Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and metabolic imaging in white matter diseases and pediatric disorders

This review provides the reader with an overview of the magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique and the clinical, pathological, imaging, and metabolic features for select white matter disorders of interest. With this composite summary, the reader should find it easier to implement and interpret spectroscopy in the clinical setting for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with white matter disorders.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of vascular diseases of the white matter

Magnetic resonance imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of cerebrovascular diseases. In addition to stroke, it can also demonstrate changes apparent in the white matter such as leukoaraiosis. These as well as other changes occurring with increasing age can be visualized. Among others, there is an increase in the number and size of perivascular spaces. Although many of these alterations may be clinically silent, with increasing load they may become symptomatic. Other vascular pathological findings such as cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy and the posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome can also provoke changes in the cerebral white matter that are visible on magnetic resonance imaging and are discussed.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of metabolic diseases of the cerebral white matter

Metabolic diseases of the brain are a rare occurrence. They may be either occurring as inherited diseases causing a destruction of myelin, or they may be the result of toxicity. Neuroimaging, especially magnetic resonance imaging, plays an important role in the detection and classification of these rare diseases. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is an important tool in the characterization and diagnosis of inherited metabolic diseases.     

Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and fiber-tracking diffusion tensor tractography in the management of spinal astrocytomas

Some specially imaging of magnetic resonance imaging, the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), the diffusion tensor imaging and fractional anisotropy (FA), are useful to described, detect, and map the extent of spinal cord lesions. FA measurements may are used to predicting the outcome of patients who have spinal cord lesions. Fiber tracking enable to visualizing the integrity of white matter tracts surrounding some lesions, and this information could be used to formulating a differential diagnosis and planning biopsies or resection. In this article, we will describe the current uses for DWI and fiber tracking and speculate on others in which we believe these techniques will be useful in the future.     

磁共振弥散张量成像观察创伤性胼胝体损伤

目的 探讨磁共振弥散张量成像对胼胝体损伤的潜在诊断价值.方法 应用磁共振弥散张量成像技术对25例闭合性颅脑损伤患者及20例健康志愿者进行观察,对胼胝体膝部、压部进行定量测定FA及ADC值,测定结果与患者组GCS进行相关分析.结果 患者组胼胝体膝部及压部的FA值较对照组显著下降(P＜0.05).患者组与对照组所测胼胝体ADC值差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05).患者组胼胝体FA值与GCS呈显著相关(P＜0.05).结论 磁共振弥散张量成像技术能清晰显示并定量与临床GCS评分密切相关的胼胝体损伤,为临床诊断及治疗提供有价值的更深层次的信息.     

弥散张量成像在脑白质病变中的应用价值初探

ThisstudyperformedacombinedconventionalanddiffusiontensorMRimagingfrom10multiplesclerosis,10multiplelacunarinfarction,3cysticercosis,1angiitis,1morphinistand10healthycontrolvolunteerstoinvestigatedmorphologicandquantitativeindex.1Subjectsandmethods1.1SubjectsTwenty-fivepatientsandtenhealthycontrolvol-unteersunderwentacombinedconventionalanddiffusiontensorMRimagingduringoneyear.Thepatientsincludetenmultiplesclerosis(7womenand3men)whoseagewasfrom17to48years,themediandurationofthediseasewas1yea…     

磁共振扩散张量成像在显示正常人脑白质纤维中的应用

目的应用DTI技术显示正常人脑白质纤维,探讨其与解剖学描述的一致性。方法20名健康志愿者行颅脑MRI与颅脑单次激发回波平面扩散张量成像扫描(b值=0,500s/mm2),在SiemensLeonardo工作站应用纤维束跟踪软件(SiemensStandar12dirs)进行后处理重建出白质纤维束。结果对主要白质纤维如皮质脊髓束、皮质核束、胼胝体、扣带、上纵束、下纵束、上枕额束、下枕额束、钩束进行模拟显示,不同纤维需要选择适合的感兴趣区、各向异性阈值、角度阈值、步长和体素内采样数目等参数,显示结果与解剖学描述具有较好的一致性。结论利用扩散张量成像技术可模拟显示正常人脑白质纤维,与解剖学描述具有较好的一致性,是在活体中研究人脑白质纤维的一种较可靠的方法。     

