Measurement of structural integrity of the spinal cord in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The value of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is low. Functional and quantitative MRI could be more accurate. We aimed to examine the value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) with fractional anisotropy (FA) measurements of the cervical and upper thoracic spinal cord in patients with ALS. PATIENTS AND METHODS:Fourteen patients with ALS and 15 sex- and age-matched controls were examined with DTI at a 3T MRI scanner. Region-of-interest (ROI) based fractional anisotropy measurements were performed at the levels C2-C4, C5-C7 and Th1-Th3. ROIs were placed at different anatomical locations of the axial cross sections of the spinal cord. RESULTS:FA was significantly reduced in ALS patients in anterolateral ROIs and the whole cross sect

SUBMITTER: Patzig M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6818775 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature