Analysis of Fractional Anisotropy Measurements of Diffusion Tensor Images of Cerebral White Matter and Gray Matter Regions: For Male aged 30 to 50 years

Cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) have been consistently related to cognitive dysfunction but the role of white matter (WM) damage in cognitive impairment is not fully determined. Diffusion tensor imaging is a promising tool to explain impaired cognition related to WMLs. We investigated the separate association of high-grade periventricular hyperintensities (PVHs) and deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMHs) with fractional anisotropy (FA) in middle-aged individuals. We also assessed the predictive value to cognition of FA within specific WM tracts associated with high-grade WMLs. One hundred participants from the Barcelona-AsIA Neuropsychology Study were divided into groups based on low- and high-grade WMLs. Voxel-by-voxel FA were compared between groups, with separate analyses for high-grade PVHs and DWMHs. The mean FA within areas showing differences between groups was extracted in each tract for linear regression analyses. Participants with high-grade PVHs and participants with high-grade DWMHs showed lower FA in different areas of specific tracts. Areas showing decreased FA in high-grade DWMHs predicted lower cognition, whereas areas with decreased FA in high-grade PVHs did not. The predictive value to cognition of specific WM tracts supports the involvement of cortico-subcortical circuits in cognitive deficits only in DWMHs.

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Diffusion Tensor Imaging Evaluation of Neural Network Development in Patients Undergoing Therapeutic Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation following Stroke

Neural Plasticity ◽

10.1155/2018/3901016 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Naoki Yamada ◽

Ryo Ueda ◽

Wataru Kakuda ◽

Ryo Momosaki ◽

Takahiro Kondo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

White Matter ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Motor Function ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Imaging Evaluation

We aimed to investigate plastic changes in cerebral white matter structures using diffusion tensor imaging following a 15-day stroke rehabilitation program. We compared the detection of cerebral plasticity between generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA), a novel tool for investigating white matter structures, and fractional anisotropy (FA). Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) of 2400 pulses applied to the nonlesional hemisphere and 240 min intensive occupation therapy (OT) daily over 15 days. Motor function was evaluated using the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT). Patients underwent diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on admission and discharge, from which bilateral FA and GFA values in Brodmann area (BA) 4 and BA6 were calculated. Motor function improved following treatment (p<0.001). Treatment increased GFA values for both the lesioned and nonlesioned BA4 (p<0.05, p<0.001, resp.). Changes in GFA value for BA4 of the lesioned hemisphere were significantly inversely correlated with changes in WMFT scores (R2=0.363, p<0.05). Our findings indicate that the GFA may have a potentially more useful ability than FA to detect changes in white matter structures in areas of fiber intersection for any such future investigations.

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Fractional anisotropy of cerebral white matter and thickness of cortical gray matter across the lifespan

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.050 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 41-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 90

Author(s):

P. Kochunov ◽

D.C. Glahn ◽

J. Lancaster ◽

P.M. Thompson ◽

V. Kochunov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Cortical Gray Matter

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Quantitative diffusion tensor imaging and intellectual outcomes in spina bifida

Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics ◽

10.3171/ped/2008/2/7/075 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 75-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Khader M. Hasan ◽

Ambika Sankar ◽

Christopher Halphen ◽

Larry A. Kramer ◽

Linda Ewing-Cobbs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Spina Bifida ◽

Caudate Nucleus ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Gray Matter Volume ◽

Whole Brain ◽

Brain Volumes

Object Patients with spina bifida (SB) have variable intellectual outcomes. The authors used diffusion tensor (DT) imaging to quantify whole-brain volumes of gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and perform regional quantitative microstructural assessments of gray matter nuclei and white matter tracts in relation to intellectual outcomes in patients with SB. Methods Twenty-nine children with myelomeningoceles and 20 age- and sex-matched children with normal neural tube development underwent MR imaging with DT image acquisition and assessments of intelligence. The DT imaging–derived metrics were the fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (parallel), and transverse (perpendicular) diffusivities. These metrics were also used to segment the brain into white matter, gray matter, and CSF. A region-of-interest analysis was conducted of the white and gray matter structures implicated in hydrocephalus. Results The amount of whole-brain gray matter was decreased in patients with SB, with a corresponding increase in CSF (p < 0.0001). Regional transverse diffusivity in the caudate nucleus was decreased (p < 0.0001), and the corresponding FA was increased (p < 0.0001), suggesting reduced dendritic branching and connectivity. Fractional anisotropy in the posterior limb of the internal capsule increased in the myelomeningocele group (p = 0.02), suggesting elimination of some divergent fascicles; in contrast, the FA in several white matter structures (such as the corpus callosum genu [p < 0.001] and arcuate fasciculus) was reduced, suggesting disruption of myelination. Diffusion tensor imaging–metrics involving gray matter volume and the caudate nucleus, but not other structures, predicted variations in IQ (r = 0.37–0.50; p < 0.05). Conclusions Diffusion tensor imaging–derived metrics provide noninvasive neuronal surrogate markers of the pathogenesis of SB and predict variations in general intellectual outcomes in children with this condition.

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Assessment of damage to cerebral white matter fiber in the subacute phase after carbon monoxide poisoning using fractional anisotropy in diffusion tensor imaging

Neuroradiology ◽

10.1007/s00234-009-0649-x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 52 (8) ◽

pp. 735-743 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Takaaki Beppu ◽

Hideaki Nishimoto ◽

Daiya Ishigaki ◽

Shunrou Fujiwara ◽

Tomoyuki Yoshida ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Monoxide ◽

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Subacute Phase

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Assessment of fractional anisotropy outcomes in combat sport athletes with mild traumatic brain injury

10.1101/2021.01.06.21249357 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jessica Humara ◽

Joe Michel Lopez Inguanzo ◽

Janet Perodin Hernandez ◽

Evelio Gonzalez Dalmau

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Structural Analysis ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Chronic Phase ◽

White Matter Lesions ◽

Local Analysis ◽

Diffusion Tensor Images ◽

Repetitive Trauma ◽

Selection Of

The practice of combat sports increases the risk of suffering white matter injuries. That is why, it is required the early damage detection to determine to what extent the athlete may be active preserving their performance and health status. The integrity of the white matter can be quantitatively characterized in diffusion tensor images, using fractional anisotropy. This study aims at characterizing the fractional anisotropy of white matter injuries in combat athletes that are exposed to repetitive trauma and also, to detect changes in fractional anisotropy between cerebral hemispheres with and without lesions. It is proposed a global and structural analysis of the hemispheres, as well as the selection of ROI in the lesions. 14 athletes, from Boxing, Karate and Taekwondo sports, participated. The sample was divided into two groups of seven subjects each: Injured (23.428${\pm}$4.157 years old) and Healthy (24.285${\pm}$5.023 years old) paired by sport denomination. Diffusion tensor images were used to obtain FA values in the analysis of the hemispheres and lesions. Global and structural analysis of the hemispheres did not detect the presence of white matter lesions; however, the use of ROI selection permitted maximum approximation of the injuries location. It also improved the breakdown of FA values as it allows a local analysis of the lesion. As an additional result, there were found ROIs values, FA$_{med}=0.454{\pm}0.062$, which exceed the average fractional anisotropy of the white matter. The cohesion of acute and chronic phase lesions were found in the same subject. The apparently contradictory results in FA values are related to the stage of the lesions.

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Thalamic Fractional Anisotropy Predicts Accrual of Cerebral White Matter Damage in Older Subjects with Small-Vessel Disease

Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism ◽

10.1038/jcbfm.2014.86 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1321-1327 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michele Cavallari ◽

Nicola Moscufo ◽

Dominik Meier ◽

Pawel Skudlarski ◽

Godfrey D Pearlson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

White Matter ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Small Vessel Disease ◽

Cerebral Small Vessel Disease ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Small Vessel ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Mobility Impairment ◽

Vessel Disease

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and lacunes are magnetic resonance imaging hallmarks of cerebral small-vessel disease, which increase the risk of stroke, cognitive, and mobility impairment. Although most studies of cerebral small-vessel disease have focused on white matter abnormalities, the gray matter (GM) is also affected, as evidenced by frequently observed lacunes in subcortical GM. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to subtle neurodegenerative changes in deep GM structures. We explored the relationship between baseline DTI characteristics of the thalamus, caudate, and putamen, and the volume and subsequent accrual of WMHs over a 4-year period in 56 community-dwelling older (≤75 years) individuals. Baseline thalamic fractional anisotropy (FA) was an independent predictor of WMH accrual. WMH accrual also correlated with baseline lacune count and baseline WMH volume, the latter showing the strongest predictive power, explaining 27.3% of the variance. The addition of baseline thalamic FA in multivariate modeling increased this value by 70%, which explains 46.5% of the variance in WMH accrual rate. Thalamic FA might serve as a novel predictor of cerebral small-vessel disease progression in clinical settings and trials. Furthermore, our findings point to the possibility of a causal relationship between thalamic damage and the accrual of WMHs.

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Measurement of Fractional Anisotropy in Normal Cerebral White Matter and Brain Tumors with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Journal of the Korean Radiological Society ◽

10.3348/jkrs.2002.47.2.147 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

pp. 147 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Seung Koo Lee ◽

Dong Ik Kim ◽

Si Yeon Kim ◽

Yon Kwon Ihn ◽

Sang Heum Kim

Keyword(s):

Diffusion Tensor Imaging ◽

White Matter ◽

Brain Tumors ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Cerebral White Matter

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Decreased myelin content of the fornix predicts poorer memory performance beyond vascular risk, hippocampal volume, and fractional anisotropy in nondemented older adults

Brain Imaging and Behavior ◽

10.1007/s11682-021-00458-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Katherine J. Bangen ◽

Lisa Delano-Wood ◽

Sean C. L. Deoni ◽

Alexandra L. Clark ◽

Nicole D. Evangelista ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

White Matter ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Diffusion Tensor ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Hippocampal Volume ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Vascular Risk ◽

Early Marker ◽

Memory Functioning

AbstractAlterations to cerebral white matter tracts have been associated with cognitive decline in aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In particular, the fornix has been implicated as especially vulnerable given that it represents the primary outflow tract of the hippocampus. Despite this, little work has focused on the fornix using a potential early marker of white matter degeneration—myelin water fraction (MWF; an in vivo marker of myelin content). Therefore, we sought to (1) clarify associations between MWF in the fornix and memory functioning, and (2) examine whether fornix MWF relates to memory performance above and beyond hippocampal volume and conventional imaging measures of white matter that may not be as specific to alterations in myelin content. Forty nondemented older adults (mean age = 72.9 years) underwent an MRI exam and neuropsychological assessment. Multicomponent driven equilibrium single pulse observation of T1 and T2 (mcDESPOT) was used to quantify fornix MWF and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to measure fornix fractional anisotropy (FA). Adjusting for age, sex, education, and vascular risk factors, linear regression models revealed that, lower fornix MWF was significantly associated with poorer memory functioning (β = 0.405, p = .007) across our sample of older adults. Notably, fornix MWF remained a significant predictor of memory functioning (β = 0.380, p = .015) even after adjusting for fornix DTI FA and hippocampal volume (in addition to the above covariates). Given the observed associations between myelin and memory in older adults without dementia, MWF may be a useful early marker of dementia risk.

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