventricular white matter regions in neonatal meningitis confirm microstructural white matter injury.     

抑郁症患者弥散张量成像与认知功能的关系

目的:探讨抑郁症患者全脑白质纤维受损状况及其与认知功能的关系.方法:对 24 例抑郁症患者及 30 名健康对照者进行临床测评、常规磁共振成像(MRI)、弥散张量成像(DTI)及神经心理学检查.结果:抑郁症组在左额中回、左额上回、右额内侧回、左楔前叶、左颞上回、右扣带回等区域各向异性(FA)值较对照组显著下降(P＜0.001).抑郁症组威斯康星卡片分类测验(WCST)的分类数、总错误率明显高于对照组(P＜0.01 或 P＜0.05).两组持续注意操作测试(CPT)差异无显著性;抑郁症组 CPT 与 WCST 部分结果均呈负相关(P均＞0.05).结论:DTI 与 WCST 结果的相互印证反映重性抑郁症患者可能存在白质区域神经功能的异常,DTI 技术有助于发现影响认知改变的脑微细结构和功能的异常.     

Detection of traumatic axonal injury with diffusion tensor imaging in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic axonal injury (TAI) is thought to be a major contributor to cognitive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury (TBI), however TAI is difficult to diagnose or characterize non-invasively. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promise in detecting TAI, but direct comparison to histologically-confirmed axonal injury has not been performed. In the current study, mice were imaged with DTI, subjected to a moderate cortical controlled impact injury, and re-imaged 4-6 h and 24 h post-injury. Axonal injury was detected by amyloid beta precursor protein (APP) and neurofilament immunohistochemistry in pericontusional white matter tracts. The severity of axonal injury was quantified using stereological methods from APP stained histological sections. Two DTI parameters - axial diffusivity and relative anisotropy - were significantly reduced in the injured, pericontusional corpus callosum and external capsule, while no significant changes were seen with conventional MRI in these regions. The contusion was easily detectable on all MRI sequences. Significant correlations were found between changes in relative anisotropy and the density of APP stained axons across mice and across subregions spanning the spatial gradient of injury. The predictive value of DTI was tested using a region with DTI changes (hippocampal commissure) and a region without DTI changes (anterior commissure). Consistent with DTI predictions, there was histological detection of axonal injury in the hippocampal commissure and none in the anterior commissure. These results demonstrate that DTI is able to detect axonal injury, and support the hypothesis that DTI may be more sensitive than conventional imaging methods for this purpose.     

Late effects of high‐dose adjuvant chemotherapy on white and gray matter in breast cancer survivors: Converging results from multimodal magnetic resonance imaging

The neural substrate underlying cognitive impairments after chemotherapy is largely unknown. Here, we investigated very late (>9 years) effects of adjuvant high‐dose chemotherapy on brain white and gray matter in primary breast cancer survivors (n = 17) with multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A group of breast cancer survivors who did not receive chemotherapy was scanned for comparison (n = 15). Neuropsychological tests demonstrated cognitive impairments in the chemotherapy group. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with tract‐based spatial statistics showed that chemotherapy was associated with focal changes in DTI values indicative for reduced white matter integrity. Single voxel proton MR spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) in the left centrum semiovale (white matter) showed a reduction of N‐acetylasparate/creatine indicative of axonal injury. Voxel‐based morphometry demonstrated a reduction of gray matter volume that overlapped with fMRI hypoactivation (as reported in a previous publication) in posterior parietal areas and colocalized with DTI abnormalities. Also, DTI correlated with 1H‐MRS only in the chemotherapy group. These results converge to suggest that high‐dose adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer is associated with long‐term injury to white matter, presumably reflecting a combination of axonal degeneration and demyelination, and damage to gray matter with associated functional deficits. Hormonal treatment with tamoxifen may also have contributed to the observed effects, although results from other studies indicate that it is unlikely that tamoxifen is solely or largely responsible. Using this multimodality approach we provide for the first time insight into the neural substrate underlying cognitive impairments following systemic administration of cytotoxic agents many years after treatment. Hum Brain Mapp, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

