title: Optic Neuritis and the Visual Pathway: Evaluation of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum by Resting-State fMRI and Diffusion Tensor MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Optic neuritis (ON) is an acute episode of inflammation in the visual pathway (VP). It may occur as part of a demyelinating disease, which can affect white matter (WM) throughout the VP. Compensatory cortical adaptations may occur following WM damage to maintain visual integrity. Our aim was to investigate whether resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) can detect cortical adaptations following ON attacks and to correlate rsfMRI with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of WM within the VP.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neuromyelitis optica spectrum patients were compared to healthy controls at least 6 months after ON onset. DTI and rsfMRI were performed and post-processed using FSL tools (TBSS for DTI and MELODIC for fMRI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ptients had higher synchronization values than controls in the visual network (3.48 vs. 2.12, P < .05). A weak trend of correlation was revealed between fMRI and structural analysis by DTI using fractional anisotropy (right side: R = -.36, P < .08; left side: R = .075, P < .73).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rsfMRI detected cortical reorganization following ON attack, but WM was considerably preserved in the posterior VP.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Radiology, Rua Presidente João Pessoa, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda Cristina Rueda
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Neurology, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Soniza Vieira
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Alves-Leon
authors.affiliation: State University of Rio de Janeiro, Neurology, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jose Mauricio
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.affiliation: State University of Rio de Janeiro, Neurology, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Souza Batista Scherpenhuijzen
authors.affiliation: State University of Rio de Janeiro, Neurology, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fezer
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Radiology, Rua Presidente João Pessoa, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Emerson Leandro
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gasparetto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D003344:Cortical Synchronization; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009471:Neuromyelitis Optica / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MRI; Neuromyelitis optica; diffusion tensor imaging; neuritis optica; resting-state functional