title: Changes in the brain microstructure of children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) is a common disorder in school-aged children. Previous studies have suggested that a developmental delay might play a role in the pathology of children with PMNE. However, microstructural abnormalities in the brains of these children have not been thoroughly investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this work, we evaluated structural changes in the brains of children with PMNE using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Two groups consisting of 26 children with PMNE and 26 healthy controls were scanned using magnetic resonance DTI. The diffusion parameters of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were subjected to whole-brain, voxel-wise group comparisons using statistical parametric mapping (SPM). When compared to healthy subjects, children with PMNE showed both a decrease in FA and an increase in MD in the thalamus. MD also increased in the frontal lobe, the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula; these areas are all involved in controlling micturition. The significant changes seen in the thalamus could affect both urine storage and arousal from sleep.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The microstructure abnormalities were observed in the thalamus, the medial frontal gyrus, the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula, which are involved in micturition control network. This indicates developmental delay in these areas may be the cause of PMNE.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Du
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Xiaoxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Gengying
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053206:Nocturnal Enuresis / Q000473:pathology*