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. 2025 Aug 11;14(16):5666.
doi: 10.3390/jcm14165666.

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Volume Assessed by 7 Tesla MRI 3D MT-Weighted SILENT Protocol in Patients with STARGARDT Disease-Pilot Study

Agata Szpringer-Wabicz  1 , Katarzyna Nowomiejska  1 , Anna Niedziałek  2 , Michał Toborek  2 , Katarzyna Wiśniewska  2 , Mateusz Midura  3 , Mark Symms  2 , Robert Rejdak  1 , Radosław Pietura  2
Affiliations

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Volume Assessed by 7 Tesla MRI 3D MT-Weighted SILENT Protocol in Patients with STARGARDT Disease-Pilot Study

Agata Szpringer-Wabicz et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Background/Objectives: To quantitatively assess lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) volume using 7 Tesla MRI in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD). Methods: A total of 18 patients with STGD and 15 healthy volunteers were examined with a 7 Tesla MRI of the brain. Measures of LGN volume were performed manually by three independent investigators (radiologists) using ITK-SNAP software, version 4.0.0-rc.2. The volume of the thalamus was evaluated using the open-source automated software package FreeSurfer. Before 7 Tesla MRI, patients underwent ophthalmic examination and 1.5 Tesla MRI. Results: The average LGN volume in both hemispheres was significantly smaller in patients with STGD (right, -111.2 mm3; left, 107.4 mm3) than in the control group (right, -128.7 mm3; left, 123.6 mm3, respectively) (p < 0.0001). The ratio of LGN to thalamus in the right hemisphere was significantly lower (p = 0.024) in the group of patients with STGD (0.014) than in the control group (0.017). Conclusions: The right and left LGN volumes in MR 7T imaging, as well as the right LGN/thalamus ratio, were reduced in patients with STGD compared to controls. 7T MRI using the 3D MT-weighted SILENT protocol provides new insight into structural changes in the brain in retinal dystrophies and offers a possible marker of the response to future therapies in STGD.

Keywords: 7 Tesla MRI; Stargardt disease; lateral geniculate nucleus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The box plot for the volume (mm3) of the left LGN in the studied group (patients with Stargardt disease—STGD) and the control group. Red diamonds indicate the mean values, while blue lines represent confidence intervals.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The box plot for the volume (mm3) of the right LGN in the studied group (patients with Stargardt disease—STGD) and the control group. Red diamonds indicate the mean values, while blue lines represent confidence intervals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
On the left—the anatomical image of the brain 3D MT-weighted SILENT with marked LGNs; on the right—3D view results of LGN manual segmentation using ITK-SNAP software, version 4.0.0-rc.2. Images show one case chosen from the control group (A) and one from patients with Stargardt disease (B). Images acquired at the Ecotech Complex (Lublin, Poland).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The box plot for the ratio of the left (lh) lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and left (lh) thalamus in the studied group (Stargardt disease—STGD) and control group. Red diamonds indicate the mean values, while blue lines represent confidence intervals.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The box plot for the ratio of the right (rh) LGN and right (rh) thalamus in the study group (Stargardt disease—STGD) and control group. Red diamonds indicate the mean values, while blue lines represent confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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