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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Tract-by-tract morphometric and diffusivity analyses in vivo of spinocerebellar degeneration
Kenshi Terajima1, Hitoshi Matsuzawa, Takayoshi Shimohata
1Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, University of Niigata, Niigata, Japan. terajima@bri.niigata-u.ac.jp
Background And Purpose:
Three-dimensional anisotropy contrast (3DAC) based on a periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) sequence on a 3.0 T system is a new magnetic resonance imaging technique capable of providing images with significantly high anatomical resolution. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether this technique can characterize the degenerative processes in the brainstem of patients with spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD).
Methods:
3DAC images of 13 patients with multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar symptoms (MSA-C) and seven International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) score-matched patients with Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) were created using a diffusion-weighted PROPELLER sequence on a 3.0T system. The section of the middle pons was chosen for morphometric and diffusivity analyses.
Results:
The above analyses showed that atrophy and increased diffusivity of the ventral portion of the pons indicated MSA-C, whereas atrophy and increased diffusivity of the pontine tegmentum indicated MJD. Furthermore, ICARS scores significantly correlated with both the severities of the pontine atrophy and the mean diffusivity values of the ventral pontocerebellar tracts.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated that 3DAC PROPELLER on a 3.0T system enables in vivo "tract by tract" quantitative analysis of pontine degeneration in SCD.
