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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
[A diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging for studying white matter changes in patients with mild cognitive
Jin-Qun Guan1, Lu-Ning Wang, Xi Zhang
1Department of Nanlou Neurology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
Objectives:
To measure the microstructural differences in the brains of participants with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and compare with a control group using a magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique with fully automated image analysis tools.
Methods:
A standardized clinical and neuropsychological evaluation was conducted on each subject. 31 participants (15 participants with aMCI, 16 healthy elderly adults) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based DTI. To control the effects of anatomical variation, the diffusion images of all participants were registered to standard anatomical space. Voxel-by-voxel comparisons showed significant regional reductions in white matter regions of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the participants with aMCI as compared with the controls.
Results:
Significantly decreased FA value measurements (P < 0.001) were observed in the right frontal white matter in participants with aMCI. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between the patients with aMCI and controls in considering the small regions of bilateral superior frontal gyrus white matter (P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
White matter damage of frontal lobe may play an important role in histopathologic changes associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.
