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. 2019 Feb 22;19(1):19.
doi: 10.1186/s12880-019-0319-3.

Tract integrity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: 6-month evaluation using MR diffusion tensor imaging

Ashwag R Alruwaili  1 , Kerstin Pannek  2 , Robert D Henderson  3 , Marcus Gray  4 , Nyoman D Kurniawan  4 , Pamela A McCombe  5
Affiliations

Tract integrity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: 6-month evaluation using MR diffusion tensor imaging

Ashwag R Alruwaili et al. BMC Med Imaging. .

Abstract

Background: This study was performed to assess changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) over time in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: We performed DTI in 23 ALS patients who had two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 6 month intervals and to correlate results with clinical features. The revised ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS-R) was administered at each clinical visit. Data analysis included voxel-based white matter tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and atlas-based region-of-interest (ROI) analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD).

Results: With TBSS, there were no significant changes between the two scans. The average change in FA and MD in the ROIs over 6 months was small and not significant after allowing for multiple comparisons. After allowing for multiple comparisons, there was no significant correlation of FA or MD with ALSFRS-R.

Conclusion: This study shows that there is little evidence of progressive changes in DTI over time in ALS. This could be because white matter is already substantially damaged by the time of onset of symptoms of ALS.

Keywords: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cognitive impairment; Diffusion tensor imaging; Motor neuron disease; Tract-based spatial statistics; Voxel based morphometry.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the RBWH Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2008/98) and all patients provided written informed consent. All activities were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines.

Consent for publication

All participants gave written informed consent for participation in the study, which includes dissemination of the results.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Regions of interest (ROIs) used in the analysis, overlaid on subjects’ template
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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