DWI及SWI序列对弥漫性轴索损伤的诊断价值

目的探讨弥散加权（DWI）和磁敏感加权（SWI）序列在脑弥漫性轴索损伤（DAI）中的诊断价值。方法回顾性分析17例经临床和影像证实的急性DAI患者的MRI资料,包括常规T1WI、T2WI、液体衰减反转恢复（FLAIR）序列以及DWI和SWI序列,分别比较各序列对DAI非出血性和出血性病灶的检出数目,并分析其分布特点和信号特征。结果DAI病灶主要分布在白质、皮髓交界区、基底节、胼胝体、脑干及小脑等区域。DWI对非出血性DAI病灶的检出率最高,与其它序列的差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。而SWI对出血性DAI病灶的检出率最高,与其它序列的差异也均有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。结论DWI和SWI序列联合应用大大提高DAI病灶的检出率,为临床早期诊断提供更加可靠的影像学依据,应作为MRI检查DAI的常规和首选序列。     

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)-based White Matter Mapping in Brain Research: A Review

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become one of the most popular MRI techniques in brain research, as well as in clinical practice. The number of brain studies with DTI is growing steadily and, over the last decade, has produced more than 700 publications. Diffusion tensor imaging enables visualization and characterization of white matter fascicli in two and three dimensions. Since the introduction of this methodology in 1994, it has been used to study the white matter architecture and integrity of the normal and diseased brains (multiple sclerosis, stroke, aging, dementia, schizophrenia, etc.). Although it provided image contrast that was not available with routine MR techniques, unique information on white matter and 3D visualization of neuronal pathways, many questions were raised regarding the origin of the DTI signal. Diffusion tensor imaging is constantly validated, challenged, and developed in terms of acquisition scheme, image processing, analysis, and interpretation. While DTI offers a powerful tool to study and visualize white matter, it suffers from inherent artifacts and limitations. The partial volume effect and the inability of the model to cope with non-Gaussian diffusion are its two main drawbacks. Nevertheless, when combined with functional brain mapping, DTI provides an efficient tool for comprehensive, noninvasive, functional anatomy mapping of the human brain. This review summarizes the development of DTI in the last decade with respect to the specificity and utility of the technique in radiology and anatomy studies.     

Diffusion tensor MRI correlates with executive dysfunction in patients with ischaemic leukoaraiosis

BACKGROUND: Cerebral small vessel disease is a common cause of vascular dementia. Both discrete lacunar infarcts and more diffuse ischaemic changes, seen as confluent high signal (leukoaraiosis) on T2 weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), occur. However, there is a weak correlation between T2 lesion load and cognitive impairment. Diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) is a new technique that may provide a better index of white matter damage. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether DTI measures are correlated more strongly with cognitive performance than lesion load on T2 weighted images, and whether these correlations are independent of conventional MRI parameters. METHODS: 36 patients with ischaemic leukoaraiosis (leukoaraiosis plus a previous lacunar stroke) and 19 healthy volunteers underwent DTI, conventional MRI, and neuropsychological assessment. RESULTS: On DTI, diffusivity was increased both within lesions and in normal appearing white matter. Mean diffusivity of normal appearing white matter correlated with full scale IQ (r = -0.46, p = 0.009) and tests of executive function. These correlations remained significant after controlling for age, sex, brain volume, and T1/T2 lesion volumes. No significant correlation was identified between T2 lesion load and IQ or neuropsychological scores. Of conventional measures, brain volume correlated best with cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Diffusion tensor measurements correlate better with cognition than conventional MRI measures. They may be useful in monitoring disease progression and as a surrogate marker for treatment trials. The findings support the role of white matter damage and disruption of white matter connections in the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease.     

MRI with diffusion tensor imaging post-mortem at 3.0 T in a patient with frontotemporal dementia

The formalin-fixed brain of a patient with clinically diagnosed frontotemporal dementia (FTD) was examined post-mortem using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 3.0 T. Frontotemporal atrophy as well as bilateral frontal white matter abnormalities were seen. The white matter changes were slightly more extensive on DTI than on conventional MRI. Correlation with histopathology of the corresponding regions revealed typical frontal lobe degeneration of non-Alzheimer type, with mild frontotemporal degeneration in the outer cortical layers and a moderate frontal white matter gliosis with demyelination. Post-mortem MRI/DTI with histopathologic correlation will enhance our understanding of the basis of white matter changes observed in dementia patients and may improve the in vivo MRI/DTI diagnostic assessment in FTD.     

