Voxel-based morphometry of the thalamus in patients with refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy

Previous research has suggested that patients with refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) show gray matter atrophy both within the temporal lobes as well as in the thalamus. However, these studies have not distinguished between different nuclei within the thalamus. We examined whether thalamic atrophy correlates with the nuclei's connections to other regions in the limbic system. T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained from 49 neurologically healthy control subjects and 43 patients diagnosed with chronic refractory MTLE that was unilateral in origin (as measured by ictal EEG and hippocampal atrophy observed on MRI). Measurements of gray matter concentration (GMC) were made using automated segmentation algorithms. GMC was analyzed both voxel-by-voxel (preserving spatial precision) as well as using predefined regions of interest. Voxel-based morphometry revealed intense GMC reduction in the anterior portion relative to posterior thalami. Furthermore, thalamic atrophy was greater ipsilateral to the MTLE origin than on the contralateral side. Here we demonstrate that the thalamic atrophy is most intense in the thalamic nuclei that have strong connections with the limbic hippocampus. This finding suggests that thalamic atrophy reflects this region's anatomical and functional association with the limbic system rather than a general vulnerability to damage.     

颞叶内侧癫痫全脑灰质基于体素的MRI形态分析

目的应用MRI基于体素的形态学测量方法（VBM）,分析颞叶内侧癫痫患者全脑灰质结构的改变。方法对23例颞叶内侧癫痫患者（其中右侧病变11例,左侧病变12例）,13例年龄性别与之匹配的健康志愿者行全脑扫描,应用磁化准备快速梯度回波成像序列获取三维结构图像。数据分析采用以SPM99软件包为基础的全自动VBM技术进行处理。结果与健康对照组比较,颞叶内侧癫痫患者显示了患侧和对侧海马,以及丘脑、扣带回等边缘系统结构灰质密度的减少。额叶及小脑皮层等结构也显示弥漫灰质密度的减少。结论VBM法操作简单,不但可检测颞叶内侧癫痫海马结构的异常,还可显示海马结构以外弥漫脑灰质结构的异常。     

颞叶癫痫儿童灰质异常脑区与神经心理学测验的关系及意义

[目的]评估儿童颞叶癫痫（ TLE）临床表现和神经心理学测验成绩与局部脑萎缩的相关性.[方法]症状性TLE患儿14例（海马萎缩所致中颞叶癫痫 9例,颞叶新皮质损伤所致TLE 5例）,健康对照儿童14名;中颞叶癫痫（ MTLE）成人及其对照各9例.所有入组对象进行脑MRI获取T1结构像,用像素为基础的形态测定法分析图像.所有儿童进行综合神经心理学测验.[结果]TLE患儿同侧海马和海马外周区灰质体积显著减小,灰质体积减小与神经心理学测验成绩显著相关（P〈0.05）.单侧海马萎缩的MTLE患儿中,癫痫发作区域同侧的海马灰质体积显著减小,同侧扣带和对侧额中回皮质萎缩,皮质萎缩程度及范围较同类成人患者小.[结论]与成人MTLE患者相似,儿童MTLE与海马和海马外周的细胞减少有关;儿童TLE灰质萎缩的程度和范围较成人患者小,仅限于额叶区;中颞叶和额叶区灰质体积的减小与神经心理学测验成绩显著相关;TLE患儿的认知或行为障碍是神经网络损伤的结果.     

Comparison of standard and optimized voxel-based morphometry for analysis of brain changes associated with temporal lobe epilepsy

We compared statistical parametric maps (SPMs) of group-wise regional gray matter differences between temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with unilateral hippocampal atrophy (HA) determined by manual volumetric analysis relative to a healthy control population using standard and optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM). We also investigated the impact of customized neuroanatomical templates on SPMs. Standard and optimized VBM analyses of gray matter concentration (GMC) and gray matter volume (GMV) correctly identified HA, regardless of the template used for normalization. The distribution of hippocampal and extrahippocampal abnormalities differed according to the technique (standard v optimized; GMC v GMV), but was not dependent on template type (default v customized) within each technique. In particular, hippocampal GMC reduction was confined to subregions of hippocampus, whereas GMV reduction was observed in the hippocampal head, body, and tail. Unlike standard and optimized GMC reduction, symmetrical GMV reduction was observed in bilateral thalamus, lenticular nuclei, cerebellum, and ipsilateral entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex, and fusiform gyrus in both left and right HA patients. These results show that group-wise SPMs of GMC (i.e., regional distribution of gray matter) and GMV (i.e., volume per se) reduction can identify focal atrophy that has been quantified with manual region of interest techniques, although effects are attenuated in analyses of GMC. Unlike SPMs of GMC, analyses of GMV revealed similar extrahippocampal abnormalities as previous region-of-interest volumetric and histopathological studies of intractable TLE. We suggest that in studies of neurological disorders, optimized VBM analyses of GMV may reveal subtle neuroanatomical changes that are not identified in analyses of GMC.     

