Whole brain diffusion tensor imaging histogram analysis in vascular cognitive impairment

BACKGROUND Studies were carried out to detect brain tissue damage in patients with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) histogram analysis, and to determine the correlations between DTI histogram-derived measures and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. METHODS Conventional MRI and DTI scans were performed on 19 patients with VCI, 19 age- and sex-matched post-stroke patients without cognitive impairment (stroke group) and 19 cognitively normal subjects (CN group). Histograms of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the whole brain were analyzed. RESULTS Analysis showed that the patterns of the whole brain ADC and FA histograms of the VCI group differed from those of the stroke and CN groups. Compared with those of the two control groups, the mean FA value was significantly lower and the FA histogram peak height was higher in the VCI group. However, the patterns of the whole brain ADC and FA histograms in the stroke group were similar to those of the CN group, and there were no significant differences in any of the DTI histogram-derived measures between these two groups. The mean FA value, the FA histogram peak height, and the FA histogram peak location in VCI patients correlated with the MMSE scores. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that VCI leads to abnormal diffusion in brain tissue, and that DTI histogram-derived measures might be used to monitor the severity of cognitive impairment in this disease.

[1]  Chaozhe Zhu,et al.  Diffusion tensor imaging in the assessment of normal-appearing brain tissue damage in relapsing neuromyelitis optica. , 2006, AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology.

[2]  K. Blennow,et al.  Neurofilament protein in cerebrospinal fluid: A marker of white matter changes , 2001, Journal of neuroscience research.

[3]  H S Markus,et al.  Diffusion tensor MRI correlates with executive dysfunction in patients with ischaemic leukoaraiosis , 2004, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

[4]  D. Yang,et al.  Analysis of cerebral blood flow of subcortical vascular dementia with single photon emission computed tomography Adaptation of statistical parametric mapping , 2002, Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

[5]  J. Thornby,et al.  Is Mild Cognitive Impairment Prodromal for Vascular Dementia Like Alzheimer’s Disease? , 2002, Stroke.

[6]  K. Jellinger.  Neuropathologic substrates of ischemic vascular dementia. , 2001, Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology.

[7]  K. Jellinger,et al.  The pathology of ischemic-vascular dementia An update , 2002, Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

[8]  R. Kalaria.  Similarities between Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia , 2002, Journal of the Neurological Sciences.

[9]  Matthias J. Müller,et al.  Color-coded diffusion-tensor-imaging of posterior cingulate fiber tracts in mild cognitive impairment , 2005, Neurobiology of Aging.

[10]  B. Reisberg,et al.  What is vascular cognitive impairment , 2010 .

[11]  S. Skare,et al.  Abnormal brain white matter in schizophrenia: a diffusion tensor imaging study , 2001, Neuroreport.

[12]  Daniel A. Rüfenacht,et al.  ADC mapping of the aging frontal lobes in mild cognitive impairment , 2004, Neuroradiology.

[13]  M. Filippi,et al.  Quantitative MRI in CADASIL , 1999, Neurology.

[14]  K. Krishnan,et al.  Diffusion tensor imaging: background, potential, and utility in psychiatric research , 2003, Biological Psychiatry.

[15]  Nils Peters,et al.  Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Histograms as a Surrogate Marker and Predictor of Disease Progression in CADASIL: A Two-Year Follow-Up Study , 2005, Stroke.

[16]  N. Schuff,et al.  Headache and cerebral venous air embolism , 2007, Neurology.

[17]  P. Basser,et al.  Estimation of the effective self-diffusion tensor from the NMR spin echo. , 1994, Journal of magnetic resonance. Series B.

[18]  Cheuk Y. Tang,et al.  Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Schizophrenia , 2006, Biological Psychiatry.

[19]  O. Abe,et al.  MR diffusion tensor imaging: recent advance and new techniques for diffusion tensor visualization. , 2003, European journal of radiology.

[20]  D. Bennett,et al.  White matter changes in mild cognitive impairment and AD: A diffusion tensor imaging study , 2006, Neurobiology of Aging.

[21]  B. Wandell,et al.  Children's Reading Performance is Correlated with White Matter Structure Measured by Diffusion Tensor Imaging , 2005, Cortex.

[22]  Jean-François Mangin,et al.  Monitoring Disease Progression in CADASIL With Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Study With Whole Brain Histogram Analysis , 2002, Stroke.

[23]  B. Reisberg,et al.  Vascular cognitive impairment , 2005, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

[24]  K. Rockwood,et al.  Spectrum of Disease in Vascular Cognitive Impairment , 1999, Neuroepidemiology.

[25]  M Cercignani,et al.  Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging in multiple sclerosis , 2001, Neurology.

[26]  D. Medina,et al.  Diffusion MRI studies in vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. , 2003, Revista brasileira de psiquiatria.