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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Diffusion tensor imaging study of the microstructural changes in the white matter of patients with herpes zoster and
Jian Jiang1, Qing Huang2, Shuda Hong1
1Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanchang University Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
To determine the association between white matter structural changes and PHN by analyzing the diffusion tensor imaging data of patients with herpes zoster (HZ) or postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and the volunteered healthy controls (HC).
Methods:
A total of 48 participants with HZ, 40 participants with PHN, and 28 age and sex matched HC were enrolled in this study. The diffusion tensor imaging data were collected by a Siemens 3.0T magnetic resonance scanner, and FSL (FMRIB's software) was used to analyze the differences in diffusion indexes among the HZ, PHN and HC groups. In addition, the correlation between the image and the clinical parameters was analyzed.
Results:
The results indicated that the microstructural integrity of the white matter, which affects the information exchange and integration between pain and non-pain related brain regions, showed difference in patients with HZ and PHN.
Conclusion:
The study may provide an experimental basis for more thorough longitudinal research in the future to explore the changes of brain structure in patients with PHN from HZ and develop adequate treatment strategy.