Voxel-based morphometric comparison of hippocampal and extrahippocampal abnormalities in patients with left and right hippocampal atrophy

We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM), an automatic whole-brain MR image analysis technique, to investigate gray matter abnormalities in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), in whom hippocampal atrophy (HA) was demonstrated by application of the Cavalieri method of modern design stereology. VBM results (P < 0.05, corrected) indicated preferential gray matter concentration (GMC) reduction in anterior hippocampus in patients with left HA and posterior hippocampus in patients with right HA. GMC reduction was also found in right dorsal prefrontal cortex in left and right HA patients. Prefrontal atrophy may be due to epileptiform excitotoxic discharges from the reciprocally connected pathological hippocampus, and may be the underlying biological cause for executive dysfunction in patients with TLE. GMC excess in ipsilateral parahippocampal, cerebellar, and pericallosal regions was common to both left and right HA groups relative to controls, and is hypothesized to reflect diminished gray-white matter demarcation, underlying white matter atrophy, or structural displacement due to cerebrospinal fluid expansion. However, bilateral temporal lobe GMC excess was observed in left HA patients, while ipsilateral temporal lobe GMC excess was observed in right HA patients. This work demonstrates methodological consistency between automated VBM and manual stereological analysis of the hippocampus in group comparisons, indicates widespread extrahippocampal gray matter abnormalities in unilateral HA, and suggests that there may be inherent differences in the effect of TLE on temporal lobe structures depending on the side of HA.     

Voxel-based relaxometry: a new approach for analysis of T2 relaxometry changes in epilepsy

The measurement of the T2 relaxation time (T2 relaxometry) had been established as a reliable tool for the assessment of certain conditions such as temporal lobe epilepsy. The standard procedure for analysis of T2 data uses manually drawn regions of interest (ROIs). This approach is limited by its subjective nature and its restricted scope of investigation within selected regions of the brain. In this study, we introduce a voxel-based analysis approach termed voxel-based relaxometry (VBR). Tissue signal changes were assessed in 19 patients with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and in 38 healthy controls using (i) conventional ROI-based analysis with several bilateral ROIs and also (ii) the VBR method in which the T2 maps are warped to a stereotactic space, smoothed and statistically compared. Conventional ROI analysis identified the expected T2 increase in the sclerotic hippocampus in all HS patients. Furthermore, 13 of the 19 patients displayed a T2 increase in at least one of the other ROIs. The VBR analysis showed a similar pattern of statistically significant areas of increased T2 within the sclerotic hippocampus. In addition, extrahippocampal areas of increased T2 were apparent including the anterior temporal lobe white matter and the parahippocampal gyrus. The results of the VBR analysis are in agreement with the conventional ROI analysis. The VBR analysis has the advantage of providing an even-handed assessment of T2 differences through the brain. We recommend VBR as an alternative means of relaxometry data analysis that provides an objective assessment of differences between subjects.     

Voxel-based morphometry of unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy reveals abnormalities in cerebral white matter

Voxel-based morphometric (VBM) investigations of temporal lobe epilepsy have focused on the presence and distribution of gray matter abnormalities. VBM studies to date have identified the expected abnormalities in hippocampus and extrahippocampal temporal lobe, as well as more diffuse abnormalities in the thalamus, cerebellum, and extratemporal neocortical areas. To date, there has not been a comprehensive VBM investigation of cerebral white matter in nonlesional temporal lobe epilepsy. This study examined 25 lateralized temporal lobe epilepsy patients (13 left, 12 right) and 62 healthy controls in regard to both temporal and extratemporal lobe gray and white matter. Consistent with prior reports, gray matter abnormalities were evident in ipsilateral hippocampus and ipsilateral thalamus. Temporal and extratemporal white matter was affected ipsilateral to the side of seizure onset, in both left and right temporal lobe epilepsy groups. These findings indicate that chronic temporal lobe epilepsy is associated not only with abnormalities in gray matter, but also with concomitant abnormalities in cerebral white matter regions that may affect connectivity both within and between the cerebral hemispheres.     

