Gunbey Hediye Pınar, Bilgici Meltem Ceyhan, Aslan Kerim, Has Arzu Ceylan, Ogur Methiye Gonul, Alhan Aslıhan, Incesu Lutfi
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Neuroradiology Section, 55139, Kurupelit, Samsun, Turkey.
National Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey.
Eur Radiol. 2017 Jul;27(7):3013-3021. doi: 10.1007/s00330-016-4626-6. Epub 2016 Oct 31.
To provide an initial assessment of white matter (WM) integrity with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and the accompanying volumetric changes in WM and grey matter (GM) through volumetric analyses of young children with Down's syndrome (DS).
Ten children with DS and eight healthy control subjects were included in the study. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used in the DTI study for whole-brain voxelwise analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of WM. Volumetric analyses were performed with an automated segmentation method to obtain regional measurements of cortical volumes.
Children with DS showed significantly reduced FA in association tracts of the fronto-temporo-occipital regions as well as the corpus callosum (CC) and anterior limb of the internal capsule (p < 0.05). Volumetric reductions included total cortical GM, cerebellar GM and WM volume, basal ganglia, thalamus, brainstem and CC in DS compared with controls (p < 0.05).
These preliminary results suggest that DTI and volumetric analyses may reflect the earliest complementary changes of the neurodevelopmental delay in children with DS and can serve as surrogate biomarkers of the specific elements of WM and GM integrity for cognitive development.
• DS is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. • WM and GM structural alterations represent the neurological features of DS. • DTI may identify the earliest aging process changes. • DTI-volumetric analyses can serve as surrogate biomarkers of neurodevelopment in DS.
通过对唐氏综合征（DS）幼儿进行容积分析，利用扩散张量成像（DTI）对脑白质（WM）完整性进行初步评估，并了解WM和灰质（GM）的伴随容积变化。
本研究纳入了10名DS患儿和8名健康对照者。DTI研究采用基于纤维束的空间统计学（TBSS）对WM的分数各向异性（FA）和平均扩散率（MD）进行全脑体素分析。采用自动分割方法进行容积分析，以获得皮质体积的区域测量值。
DS患儿在额颞枕叶区域的联合纤维束以及胼胝体（CC）和内囊前肢的FA显著降低（p < 0.05）。与对照组相比，DS患儿的容积减少包括总皮质GM、小脑GM、基底神经节、丘脑、脑干和CC（p < 0.05）。
这些初步结果表明，DTI和容积分析可能反映了DS患儿神经发育延迟的最早互补变化，并且可以作为WM和GM完整性特定元素对认知发展的替代生物标志物。
• DS是智力残疾最常见的遗传原因。• WM和GM结构改变是DS的神经学特征。• DTI可能识别最早的衰老过程变化。• DTI容积分析可作为DS神经发育的替代生物标志物。
