A longitudinal diffusion tensor MRI study of the cervical cord and brain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
; 80(1): 53-5, 2009 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18931009
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To define the temporal evolution of intrinsic tissue damage and atrophy in the cervical cord and the brain portion of the corticospinal tracts (CST) from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).METHODS:
Conventional and diffusion tensor (DT) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical cord and brain were obtained from 17 ALS patients and 20 controls, at baseline and after a mean follow-up of 9 months. The following measurements were assessed (a) cervical cord cross-sectional area, average mean diffusivity (MD) and average fractional anisotropy (FA); and (b) CST T2-visible hyperintensities, average MD and FA.RESULTS:
During the follow-up, ALS patients showed a significant decrease in cord area (p = 0.003) and cord average FA (p = 0.01), and a significant increase in cord average MD (p = 0.01). In ALS patients, longitudinal changes of diffusivity measurements were not associated with cord area changes. At baseline, brain CST average MD was significantly higher in ALS patients compared with controls (p = 0.001). Brain CST diffusivity measurements remained stable over time in ALS patients and did not correlate with cord damage.CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that progressive tissue loss and injury to the remaining tissue occur in the cervical cord of ALS patients and that these two features of ALS-related pathology are not strictly interrelated. Cord pathology in ALS patients is likely to be independent of brain changes, indicating that imaging the cervical cord may be a useful adjunctive tool to monitor ALS evolution.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Tratos Piramidais
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Imagem de Difusão por Ressonância Magnética
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Esclerose Lateral Amiotrófica
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália