Matsui Joy T, Vaidya Jatin G, Wassermann Demian, Kim Regina Eunyoung, Magnotta Vincent A, Johnson Hans J, Paulsen Jane S
Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa.
John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2015 Oct;36(10):3717-32. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22835. Epub 2015 Jul 14.
Huntington disease (HD) is most widely known for its selective degeneration of striatal neurons but there is also growing evidence for white matter (WM) deterioration. The primary objective of this research was to conduct a large-scale analysis using multisite diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) tractography data to quantify diffusivity properties along major prefrontal cortex WM tracts in prodromal HD. Fifteen international sites participating in the PREDICT-HD study collected imaging and neuropsychological data on gene-positive HD participants without a clinical diagnosis (i.e., prodromal) and gene-negative control participants. The anatomical prefrontal WM tracts of the corpus callosum (PFCC), anterior thalamic radiations (ATRs), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi (IFO), and uncinate fasciculi (UNC) were identified using streamline tractography of DWI. Within each of these tracts, tensor scalars for fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity coefficients were calculated. We divided prodromal HD subjects into three CAG-age product (CAP) groups having Low, Medium, or High probabilities of onset indexed by genetic exposure. We observed significant differences in WM properties for each of the four anatomical tracts for the High CAP group in comparison to controls. Additionally, the Medium CAP group presented differences in the ATR and IFO in comparison to controls. Furthermore, WM alterations in the PFCC, ATR, and IFO showed robust associations with neuropsychological measures of executive functioning. These results suggest long-range tracts essential for cross-region information transfer show early vulnerability in HD and may explain cognitive problems often present in the prodromal stage. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3717-3732, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
亨廷顿舞蹈症(HD)最为人所知的是其纹状体神经元的选择性退化,但越来越多的证据表明其白质(WM)也在恶化。本研究的主要目的是使用多站点扩散加权成像(DWI)纤维束成像数据进行大规模分析,以量化前驱期HD患者主要前额叶皮质白质纤维束的扩散特性。参与PREDICT-HD研究的15个国际站点收集了基因阳性但无临床诊断(即前驱期)的HD参与者以及基因阴性对照参与者的影像和神经心理学数据。使用DWI的流线型纤维束成像识别胼胝体(PFCC)、丘脑前辐射(ATR)、额枕下束(IFO)和钩束(UNC)的解剖学前额叶白质纤维束。在这些纤维束中的每一个内,计算分数各向异性、平均扩散率、径向扩散率和轴向扩散率系数的张量标量。我们将前驱期HD受试者分为三个CAG年龄乘积(CAP)组,根据遗传暴露情况分为发病概率低、中、高的组。我们观察到,与对照组相比,高CAP组的四条解剖纤维束的白质特性均存在显著差异。此外,中CAP组与对照组相比,ATR和IFO也存在差异。此外,PFCC、ATR和IFO的白质改变与执行功能的神经心理学测量结果密切相关。这些结果表明,对跨区域信息传递至关重要的长程纤维束在HD早期就存在脆弱性,这可能解释了前驱期经常出现的认知问题。《人类大脑图谱》36:3717 - 3732,2015年。© 2015威利期刊公司。