Purpose: The two most prevalent forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) are the juvenile form (Batten disease, CLN3) and late infantile form (Jansky-Bielschowsky disease, CLN2). The aim of this study was to compare quantitative T2-values of brain tissue in CLN2 and CLN3 patients with reference values from age-matched normal subjects.
Methods: Twenty-three CLN2 (n = 6) and CLN3 (n = 17) patients (m:f = 11:12) underwent MRI examination including a multiecho T2 sequence. Quantitative T2-values were measured in six defined regions of interest (ROIs) in the calculated quantitative T2 maps within the white matter (WM) and gray matter (GM). The extracted quantitative T2-values were compared with reference values from healthy children and young adults. Informed consent was obtained from the patients or their parents for all patients.
Results: Statistical analysis revealed elevated quantitative T2-values in nearly all ROIs placed in the WM of the CLN2 patients. In contrast to this finding, no significant differences were found for the quantitative T2-values of the CLN3 patients compared to the age-matched healthy controls in any of the defined WM ROIs. Both groups exhibited no significant alterations of the quantitative T2-values in the GM ROIs compared to the healthy subjects.
Conclusion: Alterations of quantitative T2-values in the cerebral WM may not be a reliable sign to confirm the diagnosis in CLN3 patients but could prove valuable for diagnosis confirmation, follow-up examinations, and longitudinal monitoring of the disease progression in CLN2 patients.