Dynamic changes in white and gray matter volume are associated with outcome of surgical treatment in temporal lobe epilepsy

BackgroundThe reasons for surgical failure in 30% of patients with unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) are still unclear. We investigated if different outcomes could be associated to different patterns of subtle gray matter atrophy (GMA) and white matter atrophy (WMA), and searched for postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) changes.MethodsWe studied 69 controls and 67 operated patients with refractory unilateral MTLE. Patients were grouped as seizure-free (SF) group (34 patients Engel's IA), worthwhile improvement group (23 patients, Engel's IB–IIA) and failure group (10 patients Engel's IIB–IV). We created a voxel-based morphometry/MATLAB code to mask the surgical lacuna, and performed t-test and paired t-test to evaluate preoperative and postoperative MRI scans.ResultsFailure group showed a widespread pattern of preoperative GMA. On SF and improvement groups we identified a more restricted pattern of GMA. The three groups presented a widespread, bilateral pattern of WMA. In contrast, postoperative analyses showed bilateral hemispheric recovery (a relative increase of WM concentration) on SF and improvement groups, but few changes on failure group. We also identified areas with relative postoperative increase of GM on both SF and improvement groups, more widespread on SF group.ConclusionAreas of subtle GMA may be related to poorer surgical outcome. In addition, we demonstrated a postoperative relative increase of WM and GM concentration associated with seizure control. These changes may represent neuroplasticity related to improvement of brain function after seizure control. Further studies with a multimodal approach may help to predict surgical outcome and improve selection of patients for surgical treatment of MTLE.     

Safety and seizure control in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy treated with regional superselective intra‐arterial injection of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a highly prevalent syndrome among people with epilepsy, and is usually refractory to drug treatment. Structural and physiological changes, such as hippocampal sclerosis, are often present in TLE patients. The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and safety of intra‐arterial infusion of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) in adults with medically refractory mesial TLE (MTLE) and unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (HS). We enrolled 20 patients who had been diagnosed with MTLE‐HS and were refractory to medical treatment. All patients underwent a neurological evaluation, magnetic resonance imaging with hippocampal volumetry, video‐electroencephalography (EEG) with ictal recording, and a neuropsychological test battery focusing on verbal and nonverbal memory domains. After bone marrow aspiration and subsequent cell preparation, the BMMC were infused by selective posterior cerebral artery catheterization. Patients were followed for 6 months. Safety of the procedure, seizure frequency, neuropsychological evaluation, EEG variables, routine brain magnetic resonance imaging and hippocampal volumetry were considered measurements of outcome. Any serious intercurrent clinical event or adverse effects related to the procedure were reported. No additional lesions and no significant hippocampal volumetric changes were observed. EEG recordings showed a decrease in theta activity and spike density. At 6 months, eight patients (40%) were seizure free. A significant increase in the memory scores over time was observed. The BMMC autologous transplant for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy is feasible and safe. The seizure control achieved in this novel study supports the therapeutic potential of stem cell transplants in MTLE‐HS patients. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Whole-brain voxel-based statistical analysis of gray matter and white matter in temporal lobe epilepsy

Volumetric MRI studies based on manual labeling of selected anatomical structures have provided in vivo evidence that brain abnormalities associated with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) extend beyond the hippocampus. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a fully automated image analysis technique allowing identification of regional differences in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) between groups of subjects without a prior region of interest. The purpose of this study was to determine whole-brain GM and WM changes in TLE and to investigate the relationship between these abnormalities and clinical parameters. We studied 85 patients with pharmacologically intractable TLE and unilateral hippocampal atrophy and 47 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. The seizure focus was right sided in 40 patients and left sided in 45. Student's t test statistical maps of differences between patients' and controls' GM and WM concentrations were obtained using a general linear model. A further regression against duration of epilepsy, age of onset, presence of febrile convulsions, and secondary generalized seizures was performed with the TLE population. Voxel-based morphometry revealed that GM pathology in TLE extends beyond the hippocampus involving other limbic areas such as the cingulum and the thalamus, as well as extralimbic areas, particularly the frontal lobe. White matter reduction was found only ipsilateral to the seizure focus, including the temporopolar, entorhinal, and perirhinal areas. This pattern of structural changes is suggestive of disconnection involving preferentially frontolimbic pathways in patients with pharmacologically intractable TLE.     