精神分裂症患者脑白质的磁共振扩散张量成像研究

目的应用磁共振扩散张量成像技术(DTI)对精神分裂症患者额叶及胼胝体压部脑白质损伤情况与临床症状之间的关系进行初步研究。方法对22例精神分裂症患者和20例健康志愿者进行脑部DTI扫描后,测量双侧额叶和胼胝体压部的各向异性分数值(FA),应用成组t检验对精神分裂症患者和正常健康对照组的相应区域进行比较,并用部分相关性检验对精神分裂症患者脑中各部位相应FA值与PANSS量表评分之间的关系进行统计。纤维束成像技术(DTT)重建胼胝体和扣带束。结果精神分裂症患者双侧额叶和胼胝体压部的FA值与正常对照组存在显著性差异(P<0.05),额叶FA值与PANSS量表评分之间存在正相关性(r=0.703,P<0.05),纤维束成像技术不能显示病例组和对照组的差别。结论精神分裂症患者与正常健康对照组存在脑白质细微结构的差异,DTI技术能够在一定程度上反映精神分裂症患者脑白质受损与临床症状的关系。     

Magnetic resonance imaging of infections of the white matter

Infections of the nervous system are a common and serious occurrence. Neuroimaging has allowed to improve early detection and thus to initiate treatment earlier. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has become the method of choice in investigating a patient with suspicion of an infection of the central nervous system. Newer modalities such as MR spectroscopy and MR diffusion and perfusion will further help to improve diagnostic accuracy of the technique. For the investigation of infections of white matter, techniques such as diffusion imaging are essential.     

Automated fiber tracking of human brain white matter using diffusion tensor imaging

Reconstruction of white matter tracts based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is currently widely used in clinical research. This reconstruction allows us to identify coordinates of specific white matter tracts and to investigate their anatomy. Fiber reconstruction, however, relies on manual identification of anatomical landmarks of a tract of interest, which is based on subjective judgment and thus a potential source of experimental variability. Here, an automated tract reconstruction approach is introduced. A set of reference regions of interest (rROIs) known to select a tract of interest was marked in our DTI brain atlas. The atlas was then linearly transformed to each subject, and the rROI set was transferred to the subject for tract reconstruction. Agreement between the automated and manual approaches was measured for 11 tracts in 10 healthy volunteers and found to be excellent (kappa>0.8) and remained high up to 4-5 mm of the linear transformation errors. As a first example, the automated approach was applied to brain tumor patients and strategies to cope with severe anatomical abnormalities are discussed.     

白质DTI在急性一氧化碳中毒的临床应用

目的探讨磁共振扩散张量纤维束成像(DTI)参数FA和ADC值对急性一氧化碳中毒ACOP的诊断价值。方法 ACOP组56例,对照组21例。所有病例均行DTI检查,记录FA、ADC值,采用独立t检验进行统计学分析。结果 (1)ACOP患者组及对照组两侧膝部、放射冠FA、ADC值无差别(P0.05)。(2)FA值:ACOP患者组为0.7632±0.1206(胼胝体膝部)、0.3299±0.1029(放射冠额桥束),对照组为0.8329±0.0481(胼胝体膝部)、0.3800±0.1036(放射冠额桥束),P值分别为0.000、0.008(均小于0.05),差异有统计学意义。(3)ADC值:ACOP患者组为8.4594±1.5931(胼胝体膝部)、7.9261±1.1602(放射冠额桥束),对照组为7.8117±0.6160(胼胝体膝部)、7.3645±0.4879(放射冠额桥束),P值分别为0.000、0.000(均小于0.05),差异有统计学意义。结论 DTI可较准确反映ACOP患者白质区FA、ADC值变化,为早期诊断及治疗提供影像学信息。     

Stereotaxic white matter atlas based on diffusion tensor imaging in an ICBM template

Brain registration to a stereotaxic atlas is an effective way to report anatomic locations of interest and to perform anatomic quantification. However, existing stereotaxic atlases lack comprehensive coordinate information about white matter structures. In this paper, white matter-specific atlases in stereotaxic coordinates are introduced. As a reference template, the widely used ICBM-152 was used. The atlas contains fiber orientation maps and hand-segmented white matter parcellation maps based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Registration accuracy by linear and non-linear transformation was measured, and automated template-based white matter parcellation was tested. The results showed a high correlation between the manual ROI-based and the automated approaches for normal adult populations. The atlases are freely available and believed to be a useful resource as a target template and for automated parcellation methods.     

化疗后脑白质纤维束扩散张量各向异性变化的研究

目的采用磁共振扩散张量成像(DTI)探讨接受系统性化疗的患者,常规MRI表现正常的脑白质是否存在纤维束扩散情况的改变。方法头颅MRI检查未见异常的恶性肿瘤患者36例,根据最后一次化疗距MR检查的时间间隔分为两组:病例A组(26例),时间间隔小于1年;病例B组(10例),时间间隔大于1年。对照组35例为常规头颅MRI检查正常的健康志愿者或首诊未行治疗的患者。所有病例经1.5T磁共振DTI检查(15个扩散方向),在后处理工作站进行双侧ADC值和FA值测量和计算,取特定部位6个:额叶、颞叶、枕叶、半卵圆中心、内囊前肢和后肢。各组间进行参数统计学分析。结果除颞叶和内囊前肢,其余4个部位的ADC值病例A组均低于B组,有统计学的显著性差异,与对照组之间均无显著性差异。FA值在各组间均无显著性差异。结论系统性化疗能够导致脑白质的扩散情况改变,DTI可以用于发现此种变化,且ADC值的改变比FA更为敏感,此改变可以随化疗停止时间的延长而变化。其变化机制还有待进一步研究。     

