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Altered Fractional Anisotropy in Early Huntington's Disease

Silky Singh1, Hasit Mehta, Robert Fekete

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, New York Medical College, Valhalla, N.Y., USA.

Case Reports in Neurology
|March 26, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder. Early MRI findings reveal caudate atrophy and altered diffusion in the caudate and putamen, indicating neurodegeneration.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Genetics
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder.
  • Characterized by chorea, mood, cognitive, and motor disturbances.
  • Early diagnosis and understanding of subtle manifestations are crucial.

Observation:

  • A mild case of Huntington's disease (HD) presented with depression and subtle neurological signs.
  • Brain imaging, including MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), was performed.
  • The study focused on early disease-course manifestations.

Findings:

  • The bicaudate ratio, indicating caudate atrophy, was elevated.
  • Increased fractional anisotropy in the caudate and putamen suggests neurodegeneration.
  • These imaging biomarkers correlate with early-stage HD.

Implications:

  • Early detection of Huntington's disease (HD) may be possible through subtle clinical and imaging findings.
  • DTI may provide valuable insights into early neurodegenerative changes in HD.
  • Further research into imaging biomarkers can aid in monitoring disease progression and therapeutic interventions.

Keywords:
Diffusion tensor imagingFractional anisotropyHuntington's disease

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