Advanced neuroimaging in children with nonaccidental trauma

Physical abuse associated with nonaccidental trauma (NAT) affects approximately 144,000 children per year in the USA and, frequently, these injuries affect the developing brain. Most infants with suspected NAT are initially evaluated by skull X-rays and computed tomography to determine whether fractures are present, the severity of the acute injury and the need for urgent neurosurgical intervention. Increasingly, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is conducted as it provides additional diagnostic and prognostic information about the extent and nature of the injury. In this review, we examine 4 MRI techniques as they apply to children who present acutely after NAT. Susceptibility-weighted imaging is a 3-D high-resolution MRI technique that is more sensitive than conventional imaging in detecting hemorrhagic lesions that are often associated with diffuse axonal injury (DAI). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy acquires metabolite information reflecting neuronal integrity and function from multiple brain regions and provides a sensitive, noninvasive assessment of neurochemical alterations that offers early prognostic information regarding outcome. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is based on differences in the diffusion of water molecules within the brain and has been shown to be very sensitive in the early detection of ischemic injury. It is now being used to study the direct effects of traumatic injury as well as those due to secondary ischemia. Diffusion tensor imaging is a form of DWI and allows better evaluation of white matter fiber tracts by taking advantage of the intrinsic directionality (anisotropy) of water diffusion in the human brain. It has been shown to be useful in identifying white matter abnormalities after DAI when conventional imaging appears normal. Although these imaging methods have been studied primarily in adults and children with accidental traumatic brain injury, it is clear that they have the potential to provide additional value in the imaging and clinical evaluation of children with NAT.     

轻度认知功能障碍与脑白质弥散张量成像的相关性研究

目的通过磁共振弥散张量成像研究不同区域脑白质损害与轻度认知功能(MCI)的关系。方法纳入2015年7月至2016年2月我院的住院患者56例为研究对象,其中MCI组34例,认知功能正常组22例。所有研究对象进行一般情况检查,完成神经心理学量表检测。通过头颅磁共振弥散张量成像(DTI)检查对不同脑区白质纤维进行部分各向异性(FA)值测量。结果 MCI组患者与认知功能正常组相比,右侧额叶FA值(0.335±0.068)、左侧颞叶白质FA值(0.391±0.032)及胼胝体膝部FA值(0.658±0.053)降低,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。将上述FA值和MMSE、Mo CA量表中各认知域进行典型相关分析,结果显示右侧额叶白质FA值与注意与计算力呈正相关,左侧颞叶白质和胼胝体膝部FA值与记忆力呈正相关(P0.05)。结论 MCI患者注意与计算力的障碍可能与右侧额叶白质损害有关,而左侧颞叶白质及胼胝体膝部白质的损害可能导致早期的记忆障碍。DTI可能成为超早期识别与诊断MCI的新方法。     

Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter: serial MRI of the brain and spinal cord including diffusion tensor imaging

Vanishing white matter disease (VWM) is one of the most frequent inherited childhood white matter disorders. We present the brain and spinal cord disease progression on serial conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in a 4-year-old boy. Consecutive MRI examinations demonstrated a progression of the signal abnormalities in the cerebral white matter. Globally, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values as well as axial and radial diffusivity increased over time, while fractional anisotropy (FA) values decreased. Involvement of the cervical posterior spinal tracts and mild global spinal cord atrophy was found. In conclusion, serial MRI and DTI studies may help to better understand the selective injury of the myelin and axons in VWM disease. These data may help in monitoring disease progression. Our data also show that complete neuroimaging work-up in VWM should also include the spinal cord.     

Diffusion tensor imaging in the study of language and aphasia

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an emerging research technique that is used to map and characterise white matter tracts in the healthy and damaged brain.

Aims: The aim of this paper is to familiarise the readers with DTI while giving the tools to understand and evaluate recent developments in aphasia research that use DTI methodology.

Main Contribution: Principles of DTI technology as well as its main caveats are described. An overview of studies that used DTI to explore the language system and aphasia is given. Future directions and the potential contribution of DTI to the understanding of aphasia diagnosis and recovery are highlighted.

