Cerebellar and Brainstem White Matter Geometric Alterations in Multiple System Atrophy: A DFA-Based Biomarker for Disease Staging.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

To characterize white matter geometric pathology in cerebellar subtype of multiple system atrophy (MSA-C) using director field analysis (DFA) and identify stage-specific biomarkers.

Methods

We analyzed single-shell diffusion MRI (b = 1000) in 31 MSA-C patients (15 early-, 16 late-stage) and 33 controls. DFA quantified axonal geometry (splay/bend/twist), complemented by fixel-based analysis (FBA) and brainstem volumetry. Group comparisons used threshold free cluster enhancement (TFCE) (p < 0.05 FWE-corrected). DFA-altered regions were correlated with clinical scores. AutoGluon evaluated classification performance using different feature sets.

Results

MSA-C exhibited distinct geometric degeneration patterns: cerebellar pathways showed reduced splay, bend, and twist

SUBMITTER: Zhu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12665615 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature