title: Diffusion tensor imaging in children and adolescents with tuberous sclerosis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Radiology, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Friedrich Schiller University, Bachstrasse 18, 07740 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Demet
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karadag
authors.forename: Hans-J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Mentzel
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Güllmar
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rating
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Löbel
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Brandl
authors.forename: Jürgen R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
authors.forename: Werner A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: 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*