Relationship of diffusion tensor imaging parameters with neurocognitive dysfunction in patients with Behcet's disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Medical Physics

Background:

• Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder with unknown etiology, potentially affecting multiple systems including the brain.
• Subclinical neurological involvement in BD is suspected but often difficult to detect with standard methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter integrity and subclinical brain parenchymal changes in BD patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
• To correlate DTI metrics (ADC, FA, MD, RD) with disease duration and neurocognitive function test results.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed on 35 BD patients and 21 healthy controls.
• DTI metrics were calculated from 19 brain locations.
• Neurocognitive function was assessed using the Brief Repetable Battery-Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N).

Main Results:

• BD patients showed significantly lower FA values in the cingulum and splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC) compared to controls.
• Increased ADC values in the corona radiata and increased RD values in the superior longitudinal fasciculus and SCC were observed in BD patients.
• Significant negative correlations were found between FA values and disease duration in several brain regions. BD patients also scored lower on spatial recall and had correlations between white matter MD and memory test performance.

Conclusions:

• DTI reveals microstructural alterations in neurocognitive-related brain areas in BD patients, even those without overt neurological symptoms.
• These findings suggest insidious neurological involvement in Behcet's disease.
• DTI may serve as a sensitive tool for detecting early brain changes in BD.