title: Structural changes in cerebellar outflow tracts after thalamotomy in essential tremor.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study set out to determine whether structural changes are present outside the thalamus after thalamotomy in patients with essential tremor (ET), specifically in the cerebellorubrothalamic tracts. We hypothesized that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) would detect these changes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected DTI scans and analyzed differences in Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Mean Diffusivity (MD) between the left and right superior and middle cerebellar peduncle in ET patients that have undergone unilateral, left, thalamotomy and ET patients that did not undergo thalamotomy (control group). We used classical ROI-based statistics to determine whether changes are present.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found decreased FA and increased MD values in the right superior cerebellar peduncle leading to the left, lesioned thalamus, only in the thalamotomy group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests long-term structural changes in the cerebellorubrothalamic tract after thalamotomy. This contributes to further understanding of the biological mechanism following surgical lesions in the basal ganglia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Arthur W G
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Buijink
authors.affiliation: Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthan W A
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Caan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M Fiorella
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Contarino
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P Richard
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Schuurman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pepijn
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van den Munckhof
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rob M A
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: de Bie
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Silvia Delgado
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Olabarriaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Speelman
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brain Imaging Center, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: a.f.vanrootselaar@amc.uva.nl.
authors.forename: Anne-Fleur
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: van Rootselaar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016880:Anisotropy; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065837:Middle Cerebellar Peduncle / Q000473:pathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Cerebellum; Diffusion tensor imaging; Essential tremor; Thalamotomy; Tremor