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Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a relatively novel magnetic resonance-based imaging methodology that can provide valuable insight into the microstructure of white matter tracts of the brain. In this paper, we evaluated the reliability and reproducibility of deriving a semi-automated pseudo-atlas D...

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Autores principales: Kok, Chun Yen, Lock, Christine, Ang, Ting Yao, Keong, Nicole C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9093601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35572145
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.787516
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author Kok, Chun Yen
Lock, Christine
Ang, Ting Yao
Keong, Nicole C.
author_facet Kok, Chun Yen
Lock, Christine
Ang, Ting Yao
Keong, Nicole C.
author_sort Kok, Chun Yen
collection PubMed
description Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a relatively novel magnetic resonance-based imaging methodology that can provide valuable insight into the microstructure of white matter tracts of the brain. In this paper, we evaluated the reliability and reproducibility of deriving a semi-automated pseudo-atlas DTI tractography method vs. standard atlas-based analysis alternatives, for use in clinical cohorts with neurodegeneration and ventriculomegaly. We showed that the semi-automated pseudo-atlas DTI tractography method was reliable and reproducible across different cohorts, generating 97.7% of all tracts. However, DTI metrics obtained from both methods were significantly different across the majority of cohorts and white matter tracts (p < 0.001). Despite this, we showed that both methods produced patterns of white matter injury that are consistent with findings reported in the literature and with DTI profiles generated from these methodologies. Scatter plots comparing DTI metrics obtained from each methodology showed that the pseudo-atlas method produced metrics that implied a more preserved neural structure compared to its counterpart. When comparing DTI metrics against a measure of ventriculomegaly (i.e., Evans’ Index), we showed that the standard atlas-based method was able to detect decreasing white matter integrity with increasing ventriculomegaly, while in contrast, metrics obtained using the pseudo-atlas method were sensitive for stretch or compression in the posterior limb of the internal capsule. Additionally, both methods were able to show an increase in white matter disruption with increasing ventriculomegaly, with the pseudo-atlas method showing less variability and more specificity to changes in white matter tracts near to the ventricles. In this study, we found that there was no true gold-standard for DTI methodologies or atlases. Whilst there was no congruence between absolute values from DTI metrics, differing DTI methodologies were still valid but must be appreciated to be variably sensitive to different changes within white matter injury occurring concurrently. By combining both atlas and pseudo-atlas based methodologies with DTI profiles, it was possible to navigate past such challenges to describe white matter injury changes in the context of confounders, such as neurodegenerative disease and ventricular enlargement, with transparency and consistency.
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spelling pubmed-90936012022-05-12 Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease Kok, Chun Yen Lock, Christine Ang, Ting Yao Keong, Nicole C. Front Aging Neurosci Neuroscience Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a relatively novel magnetic resonance-based imaging methodology that can provide valuable insight into the microstructure of white matter tracts of the brain. In this paper, we evaluated the reliability and reproducibility of deriving a semi-automated pseudo-atlas DTI tractography method vs. standard atlas-based analysis alternatives, for use in clinical cohorts with neurodegeneration and ventriculomegaly. We showed that the semi-automated pseudo-atlas DTI tractography method was reliable and reproducible across different cohorts, generating 97.7% of all tracts. However, DTI metrics obtained from both methods were significantly different across the majority of cohorts and white matter tracts (p < 0.001). Despite this, we showed that both methods produced patterns of white matter injury that are consistent with findings reported in the literature and with DTI profiles generated from these methodologies. Scatter plots comparing DTI metrics obtained from each methodology showed that the pseudo-atlas method produced metrics that implied a more preserved neural structure compared to its counterpart. When comparing DTI metrics against a measure of ventriculomegaly (i.e., Evans’ Index), we showed that the standard atlas-based method was able to detect decreasing white matter integrity with increasing ventriculomegaly, while in contrast, metrics obtained using the pseudo-atlas method were sensitive for stretch or compression in the posterior limb of the internal capsule. Additionally, both methods were able to show an increase in white matter disruption with increasing ventriculomegaly, with the pseudo-atlas method showing less variability and more specificity to changes in white matter tracts near to the ventricles. In this study, we found that there was no true gold-standard for DTI methodologies or atlases. Whilst there was no congruence between absolute values from DTI metrics, differing DTI methodologies were still valid but must be appreciated to be variably sensitive to different changes within white matter injury occurring concurrently. By combining both atlas and pseudo-atlas based methodologies with DTI profiles, it was possible to navigate past such challenges to describe white matter injury changes in the context of confounders, such as neurodegenerative disease and ventricular enlargement, with transparency and consistency. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-27 /pmc/articles/PMC9093601/ /pubmed/35572145 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.787516 Text en Copyright © 2022 Kok, Lock, Ang and Keong. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Kok, Chun Yen
Lock, Christine
Ang, Ting Yao
Keong, Nicole C.
Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title_full Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title_fullStr Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title_full_unstemmed Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title_short Modeling the Properties of White Matter Tracts Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Characterize Patterns of Injury in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease
title_sort modeling the properties of white matter tracts using diffusion tensor imaging to characterize patterns of injury in aging and neurodegenerative disease
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9093601/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35572145
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.787516
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