PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - T. Taoka
AU  - S. Iwasaki
AU  - M. Sakamoto
AU  - H. Nakagawa
AU  - A. Fukusumi
AU  - K. Myochin
AU  - S. Hirohashi
AU  - T. Hoshida
AU  - K. Kichikawa
TI  - Diffusion Anisotropy and Diffusivity of White Matter Tracts Within the Temporal Stem in Alzheimer Disease: Evaluation of the “Tract of Interest” by Diffusion Tensor Tractography
DP  - 2006 May 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1040--1045
VI  - 27
IP  - 5
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/27/5/1040.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/27/5/1040.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2006 May 01; 27
AB  - PURPOSE: Our aim was to determine whether diffusion anisotropy and diffusivity of white matter tracts of the temporal stem in patients with Alzheimer (AD) can be evaluated independently by using diffusion tensor tractography.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects included 15 patients with AD (11 women and 4 men; mean age, 74 years) and 15 age-matched control subjects (11 women and 4 men; mean age, 72 years). Diffusion tensor images were acquired by using echo-planar imaging. We drew tractographies of the uncinate fasciculus, inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus, and Meyer’s loop, with diffusion tensor analysis software. We measured diffusion anisotropy, diffusivity, and the number of voxels along the “tracts of interest” and used the Student t test to compare results between patients with AD and controls.RESULTS: Values of diffusion anisotropy of the bilateral uncinate fasciculus and left inferior occipitofrontal fasciculus were significantly lower for patients with AD than for controls. Also, values of diffusivity in the bilateral uncinate fasciculus were significantly greater for patients with AD than for controls. There was no significant difference in diffusion anisotropy or diffusivity along Meyer’s loop between the 2 groups. There was no significant difference in the number of voxels included in all constructed tracts between patients with AD and controls.CONCLUSION: White matter tracts of the temporal stem can be evaluated independently by using diffusion tensor tractography, which appears to be a promising technique for determining changes in white matter in degenerative diseases.