Microstructural white matter changes in metabolic syndrome: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
BACKGROUND
Although metabolic syndrome is associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke, limited information is available on specific brain damage in patients with this syndrome. We investigated the relationship of the syndrome with white matter (WM) alteration using a voxel-based approach with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).


METHODS
We compared fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements of DTI in 19 patients with metabolic syndrome aged between 50 and 80 years and 19 age-matched controls without any vascular risk factors for the syndrome.


RESULTS
Patients with metabolic syndrome showed an anterior-posterior pattern of deterioration in WM with reduced FA and increased ADC values compared with controls. WM changes were not related to any isolated vascular risk factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the mechanism of this damage is not clear, the results indicate microstructural white matter alterations in patients with metabolic syndrome, mainly involving the frontal lobe.
Segura
B
B
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Jurado
M A
MA
Freixenet
N
N
Falcón
C
C
Junqué
C
C
Arboix
A
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors