title: Volumetric analysis of the hypothalamus in Huntington Disease using 3T MRI: the IMAGE-HD Study.
abstract: Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin gene. Non-motor symptoms and signs such as psychiatric disturbances, sleep problems and metabolic dysfunction are part of the disease manifestation. These aspects may relate to changes in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in the regulation of emotion, sleep and metabolism. Neuropathological and imaging studies using both voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as positron emission tomography (PET) have demonstrated pathological changes in the hypothalamic region during early stages in symptomatic HD. In this investigation, we aimed to establish a robust method for measurements of the hypothalamic volume in MRI in order to determine whether the hypothalamic dysfunction in HD is associated with the volume of this region. Using T1-weighted imaging, we describe a reproducible delineation procedure to estimate the hypothalamic volume which was based on the same landmarks used in histologically processed postmortem hypothalamic tissue. Participants included 36 prodromal HD (pre-HD), 33 symptomatic HD (symp-HD) and 33 control participants who underwent MRI scanning at baseline and 18 months follow-up as part of the IMAGE-HD study. We found no evidence of cross-sectional or longitudinal changes between groups in hypothalamic volume. Our results suggest that hypothalamic pathology in HD is not associated with volume changes.
authors: Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Sanaz
authors: S
authors: Gabery
authors: School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3180, Australia.
authors: Nellie
authors: N
authors: Georgiou-Karistianis
authors: Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Sofia Hult
authors: SH
authors: Lundh
authors: Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Rachel Y
authors: RY
authors: Cheong
authors: School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3180, Australia; Huntington's Disease Unit, Bethlehem Hospital, Kooyong Rd, Caulfield, Victoria, 3162, Australia.
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Churchyard
authors: Huntington's Disease Unit, Bethlehem Hospital, Kooyong Rd, Caulfield, Victoria, 3162, Australia; Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.
authors: Phyllis
authors: P
authors: Chua
authors: School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3180, Australia.
authors: Julie C
authors: JC
authors: Stout
authors: School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3180, Australia; Monash Biomedical Imaging (MBI), Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3180, Australia; Life Sciences Computation Centre, Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Gary F
authors: GF
authors: Egan
authors: Brain Repair and Imaging in Neural Systems (B.R.A.I.N.S) Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Lund University Bioimaging Center, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Deniz
authors: D
authors: Kirik
authors: Translational Neuroendocrine Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors: Åsa
authors: Å
authors: Petersén
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011859:Radiography