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A preliminary diffusional kurtosis imaging study of Parkinson disease: comparison with conventional diffusion tensor imaging

  • Functional Neuroradiology
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Abstract

Introduction

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a more sensitive technique than conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for assessing tissue microstructure. In particular, it quantifies the microstructural integrity of white matter, even in the presence of crossing fibers. The aim of this preliminary study was to compare how DKI and DTI show white matter alterations in Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods

DKI scans were obtained with a 3-T magnetic resonance imager from 12 patients with PD and 10 healthy controls matched by age and sex. Tract-based spatial statistics were used to compare the mean kurtosis (MK), mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) maps of the PD patient group and the control group. In addition, a region-of-interest analysis was performed for the area of the posterior corona radiata and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) fiber crossing.

Results

FA values in the frontal white matter were significantly lower in PD patients than in healthy controls. Reductions in MK occurred more extensively throughout the brain: in addition to frontal white matter, MK was lower in the parietal, occipital, and right temporal white matter. The MK value of the area of the posterior corona radiata and SLF fiber crossing was also lower in the PD group.

Conclusion

DKI detects changes in the cerebral white matter of PD patients more sensitively than conventional DTI. In addition, DKI is useful for evaluating crossing fibers. By providing a sensitive index of brain pathology in PD, DKI may enable improved monitoring of disease progression.

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Abbreviations

DTI:

Diffusion tensor imaging

DKI:

Diffusional kurtosis imaging

FA:

Fractional anisotropy

MD:

Mean diffusivity

MK:

Mean kurtosis

PD:

Parkinson disease

ROI:

Region of interest

SLF:

Superior longitudinal fasciculus

TBSS:

Tract-based spatial statistics

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Acknowledgments

We thank Nozomi Hamasaki and Syuji Sato, MR imaging technologists, for their skillful performance in acquiring data; Akira Nishikori, Tomomi Okamura and Fumitaka Kumagai for their research assistance; and Yuriko Suzuki and Masaru Takashima, Philips Healthcare, for their technical assistance. We also thank Narisumi Cho for administrative assistance. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Comprehensive Brain Science Network) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan and MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI grant number 24591787.

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We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to Koji Kamagata.

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Kamagata, K., Tomiyama, H., Hatano, T. et al. A preliminary diffusional kurtosis imaging study of Parkinson disease: comparison with conventional diffusion tensor imaging. Neuroradiology 56, 251–258 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-014-1327-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-014-1327-1

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