Conclusions: DTI is an emerging technology, increasingly being applied to further our understanding of aphasia and its recovery. So far it has contributed to our knowledge in four areas of research. In the area of brain anatomy it is used to redefine the borders between various parts of the cortex based on their structural connectivity, to acquire a more accurate map of the tracts connecting the various parts of the language system, and to measure hemispheric asymmetry. Future studies might be able to further our understanding of language anatomy and relate hemispheric asymmetry to recovery potential. Second, DTI can help in relating structure to function. So far many studies focused on repetition deficits and conduction aphasia. Future studies can explore the anatomy of other language deficits. Third, DTI has been used in the study of brain damage and recovery. Studies have documented the damage that occurs to white matter following stroke and other insults, and the spontaneous reorganisation that follows. In the future DTI might contribute to the debate about the role of the right hemisphere in recovery from aphasia. Lastly, in the area of aphasia rehabilitation there is great lack of data. The studies reviewed here have shown that rehabilitation potential is dependent on white matter integrity and that white matter changes can occur as a result of therapy. Future studies should further our understanding of the role of white matter integrity in recovery, therefore contributing to the question of why some patients show good recovery while others do not. Future studies should also try and map white matter changes that are associated with successful versus unsuccessful rehabilitation, and with different stages of recovery.     

Doxycycline treatment in a neonatal rat model of hypoxia-ischemia reduces cerebral tissue and white matter injury: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study

Doxycycline may potentially be a neuroprotective treatment for neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury through its anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to examine any long-term neuroprotection by doxycycline treatment on cerebral gray and white matter. Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury was induced in 7-day-old rats. Pups were treated with either doxycycline (HI+doxy) or saline (HI+vehicle) by intraperitoneal injection at 1 h after hypoxia-ischemia (HI). At 6 h after HI, MnCl(2) was injected intraperitoneally for later manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI was performed with diffusion-weighted imaging on day 1 and T(1) -weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging at 7, 21 and 42 days after HI. Animals were killed after MRI on day 42 and histological examinations of the brains were performed. There was a tendency towards lower lesion volumes on diffusion maps among HI+doxy than HI+vehicle rats at 1 day after HI. Volumetric MRI showed increasing differences between groups with time after HI, with less cyst formation and less cerebral tissue loss among HI+doxy than HI+vehicle pups. HI+doxy pups had less manganese enhancement on day 7 after HI, indicating reduced inflammation. HI+doxy pups had higher fractional anisotropy on diffusion tensor imaging in major white matter tracts in the injured hemisphere than HI+vehicle pups, indicating less injury to white matter and better myelination. Histological examinations supported the MRI results. Lesion size on early MRI was highly correlated with final injury measures. In conclusion, a single dose of doxycycline reduced long-term cerebral tissue loss and white matter injury after neonatal HI, with an increasing effect of treatment with time after injury.     

Ventricular volumetry and free-water corrected diffusion tensor imaging of the anterior thalamic radiation in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus

Background and purposeThe pathophysiology of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) has not been completely clarified. We investigated the brain structure in iNPH using automatic ventricular volumetry, single-tensor diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and bi-tensor free-water (FW) imaging analyses while focusing on cognitive impairments before and after lumboperitoneal shunt surgery.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study included 12 iNPH patients with structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) on a 3T-MRI scanner who underwent neuropsychological assessments before and after shunting and 8 healthy controls. Ventricular volumetry was conducted on structural MRI datasets using FreeSurfer. Ventricular volume was compared pre- and postoperatively. Correlation analyses were performed between ventricular volume or volume change and neuropsychological scores or score change. Tract-based spatial statistics were performed using dMRI datasets for group analyses between iNPH and controls and between pre- and post-surgery iNPH patients and for correlation analyses using neuropsychological scores. Tract-specific analyses were performed in the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), followed by comparison and correlation analyses.ResultsThe third ventricular volume was significantly decreased after shunting; its volume reduction negatively correlated with a neuropsychological improvement. Compared with controls, iNPH patients had lower fractional anisotropy and higher axial, radial, and mean diffusivities, and FW in the periventricular white matter including ATR, resulting in no difference in FW-corrected indices. Single-tensor DTI indices partially correlated with neuropsychological improvements, while FW-corrected indices had no correlations.ConclusionThird ventricle enlargement is possibly linked to cognitive impairment and FW imaging possibly provides better white matter characterization in iNPH.     

