J Korean Med Sci.  2008 Jun;23(3):477-483. 10.3346/jkms.2008.23.3.477.

Abnormal Integrity of Corticocortical Tracts in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

• Cho H
• Yang DW
• Shon YM
• Kim BS
• Kim YI
• Choi YB
• Lee KS
• Shim YS
• Yoon B
• Kim W
• Ahn KJ

• KMID: 1786888
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2008.23.3.477

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been defined as a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer disease. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can estimate the microstructural integrity of white matter tracts in MCI. We evaluated the microstructural changes in the white matter of MCI patients with DTI. We recruited 11 patients with MCI who met the working criteria of MCI and 11 elderly normal controls. The mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured in 26 regions of the brain with the regions of interest (ROIs) method. In the MCI patients, FA values were significantly decreased in the hippocampus, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the splenium of corpus callosum, and in the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus compared to the control group. MD values were significantly increased in the hippocampus, the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsules, the splenium of the corpus callosum, the right frontal lobe, and in the superior and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Microstructural changes of several corticocortical tracts associated with cognition were identified in patients with MCI. FA and MD values of DTI may be used as novel biomarkers for the evaluation of neurodegenerative disorders.

Keyword

Mild Cognitive Impairment; Alzheimer Disease; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; Mean Diffusivity; Fractional Anisotropy

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging/*pathology
Anisotropy
Biological Markers
Cerebral Cortex/*pathology
Cognition Disorders/*pathology
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neural Pathways/*pathology
Severity of Illness Index

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Illustrations of ROI positioned on color-coded images. Fiber orientations are assigned specific colors, as follows: red, the right-to-left orientation; green, the anterior-to-posterior orientation; and blue, the superior-to-inferior orientation. (A) Anterior and posterior limb of internal capsule, (B) frontal and occipital lobe, (C) anterior and posterior cingulate, parietal lobe, (D) superior and inferior logitudinal fasciculus, temporal lobe, (E) genu, body, and splenium of corpus callosum.

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