Diffusion tensor changes in patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment and various dementias

Chen, Ta-Fu; Lin, Chih-Chun; Chen, Ya-Fang; Liu, Hon-Man; Hua, Mau-Sun; Huang, Yung-Chien; Chiu, Ming-Jang

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.09.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 173, Issue 1 , Pages 15-21, 15 July 2009

Diffusion tensor changes in patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment and various dementias

Ta-Fu Chen
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
Chih-Chun Lin
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Dr. C.C. Lin is an equal first author.
Ya-Fang Chen
- Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Corresponding authors. Chiu is to be contacted at Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Rd., Taipei, 100, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 968 661507; fax: +886 2 23418395. Chen, Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Rd., Taipei, 100, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 23123456x5634; fax: +886 2 23324552.
Hon-Man Liu
- Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
Mau-Sun Hua
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Yung-Chien Huang
- Department of Radiology, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Ming-Jang Chiu
- Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan;
- Corresponding authors. Chiu is to be contacted at Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Rd., Taipei, 100, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 968 661507; fax: +886 2 23418395. Chen, Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Rd., Taipei, 100, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 23123456x5634; fax: +886 2 23324552.

Received 15 November 2007; received in revised form 21 June 2008; accepted 9 September 2008.

Abstract

White matter damage and its contribution to clinical manifestations in patients with dementia have been increasingly recognized. To explore white matter changes in different types of dementia, we examined brain water diffusivity with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We measured fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity of multiple white matter regions in patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=10), Alzheimer's disease (AD, n=30), subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD, n=18), frontotemporal dementia (FTD, n=7), and control subjects (n=20). We performed pairwise comparisons in each region of interest between patients and controls. MCI patients showed diffusion tensor change (DTC) in the left anterior periventricular (PV) area, possibly in the right posterior PV area, and the genu of the corpus callosum. AD patients showed DTC in the corpus callosum, and in frontal and parieto-occipital subcortical and anterior PV areas. In SIVD patients, DTC occurred in the genu of the corpus callosum, and in bilateral frontal subcortical and PV areas. FTD patients differed from controls in showing DTC in the temporal and frontal subcortical areas, the genu of the corpus callosum and PV areas. The degree of DTC correlated with the clinical severity of dementia as assessed by the clinical dementia rating (CDR). Mean diffusivity was diffusely and positively associated with the CDR scores. Fractional anisotropy of the PV areas was negatively associated with the CDR scores, suggesting a critical role of the lateral cholinergic pathways.