Age effects on voxel-based relaxometry used for epileptic patients

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Quantitative MRI
• Brain Aging

Background:

• T2 voxel-based relaxometry (VBR) offers quantitative, unbiased whole-brain T2 relaxation time analysis.
• Previous VBR studies confirmed its clinical utility for individual patient analysis.
• The impact of normal aging on VBR data remained largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of normal aging on T2 voxel-based relaxometry (VBR) data.
• To identify brain regions exhibiting age-related changes in T2 relaxation time.

Main Methods:

• Applied linear regression with age as a predictor for T2 values.
• Conducted whole-brain voxel-based analysis to detect significant age-related changes.
• Performed region-of-interest analysis for detailed examination of age-related trends.

Main Results:

• Significant age-related increases in T2 were observed in frontal lobe white matter.
• Significant age-related decreases in T2 were detected in the putamen.
• A trend for decreasing T2 in inferior temporal lobe grey matter was noted in voxel-based analysis.

Conclusions:

• Normal aging significantly alters T2 relaxation times in healthy individuals.
• Observed changes include T2 increases in frontal white matter and decreases in the putamen.
• Age-dependent alterations in VBR data must be considered for accurate single-subject interpretation.