White Matter Lesions in Patients with Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and in an Age-matched Control Group: A Comparative Study

Neurosurgery ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-496
Author(s):  
Joachim K. Krauss ◽  
Jens P. Regel ◽  
Werner Vach ◽  
Miro Orszagh ◽  
Freimut D. Jüngling ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Takeshi Kuroda ◽  
Motoyasu Honma ◽  
Yukiko Mori ◽  
Akinori Futamura ◽  
Azusa Sugimoto ◽  
...  

Background: Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) due to overlapping pathophysiology and similar imaging characteristics, including ventricular enlargement and increased white matter lesions (WMLs). Objective: To compare the extent and distribution of WMLs directly between iNPH and AD and examine the association with underlying pathophysiology. Methods: Twelve patients with iNPH (mean age: 78.08 years; 5 females), 20 with AD (mean age: 75.40 years; 13 females), and 10 normal cognition (NC) participants (mean age: 76.60 years; 7 females) were recruited. The extent and distribution of WMLs and the lateral ventricular volume (LV-V) were evaluated on MRI using voxel-based morphometry analysis. Concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, such as amyloid-β protein (Aβ)42, Aβ 40, Aβ 38, and tau species, were also measured. Risk factors for small vessel disease (SVD) were assessed by blood examination and medical records. Results: The periventricular WML volume (PWML-V) and deep WML volume (DWML-V) were significantly larger in iNPH than in AD and NC. The DWML-V was dominant in iNPH, while the PWML-V was dominant in AD and NC. GM-V was significantly smaller in AD than in iNPH and NC. The LV-V positively correlated with WML-V in all participants. There was a significant negative correlation between LV-V and Aβ 38 in iNPH. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in SVD risk factors between the groups. Conclusion: The differences in the extent and distribution of WMLs between iNPH and AD, especially predominance of DWML-V over PWML-V in iNPH, may reflect decreased fluid and Aβ clearance.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1586-1593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Lenfeldt ◽  
Anne Larsson ◽  
Lars Nyberg ◽  
Richard Birgander ◽  
Anders Eklund ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: Idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is associated with white matter lesions, but the extent and severity of the lesions do not cohere with symptoms or improvement after shunting, implying the presence of further, yet undisclosed, injuries to white matter in INPH. OBJECTIVE: To apply diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to explore white matter lesions in patients with INPH before and after drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). METHODS: Eighteen patients and 10 controls were included. DTI was performed in a 1.5T MRI scanner before and after 3-day drainage of 400 mL of CSF. Regions of interest included corpus callosum, capsula interna, frontal and lateral periventricular white matter, and centrum semiovale. White matter integrity was quantified by assessing fractional anisotropies (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC), comparing them between patients and controls and between patients before and after drainage. The significance level corresponded to .05 (Bonferroni corrected). RESULTS: Decreased FA in patients was found in 3 regions (P < .002, P < .001, and P < .001) in anterior frontal white matter, whereas elevated ADC was found in genu corpus callosum (P < .001) and areas of centrum semiovale associated with the precentral gyri (P < .002). Diffusion patterns in these areas did not change after drainage. CONCLUSION: DTI reveals subtle injuries—interpreted as axonal loss and gliosis—to anterior frontal white matter where high-order motor systems between frontal cortex and basal ganglia travel, further supporting the notion that motor symptoms in INPH are caused by a chronic ischemia to the neuronal systems involved in the planning processes of movements.


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