Diffusion tensor imaging in children and adolescents with tuberous sclerosis.
BACKGROUND
Tuberous sclerosis (TS) is characterised by benign hamartomatous lesions in many organs. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can detect microstructural changes in pathological processes.


OBJECTIVE
To determine apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) maps in children with TS and to investigate the diffusion properties in cortical tubers, white-matter lesions, perilesional white matter, and contralateral normal-appearing white matter, and to compare the results with ADC and FA maps of normal age- and sex-matched volunteers.


METHODS
Seven children and adolescents (age range 2-20 years) suffering from TS were included. MRI was performed on a 1.5-T scanner using a transmit/receive coil with T1-W and T2-W spin-echo and FLAIR sequences. DT images were acquired by using a single-shot echo-planar pulse sequence. Diffusion gradients were applied in six different directions with a b value of 1,000 s/mm(2).


RESULTS
ADC was higher in cortical tubers than in the corresponding cortical location of controls. ADC values were higher and FA values were lower in white-matter lesions and perilesional white matter than in both the contralateral normal-appearing white matter of patients and in controls. There were no significant differences for both ADC and FA values in the normal-appearing white matter of patients with TS compared to controls.


CONCLUSIONS
DTI provides important information about cortical tubers, white-matter abnormalities, and perilesional white matter in patients with TS.
Karadag
Demet
D
Department of Paediatric Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Bachstrasse 18, 07740 Jena, Germany.
Mentzel
Hans-J
HJ
Güllmar
Daniel
D
Rating
Tina
T
Löbel
Ulrike
U
Brandl
Ulrich
U
Reichenbach
Jürgen R
JR
Kaiser
Werner A
WA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014402:Tuberous Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*