Microstructural white matter changes in metabolic syndrome: a diffusion tensor imaging study

Abstract

Background: Although metabolic syndrome is associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke, limited information is available on specific brain damage in patients with this syndrome. We investigated the relationship of the syndrome with white matter (WM) alteration using a voxel-based approach with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Methods: We compared fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements of DTI in 19 patients with metabolic syndrome aged between 50 and 80 years and 19 age-matched controls without any vascular risk factors for the syndrome.

Results: Patients with metabolic syndrome showed an anterior-posterior pattern of deterioration in WM with reduced FA and increased ADC values compared with controls. WM changes were not related to any isolated vascular risk factor.

Conclusion: Although the mechanism of this damage is not clear, the results indicate microstructural white matter alterations in patients with metabolic syndrome, mainly involving the frontal lobe.