Voxel-by-voxel comparison of automatically segmented cerebral gray matter--A rater-independent comparison of structural MRI in patients with epilepsy.

Quantitative evaluation of MRI in patients with epilepsy can give more information than qualitative assessment. Previously developed volume-of-interest-based methods identified subtle widespread structural changes in the neocortex beyond the visualized lesions in patients with malformations of cortical development (MCD) and hippocampal sclerosis (HS) and also in MRI-negative patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). This study evaluates a voxel-based automated analysis of structural MRI in epilepsy. After fully automated segmentation of cerebral gray matter from structural T1-weighted, high-resolution MRI scans, we applied the automated and objective technique of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) to the analysis of gray matter of 35 control subjects, 10 patients with partial seizures and MCD, 10 patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and HS, 10 patients with left TLE and normal MR quantitation of the hippocampus, and 20 patients with JME. At a corrected threshold of P < 0.05, significant abnormalities were found in 3/35 controls; in all 10 patients with MCD, 6 of whom had additional lesions beyond the margins of the visualized abnormalities; in 2/10 TLE patients with HS; in 2/10 MRI-negative TLE; and in 4/20 JME patients. Group comparisons between control subjects and HS patients identified the affected left temporal lobe with an increase in gray matter in the posterior temporal lobe, but did not identify hippocampal atrophy. The group of MRI-negative TLE patients showed no abnormalities compared with control subjects. Group comparison between control subjects and JME patients identified a mesial frontal increase in gray matter. The SPM-based voxel-by-voxel comparison of gray matter distribution identified MCD and abnormalities beyond the visualized lesion in individual MCD patients. The method did not reliably identify HS in individual patients or identify abnormalities in individual MRI-negative patients with TLE or JME in a proportion larger than the chance findings in the control group. Using group comparisons, structural abnormalities in the neocortical gray matter of patients with TLE and HS were lateralized to the affected temporal lobe. In patients with JME as a group, an increase in gray matter was localized to the mesial frontal area, corroborating earlier quantitative MRI findings.     

Extra-hippocampal grey matter density abnormalities in paediatric mesial temporal sclerosis

The aim of this study was to identify grey matter density abnormalities in children with temporal lobe epilepsy and mesial temporal sclerosis. Magnetic resonance T1 weighted 3D datasets were obtained in children with temporal lobe epilepsy (20 left and 10 right sided, mean age 11.9 years, range 6.6-17.5) and compared to scans obtained from age-matched controls (n = 22, mean age 12.8 years, range 7.1-17.5) using voxel-based morphometry. This method detected reduced grey matter ipsilateral to the seizure focus not only in the hippocampus, but also in the lateral temporal lobe and in extra-temporal regions including the thalamus, posterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum. Bilateral differences were present in the frontal and parietal opercular cortices and lateral temporal regions. These grey matter density reductions broadly reflect the pattern of hippocampal connections and may be caused by the disruption of cortical development by the recurrent seizures, as well as by loss of functional input from the sclerotic hippocampus.     

40例颞叶癫痫与海马硬化的MRI研究

目的探讨原发性颞叶癫痫与海马硬化-MRI之间的关系。方法40例颞叶癫痫患者的海马面积计算采用电子计算机,用BIOCOM2000软件分析MRI图像,并计算出海马体积,用AI(不对称指数)表示海马萎缩程度。结果有海马萎缩者占70%,无海马萎缩者占30%,与脑电图检查非常符合,其敏感性达93%,特异性为86%。结论原发性颞叶癫痫与海马硬化有关。MRI是检测海马硬化的首选方法。     

Short-term changes in bilateral hippocampal coherence precede epileptiform events

