白质纤维束的弥散张量成像在脑胶质瘤外科的应用

目的:探讨MRI弥散张量成像(DTI)显示脑白质纤维束在脑胶质瘤外科的意义。方法:2003年9月至2004年12月,30例脑内肿瘤患者接受术前常规头颅MRI序列检查的同时,进行DTI序列扫描,经后处理得到各向异性分数(FA)图显示脑白质纤维束结构,并进行FA值、图像信号强度及对比度的分析研究。结果:所有病例均成功实现包括DTI序列扫描以及FA图像生成。脑白质纤维束显示为显著的高信号结构;灰质显示为等信号;脑脊液显示为低信号;脑内肿瘤呈类圆形等、低信号灶;肿瘤周围间质水肿区白质纤维束仍能在DTI的FA图上显像。DTI的FA图像对于脑白质纤维束显影的信号对比度明显优于常规的T1W图像。结论:DTI影像可以清晰显示脑白质纤维束的形态结构。结合其他序列的MRI应用于脑胶质瘤的术前诊断,可以准确判别肿瘤和周围脑白质纤维束的毗邻关系,对脑胶质瘤手术方案设计以及术后神经功能障碍的预测与预防具有重要意义。     

Cerebral White Matter Maturation Patterns in Preterm Infants: An MRI T2 Relaxation Anisotropy and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Preterm birth is associated with worse neurodevelopmental outcome, but brain maturation in preterm infants is poorly characterized with standard methods. We evaluated white matter (WM) of infant brains at term‐equivalent age, as a function of gestational age at birth, using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODS

Infants born very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) and late preterm (33‐36 weeks gestation) were scanned at 3 T at term‐equivalent age using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and T2 relaxometry. MRI data were analyzed using tract‐based spatial statistics, and anisotropy of T2 relaxation was also determined. Principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis were applied to seek the variables best distinguishing very preterm and late preterm groups.

RESULTS

Across widespread regions of WM, T2 is longer in very preterm infants than in late preterm ones. These effects are more prevalent in regions of WM that myelinate earlier and faster. Similar effects are obtained from DTI, showing that fractional anisotropy (FA) is lower and radial diffusivity higher in the very preterm group, with a bias toward earlier myelinating regions. Discriminant analysis shows high sensitivity and specificity of combined T2 relaxometry and DTI for the detection of a distinct WM development pathway in very preterm infants. T2 relaxation is anisotropic, depending on the angle between WM fiber and magnetic field, and this effect is modulated by FA.

CONCLUSIONS

Combined T2 relaxometry and DTI characterizes specific patterns of retarded WM maturation, at term equivalent age, in infants born very preterm relative to late preterm.     

White Matter Correlates of Cognitive Capacity Studied With Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Implications for Cognitive Reserve

Cognitive reserve (CR) is a theoretical concept used to explain and study individual differences in cognitive symptom expression in neurological disease. In the absence of neurologic injury or demands on processing, compensatory and protective factors may be considered to represent cognitive capacity (CC), rather than cognitive reserve, per se. We studied the white matter structural correlates of CC in 51 young, healthy participants. White matter structural correlates were obtained from fractional anisotropy (FA) measures using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). CC was represented by intelligence, reading ability, and years of education, commonly used measures for studying CR. CC was positively correlated with FA in the right posterior inferior longitudinal fasciculus. We observed gender differences in FA (males > females) and tested for gender differences in FA correlates of CC. However, the interaction between gender and CC for areas of FA was not significant. Our data indicate that in the healthy young brain, greater CC correlates with higher FA values in a focal area that does not significantly differ by gender.     

White Matter Development in Adolescence: Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Meta-Analytic Results

Background

In light of the evidence for brain white matter (WM) abnormalities in schizophrenia, study of normal WM maturation in adolescence may provide critical insights relevant to the neurodevelopment of the disorder. Voxel-wise diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have consistently demonstrated increases in fractional anisotropy (FA), a putative measure of WM integrity, from childhood into adolescence. However, the WM tracts that show FA increases have been variable across studies. Here, we aimed to assess which WM tracts show the most pronounced changes across adolescence.

Methods

DTI was performed in 78 healthy subjects aged 8–21 years, and voxel-wise analysis conducted using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). In addition, we performed the first meta-analysis of TBSS studies on WM development in adolescence.

Results

In our sample, we observed bilateral increases in FA with age, which were most significant in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and anterior thalamic radiation. These findings were confirmed by the meta-analysis, and FA increase in the bilateral SLF was the most consistent finding across studies. Moreover, in our sample, FA of the bilateral SLF showed a positive association with verbal working memory performance and partially mediated increases in verbal fluency as a function of increasing age.

Conclusions

These data highlight increasing connectivity in the SLF during adolescence. In light of evidence for compromised SLF integrity in high-risk and first-episode patients, these data suggest that abnormal maturation of the SLF during adolescence may be a key target in the neurodevelopment of schizophrenia.     

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.     

White Matter Alterations in Early Stages of Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Studies

Several lines of evidence suggest that the normal integration of cerebral communication may be compromised in schizophrenia, with white matter (WM) abnormalities being integral to these functional deficits. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a neuroimaging technique which has increasingly been used to study WM through quantitative indices of its structural and orientational characteristics. Identifying the WM differences early in the course of schizophrenia may assist in prevention, early diagnosis and identification of treatment targets. In that respect, the aims of the present study were to (a) systematically review WM integrity in the early stages of schizophrenia as inferred by DTI and (b) specifically examine parameters that may affect WM: age, duration of illness and treatment. In summary, DTI studies in early schizophrenia suggest that structural dysconnectivity may be already present in recent‐onset and drug‐naïve patients, as well as in individuals clinically at high risk for developing schizophrenia. Although the pattern of WM differences is not totally consistent frontal, fronto‐temporal and fronto‐limbic connections, with tracts including the superior longitudinal fasciculus, cingulum bundle, uncinate fasciculus and corpus callosum seem to be affected. These differences may depend on the developmental stage of the subjects, the duration of illness and exposure to antipsychotic medication.     

White Matter Integrity and Episodic Memory Performance in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

White matter (WM) integrity in the medial temporal lobes and episodic memory performance were examined in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-matched cognitively intact controls. Material specific associations between WM in the left versus right hemisphere and verbal versus visual memory performance were examined as well. Fourteen right-handed amnestic MCI patients underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and received verbal (words, story) and visual (designs) memory tests. Delayed verbal memory was significantly correlated with loss of WM integrity in the medial temporal lobe. This finding was associated with both the left and right temporal regions. Immediate visual memory performance was significantly correlated with the loss of WM integrity in the left temporal region. The results indicate that WM integrity in the medial temporal lobe is associated with objective memory functioning in MCI. However, strong material specific relationships were not observed, possibly reflecting diverse encoding strategies used by participants such as imagery of verbal material and verbal encoding of designs. This research was supported by a pilot grant from the Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NIH-NIA 5 P50 AG025688).