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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Evidence for more widespread cerebral pathology in early HD: an MRI-based morphometric analysis
H D Rosas1, W J Koroshetz, Y I Chen
1Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. rosas@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
Insights
Huntington disease (HD) causes widespread brain atrophy, affecting nearly all brain structures even in early stages. This degeneration may explain varied symptoms and influence future clinical trials for HD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Clinical symptoms of Huntington disease (HD) are often linked to striatal degeneration.
- Postmortem studies reveal atrophy in nearly all brain structures, suggesting extrastriatal involvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively characterize in vivo morphometric changes in Huntington disease.
- Investigate brain structure volume alterations in early to mid-stage HD patients.
Main Methods:
- Acquired high-resolution T1-weighted MRI scans from 18 early/mid-stage HD patients and 18 controls.
- Segmented gray and white matter using a semiautomated intensity contour-mapping algorithm.
- Analyzed regional brain volumes using general linear models, controlling for covariates.
Main Results:
- Individuals with Huntington disease exhibited significant volume reductions across most brain structures.
- Affected regions included the cerebrum, cerebral cortex, white matter, basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus), amygdala, hippocampus, brainstem, and cerebellum.
- Widespread atrophy was evident even in early to mid-stages of the disease.
Conclusions:
- Early to mid-stage Huntington disease is characterized by widespread brain degeneration.
- This diffuse atrophy may contribute to the clinical heterogeneity observed in HD patients.
- Findings have implications for the design and interpretation of future Huntington disease clinical trials.
Background:
Most clinical symptoms of Huntington disease (HD) have been attributed to striatal degeneration, but extrastriatal degeneration may play an important role in the clinical symptoms because postmortem studies demonstrate that almost all brain structures atrophy.
Objective:
To fully characterize the morphometric changes that occur in vivo in HD.
Methods:
High-resolution 1.5 mm T1-weighted coronal scans were acquired from 18 individuals in early to mid-stages of HD and 18 healthy age-matched controls. Cortical and subcortical gray and white matter were segmented using a semiautomated intensity contour-mapping algorithm. General linear models for correlated data of the volumes of brain regions were used to compare groups, controlling for age, education, handedness, sex, and total brain volumes.
Results:
Subjects with HD had significant volume reductions in almost all brain structures, including total cerebrum, total white matter, cerebral cortex, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, amygdala, hippocampus, brainstem, and cerebellum.
Conclusions:
Widespread degeneration occurs in early to mid-stages of HD, may explain some of the clinical heterogeneity, and may impact future clinical trials.
