title: Diffusion MRI measured white matter microstructure as a biomarker of neurodegeneration in preclinical Huntington's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Huntington's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, genetically determined by CAG trinucleotide expansions in the IT15 gene. The onset of the symptoms is related to the number of CAG triplets. Because the patients are asymptomatic in the early phase of the disease, in vivo biomarkers are needed to follow up the reurodegeneration and to test putative neuroprotective approaches. One such promising biomarker is the diffusion MRI measured microstructural alteration of the white matter.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven presymtomatic, mutation carriers and ten age-matched healthy controls were included in the study. Diffusion parameters were compared between groups and correlated with measures describing neurodegeneration. In order to reduce the possible misregistration bias due to atrophy the analysis was restricted to the core of each fibre bundles as defined by maximal fractional anisotropy (Tract-Based Spatial Statistics).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Decreased fractional anisotropy, along with increased mean, parallel and perpendicular diffusivity was found in white matter tracts, mainly in the corpus callosum. An inverse correlation was detected between the fractional anisotropy and neurodegeneration score (derived from the number of CAG triplets and the patient age) from the areas of the left precentral gyrus, frontal lobe, corpus callosum and the capsula extrema. Altered diffusion parameters are promising biomarkers of the neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged. kincses.zsigmond.tamas@med.u-szeged.hu
authors.forename: Zsigmond Tamás
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Kincses
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: Nikoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Szabó
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: Eszter
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tóth
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: Dénes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zádori
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Faragó
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest.
authors.forename: Dezso
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Németh
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest.
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Janacsek
authors.affiliation: Euromedic Hungary Ltd., Szeged.
authors.forename: Magor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: Péter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Klivényi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Clinical Center, University of Szeged, Szeged.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vécsei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D015415:Biomarkers; D001921:Brain / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000648:ultrastructure; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers