title: Microstructural white matter changes in primary torsion dystonia.
abstract: Primary torsion dystonia (PTD) has been conceptualized as a disorder of the basal ganglia. However, recent data suggest a widespread pathology involving motor control pathways. In this report, we explored whether PTD is associated with abnormal anatomical connectivity within motor control pathways. We used diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) to assess the microstructure of white matter. We found that fractional anisotropy, a measure of axonal integrity and coherence, was significantly reduced in PTD patients in the pontine brainstem in the vicinity of the left superior cerebellar peduncle and bilaterally in the white matter of the sensorimotor region. Our data thus support the possibility of a disturbance in cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathways as a cause of the clinical manifestations of PTD.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurosciences, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, New York 11030, USA. mcarbon@nshs.edu
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carbon
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Kingsley
authors.forename: Chengke
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bressman
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eidelberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D004422:Dystonia Musculorum Deformans / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000473:pathology*