Study on hippocampal volume with quantitative 3T magnetic resonance imaging in Chinese patients with epilepsy / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>It was still rare for the quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research of regional changes in hippocampus sclerosis (HS) in Chinese patients with epilepsy. This study aimed to study the hippocampal volumes (HVs) with quantitative MRI measurement in Chinese patients with epilepsy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-six Chinese patients with epilepsy (intractable epilepsy (IE), n = 21; non-intractable epilepsy (NIE), n = 25) and 25 normal controls were collected between July 2007 and March 2008. All of the subjects underwent a 3T high-resolution MRI with oblique coronal thin sections oriented perpendicular to the hippocampal long axis. Hippocampal structures were assessed by visual detection, and HVs were quantitatively studied with a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Our study suggested that there was no significant difference in gender (P > 0.05) while the right hippocampal head volume (HHV), hippocampal body volume (HBV), and the whole hippocampal volume (HCV) were greater than the left one (P < 0.05), but no significant difference was found in bilateral hippocampal tail volume (HTV) (P > 0.05) in normal controls. That unilateral/diffuse (64%/21%) and bilateral/focal (86%/20%) hippocampal atrophy (HA) were significant in IE and NIE patients, respectively. Anterior hippocampus, especially HHV (26% in IE and 20% in NIE) and HBV (29% in IE and 12% in NIE), had more significant atrophy than the HTV (5% in IE and 0% in NIE) in patients with epilepsy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>By assessing the volumes of the regional hippocampus with 3T MRI, we could better define the range and distribution of HS, since regional or subtle changes in HVs could be detected earlier with 3T MRI.</p>

A diffusion tensor imaging study in essential tremor.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Essential tremor (ET) is suggested to be a neural degenerative disease. The authors investigated the fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value in basal ganglia, thalamus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra in ET patients using diffusion tensor image (DTI). METHODS: DTI examination was carried out in patients with ET and controls. FA and ADC values were obtained from various brain structures, including caudate, putamen+pallidum, thalamus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra. RESULTS: The ADC value of the red nuclei in patients with ET was higher compared with controls (.90 vs .77; P= .000). However, no significant differences were demonstrated for FA, or ADC values of other structures. CONCLUSIONS: The increased ADC value in the red nucleus indicates that there is neuronal damage or loss present, suggesting that ET may be a neurodegenerative disease.