Abstract
Our objectives were to determine the reproducibility of diffusion
tensor imaging (DTI) in volunteers and to evaluate the ability of
the method to monitor longitudinal changes occurring in the normal-appearing
white matter (NAWM) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). DTI
was performed three-monthly for one year in seven MS patients: three
relapsing-remitting (RRMS), three secondary progressive (SPMS) and
one relapsing SP. They were selected with a limited cerebral lesion
load. Seven age- and sex-matched controls also underwent monthly
examinations for three months. Diffusivity and anisotropy were quantified
over the segmented whole supratentorial white matter, with the indices
of trace (Tr) and fractional anisotropy (FA). Results obtained in
volunteers show the reproducibility of the method. Patients had
higher trace and lower anisotropy than matched controls (P < 0.0001).
Over the follow-up, both Tr and FA indicated a recovery after the
acute phase in RRMS and a progressive shift towards abnormal values
in SPMS. Although this result is not statistically significant,
it suggests that DTI is sensitive to microscopic changes occurring
in tissue of normal appearance in conventional images and could
be useful for monitoring the course of the disease, even though
it was unable to clearly distinguish between the various physiopathological
processes involved.
- 15124766
- adult,
- aged,
- anisotropy,
- biological,
- brain,
- chronic
- diffusion
- diffusion,
- disease
- female,
- fibers,
- gov't,
- humans,
- imaging,
- magnetic
- male,
- middle
- models,
- multiple
- nerve
- non-u.s.
- progression,
- progressive,
- relapsing-remitting,
- research
- resonance
- sclerosis,
- support,
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