PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - E. Widjaja
AU  - S. Geibprasert
AU  - S.Z. Mahmoodabadi
AU  - S. Blaser
AU  - N.E. Brown
AU  - P. Shannon
TI  - Alteration of Human Fetal Subplate Layer and Intermediate Zone During Normal Development on MR and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A1985
DP  - 2010 Jun 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1091--1099
VI  - 31
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/6/1091.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/31/6/1091.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2010 Jun 01; 31
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The subplate layer and intermediate zone are the precursors for neonatal white matter. The aims of this study were to evaluate 1) T1 and T2 signal intensity, and 2) FA of subplate and intermediate zone in postmortem fetuses and correlate with histology, and 3) T2 signal intensity of subplate and intermediate zone on antenatal MR imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fourteen immersion-fixed normal brains from 18 to 25 gestational weeks underwent 1.5T MR imaging, including DTI and histologic examination. The subplate and intermediate zone were graded on a scale of 1–5 on T1 and T2, and FAs were evaluated and then correlated with age. Seventeen antenatal MR images from 20 to 26 gestational weeks with normal brain were evaluated by using the same grading. RESULTS: On T1 postmortem MR imaging, subplate has lower signal intensity compared with intermediate zone; subplate signal intensity correlated positively (r = 0.66, P = .012) with age, and intermediate zone signal intensity correlated negatively (r = −0.78, P = .001) with age. On T2 postmortem MR imaging, subplate has higher signal intensity compared with intermediate zone and remained persistently high in signal intensity; intermediate zone signal intensity showed moderate correlation (r = 0.48, P = .086) with age. FA of subplate correlated positively (r = 0.55, P < .001) with age; FA of intermediate zone correlated negatively (r = −0.64, P < .0001) with age. On histology, extracellular matrix decreased and cellularity increased in subplate layer, tangentially organized cellularity decreased, and projecting fibers became thicker in intermediate zone with increasing gestation. The findings on T2-weighted antenatal MR imaging were similar to T2-weighted postmortem MR imaging. CONCLUSIONS: The changes in signal intensity and FA of subplate and intermediate zone in the second trimester reflect microstructural changes on histology. CSFcerebrospinal fluidDTIdiffusion tensor imagingFAfractional anisotropyFOVfield of viewHASTEhalf-Fourier acquired single-shot turbo spin-echoICCintraclass correlation coefficientROIregion of interestTRrepetition timeTEecho time