Amir Ashraf-Ganjouei1, Farzaneh Rahmani2,3, Mohammad Hadi Aarabi1, Hossein Sanjari Moghaddam1, Mohammad-Reza Nazem-Zadeh4, Esmaeil Davoodi-Bojd5, Hamid Soltanian-Zadeh6,7. 1. Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2. Students Scientific Research Center (SSRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 3. NeuroImaging Network (NIN), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran. 4. Research Center for Science and Technology in Medicine (RCSTIM), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 5. Image Analysis Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Research Administration, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA. 6. Image Analysis Laboratory, Departments of Radiology and Research Administration, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA. hszadeh@ut.ac.ir. 7. Control and Intelligent Processing Center of Excellence (CIPCE), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1439957131, Iran. hszadeh@ut.ac.ir.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) has been associated with widespread white mater (WM) alternations in addition to mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). Herein, we aimed to investigate the correlation between disease duration and WM structural abnormalities in mTLE using diffusion MRI (DMRI) connectometry approach. METHOD: DMRI connectometry was conducted on 24 patients with mTLE. A multiple regression model was used to investigate white matter tracts with microstructural correlates to disease duration, controlling for age and sex. DMRI data were processed in the MNI space using q-space diffeomorphic reconstruction to obtain the spin distribution function (SDF). The SDF values were converted to quantitative anisotropy (QA) and used in further analyses. RESULTS: Connectometry analysis identified impaired white matter QA of the following fibers to be correlated with disease duration: bilateral retrosplenial cingulum, bilateral fornix, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and genu of corpus callosum (CC) (FDR = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Our results were obtained from DMRI connectometry, which indicates the connectivity and the level of diffusion in nerve fibers rather just the direction of diffusion. Compared to previous studies investigating the correlation between duration of epilepsy and white matter integrity in mTLE patients, we detected broader and somewhat different associations in midline structures and component of limbic system. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to elucidate previous and current results.
BACKGROUND: Medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) has been associated with widespread white mater (WM) alternations in addition to mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). Herein, we aimed to investigate the correlation between disease duration and WM structural abnormalities in mTLE using diffusion MRI (DMRI) connectometry approach. METHOD: DMRI connectometry was conducted on 24 patients with mTLE. A multiple regression model was used to investigate white matter tracts with microstructural correlates to disease duration, controlling for age and sex. DMRI data were processed in the MNI space using q-space diffeomorphic reconstruction to obtain the spin distribution function (SDF). The SDF values were converted to quantitative anisotropy (QA) and used in further analyses. RESULTS: Connectometry analysis identified impaired white matter QA of the following fibers to be correlated with disease duration: bilateral retrosplenial cingulum, bilateral fornix, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and genu of corpus callosum (CC) (FDR = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Our results were obtained from DMRI connectometry, which indicates the connectivity and the level of diffusion in nerve fibers rather just the direction of diffusion. Compared to previous studies investigating the correlation between duration of epilepsy and white matter integrity in mTLE patients, we detected broader and somewhat different associations in midline structures and component of limbic system. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are required to elucidate previous and current results.
Authors: Thomas W Owen; Jane de Tisi; Sjoerd B Vos; Gavin P Winston; John S Duncan; Yujiang Wang; Peter N Taylor Journal: Eur J Neurosci Date: 2020-12-11 Impact factor: 3.698