Diffusion tensor tract-specific analysis of the uncinate fasciculus in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
BACKGROUND
The uncinate fasciculus (UF) consists of core fibers connecting the frontal and temporal lobes and is considered to be related to cognitive/behavioral function. Using diffusion tensor tractography, we quantitatively evaluated changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the UF by tract-specific analysis to evaluate the damage of the UF in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).


METHODS
We obtained diffusion tensor images of 15 patients with ALS and 9 age-matched volunteers.


RESULTS
Patients with ALS showed significantly lower mean FA (P = 0.029) compared with controls. No significant difference was seen in mean ADC.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that damage of the UF in patients with ALS can be quantitatively evaluated with FA.
Sato
Kanako
K
Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. ksatou-ham@umin.ac.jp
Aoki
Shigeki
S
Iwata
Nobue K
NK
Masutani
Yoshitaka
Y
Watadani
Takeyuki
T
Nakata
Yasuhiro
Y
Yoshida
Mariko
M
Terao
Yasuo
Y
Abe
Osamu
O
Ohtomo
Kuni
K
Tsuji
Shoji
S
D000368:Aged; D000647:Amnesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016880:Anisotropy; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008032:Limbic System / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012984:Software; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*