title: Differentiation among parkinsonisms using quantitative diffusion kurtosis imaging.
abstract: Differential diagnoses among Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSPS) are often difficult. Hence, we investigated whether diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) could detect pathological changes that occur in these disorders and be used to differentiate between such patients. Fourteen patients (five with PD, four MSA, and five PSPS) and six healthy controls were examined using a 1.5-T scanner. Mean kurtosis (MK), fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity maps were generated, and these values of the midbrain tegmentum (MBT) and pontine crossing tract (PCT), as well as MBT/PCT ratios, were obtained. We found no significant differences in MBT and PCT values on DKI maps among the groups. In contrast, MBT/PCT ratios from MK maps were significantly increased in the MSA group and decreased in the PSPS group compared with the other groups. MBT/PCT ratios from mean diffusivity maps showed a significant increase in the PSPS group. Therefore, quantitative DKI analyses, particularly the MBT/PCT ratio from MK maps, can differentiate patients with parkinsonisms.
authors.affiliation: aDivision of Ultra-high Field MRI, Institute for Biomedical Sciences bDepartment of Neurology and Gerontology, Iwate Medical University, Iwate cCentral Research Laboratory, Hitachi Ltd, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Chigumi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ohtsuka
authors.forename: Suguru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yokosawa
authors.forename: Taisuke
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Ikuko
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uwano
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019578:Multiple System Atrophy / Q000473:pathology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D013494:Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive / Q000473:pathology*