Changes in brain microstructure during infancy and childhood using clinical feasible ADC-maps

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Radiology
• Neuroimaging
• Brain Development

Background:

• Understanding normal brain maturation is crucial for identifying developmental abnormalities.
• Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is a sensitive biomarker for tissue microstructure and water diffusion.
• Age-related changes in ADC reflect myelination and neuronal development during infancy and childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age-related changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) during infancy and childhood.
• To establish normative ADC values across various brain regions in pediatric populations.
• To characterize the quantitative relationship between ADC and chronological age in developing brains.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 112 pediatric MRI examinations (0-17.2 years) with normal myelination.
• Creation of ADC maps from routine axial diffusion-weighted sequences at 1.5T.
• Measurement of ADC values in 35 distinct brain regions to assess age-related changes.

Main Results:

• ADC values exhibit a significant exponential decrease with increasing age, most pronounced in the first two years of life.
• Significant age-related declines in ADC were observed across all measured brain regions.
• No significant interhemispheric differences in ADC were found, except in the peritrigonal white matter.
• No significant gender-based differences in ADC were detected between 0 and 2 years of age.

Conclusions:

• Routine MRI sequences can generate ADC maps to describe age-related brain maturation.
• The relationship between ADC and age in infancy and childhood follows an exponential function.
• This study provides normative age-related ADC values for multiple brain regions, aiding in the assessment of pediatric brain development.