The mesial temporal lobe epilepsy syndrome (MTLE) is the most common form of focal epilepsies. MTLE patients usually respond very little to pharmacological therapy and surgical resection of temporal brain areas is mandatory. Finding less invasive therapies than resection of the sclerotic hippocampus requires knowledge of the network structures and dynamics involved in seizure generation. Investigation of the time interval immediately preceding seizure onset would help in understanding the initiation mechanisms of the seizure proper and, thereby, possibly improve therapeutical options. Here, we employed the in vivo intrahippocampal kainate model in mice, which is characterized by unilateral histological changes, resembling hippocampal sclerosis observed in human MTLE, and recurrent focal seizures. In these epileptic mice, population spikes occurred during epileptiform events (EEs) in the ipsilateral, histologically changed hippocampus, but also concomitantly in the contralateral, intact hippocampus. We studied synchronization processes between the ipsilateral, sclerotic hippocampus and the contralateral hippocampus immediately preceding the onset of EEs. We show that coherence between the two hippocampi decreased consistently and reliably for all EEs at 8 to 12 s before their onset at high frequencies (>100 Hz), without changes in power in these bands. This early decoupling of the two hippocampi indicates the time range for cellular and network mechanisms leading to increased excitability and/or synchronicity in the tissue and thus ultimately to epileptic seizures.     

Voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) with hippocampus sclerosis (HS) is an important cause for focal epilepsy. In this study, we explored the integrity of connecting networks using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and two whole-brain voxel-based methods: statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). METHODS: Thirty-three consecutive patients with mTLE and HS undergoing presurgical evaluation were scanned at 3 T, a DTI data set was acquired and parametric maps of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were calculated. Twenty-one patients had left hippocampal sclerosis (LHS) and 12 patients had right HS (RHS). These groups were compared to 37 normal control subjects using both SPM5 and TBSS. RESULTS: The ipsilateral temporal lobe showed widespread FA reduction in both groups. The limbic system was clearly abnormal in the LHS group, also involving the arcuate fasciculus. In RHS, changes were more restricted but also showed involvement of the contralateral temporal and inferior frontal lobe. Increased MD was found in the ipsilateral hippocampus by SPM that was only marginally detected by TBSS. In white matter regions, however, TBSS was more sensitive to changes than SPM. CONCLUSION: DTI detects extensive changes in mTLE with HS. The affected networks were principally in the ipsilateral temporal lobe and the limbic system but also the arcuate fasciculus. SPM and TBSS gave complementary information with higher sensitivity to FA changes using TBSS.     

基于体素的形态学测量-自建模板及微分同胚图像融合算法评价近期发病创伤后应激障碍患者脑结构

目的 采用基于体素形态学测量-自建模板及微分同胚图像融合（VBM-DARTEL）算法,对比近期发病创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）患者与有创伤暴露史的健康对照（TEHC）间脑结构的体积差异,分析差异脑区的体积与患者症状严重程度的相关性。方法 采集地震后7~15个月右利手的地震幸存者的高分辨率三维T1WI图像,其中近期发病PTSD患者28例（PTSD组）、TEHC 28名（TEHC组）。采用MatLab 2012b工作平台下SPM8软件的VBM-DARTEL工具包预处理图像。以性别、年龄、受教育程度、地震后时间及颅内容积为协变量,对比两组间全脑灰质和白质的体积差异。以与上述相同的协变量评价差异脑区的体积与患者临床创伤后应激障碍诊断量表（CAPS）评分间的相关性。结果 与TEHC组相比,PTSD组右侧舌回灰质体积增加,右侧楔叶、右侧枕中回、右侧丘脑及双侧颞上回灰质体积缩小,左侧颞上回白质体积缩小。两组间海马灰质体积差异无统计学意义。左侧颞上回灰质体积与患者CAPS评分呈负相关。结论 近期发病PTSD患者结构改变以部分脑区灰白质萎缩为主。近期发病PTSD患者海马体积无萎缩可能是与病程延续数年PTSD患者不同的脑结构特征。     

