Assessment of severity of leukoaraiosis: a diffusional kurtosis imaging study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The objective was to investigate the capabilities of diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) in detection of age-related white matter (WM) changes in elderly patients with leukoaraiosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Fractional anisotropy (FA), kurtosis, and diffusion parameters in the frontal lobe and parietal lobe were compared between 14 patients at Fazekas scale 0 and 1, and 15 patients at Fazekas scale 2 and 3.

RESULTS:

FA and DKI parameters were significantly altered in the ischemic lesions vs normal regions of WM in the severe patients.

CONCLUSION:

DKI can provide sensitive imaging biomarkers for assessing the severity of leukoaraiosis in reference to Fazekas score.

• Authors: Shuhui Xu, Deqiu Ye, Tao Lian, Jianzhong Cai, Zebin Xiao, Yongchu Huang, Xiangrong Chen, Zhongping Zhang
• Journal: Clinical imaging (Clin Imaging) 2016 Jul-Aug Vol. 40 Issue 4 Pg. 732-8 ISSN: 1873-4499 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 27317218 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Anisotropy
• Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (methods)
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging (methods)
• Female
• Humans
• Leukoaraiosis (diagnostic imaging, pathology)
• Male
• Retrospective Studies
• Severity of Illness Index
• White Matter (diagnostic imaging, pathology)