More accurate estimation of diffusion tensor parameters using diffusion kurtosis imaging

During the third trimester, the human brain undergoes rapid cellular and molecular processes that reshape the structural architecture of the cerebral cortex. Knowledge of cortical differentiation obtained predominantly from histological studies is limited in localized and small cortical regions. How cortical microstructure is differentiated across cortical regions in this critical period is unknown. In this study, the cortical microstructural architecture across the entire cortex was delineated with non-Gaussian diffusion kurtosis imaging as well as conventional diffusion tensor imaging of 89 preterm neonates aged 31–42 postmenstrual weeks. The temporal changes of cortical mean kurtosis (MK) or fractional anisotropy (FA) were heterogeneous across the cortical regions. Cortical MK decreases were observed throughout the studied age period, while cortical FA decrease reached its plateau around 37 weeks. More rapid decreases in MK were found in the primary visual region, while faster FA declines were observed in the prefrontal cortex. We found that distinctive cortical microstructural changes were coupled with microstructural maturation of associated white matter tracts. Both cortical MK and FA measurements predicted the postmenstrual age of preterm infants accurately. This study revealed a differential 4D spatiotemporal cytoarchitectural signature inferred by non-Gaussian diffusion barriers inside the cortical plate during the third trimester. The cytoarchitectural processes, including dendritic arborization and neuronal density decreases, were inferred by regional cortical FA and MK measurements. The presented findings suggest that cortical MK and FA measurements could be used as effective imaging markers for cortical microstructural changes in typical and potentially atypical brain development.

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Assessment of cochlear nerve deficiency and its effect on normal maturation of auditory tract by diffusion kurtosis imaging and diffusion tensor imaging: A correlational approach

Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽

10.1016/j.mri.2016.07.010 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (9) ◽

pp. 1305-1313 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vijayakumar Chinnadurai ◽

C.M. Sreedhar ◽

Subash Khushu

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Cochlear Nerve ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Correlational Approach ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis ◽

And Diffusion ◽

Cochlear Nerve Deficiency

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Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging of Substantia Nigra Is a Sensitive Method for Early Diagnosis and Disease Evaluation in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2015/207624 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Guohua Zhang ◽

Yuhu Zhang ◽

Chengguo Zhang ◽

Yukai Wang ◽

Guixian Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Substantia Nigra ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Potential Biomarker ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis ◽

Sensitive Method

Background.To diagnose Parkinson disease (PD) in an early stage and accurately evaluate severity, it is important to develop a sensitive method for detecting structural changes in the substantia nigra (SN).Method.Seventy-two untreated patients with early PD and 72 healthy controls underwent diffusion tensor and diffusion kurtosis imaging. Regions of interest were drawn in the rostral, middle, and caudal SN by two blinded and independent raters. Mean kurtosis (MK) and fractional anisotropy in the SN were compared between the groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Spearman correlation analyses were used to compare the diagnostic accuracy and correlate imaging findings with Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y) staging and part III of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III).Result.MK in the SN was increased significantly in PD patients compared with healthy controls. The area under the ROC curve was 0.976 for MK in the SN (sensitivity, 0.944; specificity, 0.917). MK in the SN had a positive correlation with H-Y staging and UPDRS-III scores.Conclusion.Diffusion kurtosis imaging is a sensitive method for PD diagnosis and severity evaluation. MK in the SN is a potential biomarker for imaging studies of early PD that can be widely used in clinic.

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White matter microstructural integrity across the adult lifespan: Combined perspective of diffusion tensor and kurtosis imaging

10.1101/2021.10.27.466088 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hiba Taha ◽

Jordan A Chad ◽

J. Jean Chen

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Brain Aging ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Diffusion Imaging ◽

General Pattern ◽

B Value ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Non Gaussian ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis

Studies of healthy brain aging have reported diffusivity patterns associated with white matter degeneration using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which assumes that diffusion measured at the typical b-value (approximately 1000 s/mm2) is Gaussian. Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is an extension of DTI that measures non-Gaussian diffusion (kurtosis) to better capture microenvironmental changes by incorporating additional data at a higher b-value. In this study, using UK Biobank data (b values of 1000 and 2000 s/mm2), we investigate (1) the extent of novel information gained from adding diffusional kurtosis to diffusivity observations in aging, and (2) how conventional DTI metrics in aging compare with diffusivity metrics derived from DKI, which are corrected for kurtosis. We find a general pattern of lower kurtosis alongside higher diffusivity among older adults. We also find differences between diffusivity metrics derived from DTI and DKI, emphasizing the importance of accounting for non-Gaussian diffusion. This work highlights the utility of measuring diffusional kurtosis as a simple addition to conventional diffusion imaging of aging.

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Comparison of the values of MRI diffusion kurtosis imaging and diffusion tensor imaging in cerebral astrocytoma grading and their association with aquaporin-4

Neurology India ◽

10.4103/0028-3886.177621 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 64 (2) ◽

pp. 265 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hui Zhang ◽

Rui-Feng Zhao ◽

Yan Tan ◽

Xiao-Chun Wang ◽

Jiang-Bo Qin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Aquaporin 4 ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis ◽

And Diffusion

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Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging Detects Microstructural Changes in the Brain after Acute Alcohol Intoxication in Rats

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2017/4757025 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xi-ran Chen ◽

Jie-ying Zeng ◽

Zhi-Wei Shen ◽

Ling-mei Kong ◽

Wen-bin Zheng

Keyword(s):

Frontal Lobe ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Alcohol Intoxication ◽

Mean Diffusivity ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging ◽

Acute Alcohol Intoxication ◽

Additional Information ◽

Diffusion Kurtosis ◽

The Brain ◽

Acute Intake

The aim of this study was to test the technical feasibility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in the brain after acute alcohol intoxication. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and DKI during 7.0 T MRI were performed in the frontal lobe and thalamus before and 30 min, 2 h, and 6 h after ethyl alcohol administration. Compared with controls, mean kurtosis values of the frontal lobe and thalamus first decreased by 44% and 38% within 30 min (p<0.01 all) and then increased by 14% and 46% at 2 h (frontal lobe, p>0.05; thalamus, p<0.01) and by 29% and 68% at 6 h (frontal lobe, p<0.05; thalamus, p<0.01) after acute intake. Mean diffusivity decreased significantly in both the frontal lobe and the thalamus at various stages. However, fractional anisotropy decreased only in the frontal lobe, with no detectable change in the thalamus. This demonstrates that DKI possesses sufficient sensitivity for tracking pathophysiological changes at various stages associated with acute alcohol intoxication and may provide additional information that may be missed by conventional DTI parameters.

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