High b value diffusion-weighted imaging is more sensitive to white matter degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
It has been reported that diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can detect white matter degeneration in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. We hypothesized that imaging of the slow diffusion component using high b value DWI is more sensitive to AD-related white matter degeneration than is conventional DWI, and therefore we studied the effects of high b value on lesion-to-normal contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Seven AD patients and seven age-matched normal subjects were studied with full-tensor DWI at three different b values (1000, 2000, and 4000 s/mm(2)) without changing echo time or diffusion time, and the mean diffusivities in the parietal and occipital regions were measured. Statistical analyses revealed that use of higher b values significantly improves both lesion-to-normal contrast and CNR. We concluded that high b value DWI is more sensitive to AD-related white matter degeneration than is conventional DWI.
Yoshiura
Takashi
T
Department of Clinical Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. tyoshiura@dr.hosp.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Mihara
Futoshi
F
Tanaka
Atsuo
A
Ogomori
Koji
K
Ohyagi
Yasumasa
Y
Taniwaki
Takayuki
T
Yamada
Takeshi
T
Yamasaki
Takao
T
Ichimiya
Atsushi
A
Kinukawa
Naoko
N
Kuwabara
Yasuo
Y
Honda
Hiroshi
H
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000473:pathology