Quantifying changes on susceptibility weighted images in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using MRI texture analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Radiology
• Neurology

Background:

• Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is traditionally used for qualitative assessment of neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
• Objective quantitative methods are needed to identify cerebral changes in ALS using SWI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively identify cerebral degeneration in ALS patients using SWI texture analysis.
• To compare texture features between ALS patients and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• SWI data acquired at 4.7 tesla from 17 ALS patients and 18 healthy controls.
• Texture analysis performed on precentral gyrus and basal ganglia, with comparisons using ANCOVA.
• Texture features correlated with clinical measures and subjected to whole-brain 3D analysis.

Main Results:

• Autocorrelation, a texture feature, was significantly higher in ALS patients in the precentral gyrus and basal ganglia (p < 0.05).
• Autocorrelation correlated with disease progression rate and finger tapping speed (p < 0.05).
• Whole-brain 3D texture analysis confirmed significant differences in the precentral gyrus (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Texture analysis provides a quantitative method to detect cerebral differences in ALS patients on SWI.
• This approach enhances the identification of neurodegeneration in ALS.
• SWI texture analysis shows promise for objective assessment of brain changes in ALS.