Automated MR image classification in temporal lobe epilepsy

In those with drug refractory focal epilepsy, MR imaging is important for identifying structural causes of seizures that may be amenable to surgical treatment. In up to 25% of potential surgical candidates, however, MRI is reported as unremarkable even when employing epilepsy specific sequences. Automated MRI classification is a desirable tool to augment the interpretation of images, especially when changes are subtle or distributed and may be missed on visual inspection. Support vector machines (SVM) have recently been described to be useful for voxel-based MR image classification. In the present study we sought to evaluate whether this method is feasible in temporal lobe epilepsy, with adequate accuracy.We studied 38 patients with hippocampal sclerosis and unilateral (mesial) temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) (20 left) undergoing presurgical evaluation and 22 neurologically normal control subjects. 3D T1-weighted images were acquired at 3T (GE Excite), segmented into tissue classes, normalized and smoothed with SPM8. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and double echo images for T2 relaxometry were also acquired and processed. The SVM analysis was done with the libsvm software package in a leave-one-out cross-validation design and predictive accuracy was measured. Local weighting was applied by SPM F-contrast maps.Best accuracies were achieved using the gray matter based segmentation (90-100%) and mean diffusivity (95-97%). For the three-way classification, accuracies were 88 and 93% respectively. Local weighting generally improved the accuracies except in the FA-based processing for which no effect was noted. Removing the hippocampus from the analysis, on the other hand, reduced the obtainable diagnostic indices but these were still > 90% for DTI-based methods and lateralization based on gray matter maps. These findings show that automated SVM image classification can achieve high diagnostic accuracy in mTLE and that voxel-based MRI can be used at the individual subject level. This could be helpful for screening assessments of MRI scans in patients with epilepsy and when no lesion is detected on visual evaluation.     

MRI脑灰质形态学分析在双重病理所致颞叶癫痫的应用

目的应用基于体素形态学(VBM)及基于表面形态学(SBM)分析,探讨双重病理所致颞叶癫痫磁共振成像(MRI)脑灰质结构变化。方法收集病理确诊为海马硬化(HS)合并局灶性皮质发育不良(FCD)的双重病理颞叶癫痫患者36例(左侧癫痫组20例、右侧癫痫组16例)及健康对照组30例行MRI T_1WI 3D BRAVO序列扫描,使用SPM及Freesurfer软件分别进行灰质体积及皮层厚度、皮层表面积分析,并采用独立样本t检验获得有统计学差异脑区。结果左、右侧癫痫组与对照组比较,病侧大部分颞叶(含海马)灰质体积减小,左侧癫痫组同侧丘脑及杏仁核灰质体积减小,其差异均有显著统计学意义(FDR校正,P0.001,K≥20体素)。癫痫组均出现部分颞叶及颞叶以外脑区皮层增厚,但左、右侧癫痫组异常脑区存在不同;同时癫痫组病变侧颞叶脑区皮层表面积减小,上述差异均具有统计学意义(未校正,P0.01,顶点数≥100)。结论HS合并FCD致颞叶癫痫病变侧颞叶(含海马)灰质体积广泛缩小为主要形态学特征,皮层表面积减小对病变定侧也有一定作用,单纯通过皮层增厚观察双重病理中FCD存在一定局限性。     

MRI评价抗癫痫药物对原发全面性癫痫患者脑灰质结构的影响

目的 运用基于体素的形态学(VBM)分析方法,探讨抗癫痫药物(AEDs)对全面强直阵挛癫痫(GTCS)患者脑灰质结构的影响。方法 将19例服用AEDs治疗的GTCS患者(服药组)及19例未服药患者(未服药组)纳入本研究。采集3D T1数据,并采用VBM方法将患者脑灰质结构进行分割,并对分割后的灰质结构进行两样本t检验。针对服药患者,分2次分别纳入及不纳入病程作为协变量,将服药时间与全脑灰质体积进行相关分析。结果 与未服药组比较,服药组GTCS患者脑灰质体积增加的区域以双侧额叶、顶叶、颞叶、尾状核及小脑半球为主。无论是否将病程纳为协变量,双侧壳核、丘脑灰质体积与服药时间呈正相关。结论 VBM可显示AEDs对脑灰质结构造成的微细改变;AEDs对GTCS患者脑灰质结构可能具有一定的保护作用。     

阿尔茨海默病脑灰质体积异常的MRI研究

目的研究阿尔茨海默病(AD)患者MRI图像脑灰质萎缩的模式。方法对19例AD患者和20例正常老年对照者行MRI扫描,通过优化的基于体素的形态学(optimizedvoxelbasedmophometry,OVBM)分析方法,分析AD患者全脑和局部脑灰质的体积异常。结果AD患者全脑灰质体积相对于正常对照者明显降低(P=0.0048),双侧海马、双侧丘脑、双侧颞上回和左侧颞中回体积明显减少(多重校正后,相当于P<0.05)。结论AD患者的全脑灰质体积明显降低,局部区域明显萎缩。