Neural injury of uncinate fasciculus in patients with diffuse axonal injury

The recent development of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows visualization and estimation of the uncinate fasciculus (UF). We investigated injuries of the UF in patients with diffuse axonal injury (DAI) who showed no specific lesions except for DAI lesions on conventional brain MRI. Twenty-one chronic patients with DAI, and 21 age- and sex-matched normal control subjects were recruited for this study. Diffusion tensor images were acquired using a sensitivity-encoding head coil at 1.5 T and the UF was reconstructed using DTI-Studio software. Fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, and fiber number of the UF were measured. In the DAI group, the FA values and fiber numbers were significantly decreased compared to those of the control group (P< 0.05). The FA value and fiber number decreased 8.4% and 26.5% in the DAI group compared to those of the control group. By contrast, the ADC value did not show any difference between the DAI and control groups (P> 0.05). Changes in the DTI parameters of the DAI group appeared to indicate neural injury of the UF. We believe that DTI can be a useful evaluation tool for detecting hidden neural injuries of UF in patients with DAI.     

Diffusion tensor imaging in the early phase of schizophrenia: What have we learned?

The dysconnectivity model suggests that disturbed integration of neural communication is central to schizophrenia. The integrity of macro-structural brain circuits can be examined with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an MRI application sensitive to microstructural abnormalities of brain white matter. DTI studies in first-episode schizophrenia patients and individuals at high-risk of psychosis can provide insight into the role of structural dysconnectivity in the liability, onset and early course of psychosis. This review discusses (i) views on the role of white matter abnormalities in schizophrenia, (ii) DTI and its application in schizophrenia, (iii) DTI findings in first-episode patients and subjects at high-risk of psychosis; their timing, anatomical location and early course, (iv) the hypothesized underlying pathological substrate and possible causes of DTI white matter alterations, including effects of adolescent cannabis use, and (v) some methodological issues and future recommendations. In summary, there is evidence that DTI abnormalities convey a liability for psychosis and additional abnormalities occur around onset of psychosis. However, findings in first-episode patients are less robust than in chronic patients, and progression of disturbances may occur in the early course of poor-outcome patients. In addition, acceleration of the normal aging process may occur. Adolescent cannabis use has specific effects on DTI measures. An unresolved issue is the underlying pathology of DTI abnormalities, and combining DTI with other MRI indices can provide more insight. More research is needed on which genetic and environmental factors play a role in the variability of current results.     

Neuroimaging abnormalities in clade C HIV are independent of Tat genetic diversity

Controversy remains regarding the neurotoxicity of clade C human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-C). When examined in preclinical studies, a cysteine to serine substitution in the C31 dicysteine motif of the HIV-C Tat protein (C31S) results in less severe brain injury compared to other viral clades. By contrast, patient cohort studies identify significant neuropsychological impairment among HIV-C individuals independent of Tat variability. The present study clarified this discrepancy by examining neuroimaging markers of brain integrity among HIV-C individuals with and without the Tat substitution. Thirty-seven HIV-C individuals with the Tat C31S substitution, 109 HIV-C individuals without the Tat substitution (C31C), and 34 HIV? controls underwent 3T structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Volumes were determined for the caudate, putamen, thalamus, corpus callosum, total gray matter, and total white matter. DTI metrics included fractional anisotropy (FA), radial diffusivity (RD), and axial diffusivity (AD). Tracts of interest included the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), cingulum bundle (CING), uncinate fasciculus (UNC), and corpus callosum (CC). HIV+ individuals exhibited smaller volumes in subcortical gray matter, total gray matter and total white matter compared to HIV? controls. HIV+ individuals also exhibited DTI abnormalities across multiple tracts compared to HIV? controls. By contrast, neither volumetric nor diffusion indices differed significantly between the Tat C31S and C31C groups. Tat C31S status is not a sufficient biomarker of HIV-related brain integrity in patient populations. Clinical attention directed at brain health is warranted for all HIV+ individuals, independent of Tat C31S or clade C status.