健康老年人和阿尔茨海默病人脑白质改变的扩散张量成像研究

目的 应用扩散张量成像（DTI）研究健康老年人（ON）和早期阿尔茨海默（AD）病人脑白质改变的情况。方法对20例中青年健康志愿者（YN组），18例ON，14例AD进行DTI扫描，在9个感兴趣区（ROI）测量并比较五个DTI参数：各向异性分数（FA）、平均扩散系数（〈D〉）和扩散张量本征值（λ1、λ2、λ3）。结果与YN组相比，ON组的〈D〉、λ1、λ2和λ3在所有ROI均有提高，FA仅在胼胝体膝部和体部（CCM）降低（P％0．05）。与ON组相比，AD病人显示在胼胝体压部（CCP）的〈D）提高、在CCP和后顶一颞叶皮层下白质FA显著降低、在CCM的λ1提高、在CCP的b提高（P＜0．05）。结论DTI显示有较强的由年龄引起的脑白质变化，早期AD病人存在额外的脑白质结构异常。DTI的不同测量参数在检测脑白质变化中具有不同的敏感性。     

Local white matter geometry from diffusion tensor gradients

We introduce a mathematical framework for computing geometrical properties of white matter fibers directly from diffusion tensor fields. The key idea is to isolate the portion of the gradient of the tensor field corresponding to local variation in tensor orientation, and to project it onto a coordinate frame of tensor eigenvectors. The resulting eigenframe-centered representation then makes it possible to define scalar indices (or measures) that describe the local white matter geometry directly from the diffusion tensor field and its gradient, without requiring prior tractography. We derive new scalar indices of (1) fiber dispersion and (2) fiber curving, and we demonstrate them on synthetic and in vivo data. Finally, we illustrate their applicability to a group study on schizophrenia.     

The relationship between diffusion tensor imaging and volumetry as measures of white matter properties

There is still limited knowledge about the relationship between different structural brain parameters, despite huge progress in analysis of neuroimaging data. The aim of the present study was to test the relationship between fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and regional white matter (WM) volume. As WM volume has been shown to develop until middle age, the focus was on changes in WM properties in the age range of 40 to 60 years. 100 participants were scanned with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Each hemisphere was parcellated into 35 WM regions, and volume, FA, axial, and radial diffusion in each region were calculated. The relationships between age and the regional measures of FA and WM volume were tested, and then FA and WM volume were correlated, corrected for intracranial volume, age, and sex. WM volume was weakly related to age, while FA correlated negatively with age in 26 of 70 regions, caused by a mix of reduced axial and increased radial diffusion with age. 23 relationships between FA and WM volume were found, with seven being positive and sixteen negative. The positive correlations were mainly caused by increased radial diffusion. It is concluded that FA is more sensitive than volume to changes in WM integrity during middle age, and that FA-age correlations probably are related to reduced amount of myelin with increasing age. Further, FA and WM volume are moderately to weakly related and to a large extent sensitive to different characteristics of WM integrity.     

利用DTI对胶质瘤周围白质形态与参数的初探

目的 利用弥散张量成像(DTI)探讨正常人与胶质瘤患者脑白质纤维在形态和参数的区别,为临床诊疗提供客观依据.方法采用GE 3.0 T MR成像系统采集图像,利用自主开发的DTI图像处理平台分析9例脑部DTI图像,并用跟踪软件追踪白质纤维走行.结果通过图像处理所得的三维纤维跟踪图像再现了胶质瘤与周围脑白质的位置关系;病灶区及周围组织的 FA, RA, MD 值发生改变.结论 DTI技术有助于脑部胶质瘤的鉴别和诊断,能够协助术前手术计划的制定.     

心血管磁共振弥散张量成像及弥散频谱成像研究进展

心血管磁共振(cardiovascular magnetic resonance,CMR)多种成像技术可以观察心脏结构功能、心肌组织特征乃至能量代谢.包括弥散加权成像(diffusion weighted imaging,DWI)、弥散张量成像(diffusion tensor imaging,DTI)及弥散频谱成像(diffusion spectrum magnetic resonance imaging,DSI)在内的弥散成像技术一直是CMR最具挑战性及目前尚未常规成熟开展的检查技术,尤以DTI及DSI为甚.本综述将重点阐述DTI及DSI的基本技术及近年来在心血管领域的应用进展.