Diffusion tensor imaging changes in patients with glioma-associated seizures

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Oncology
• Neurology

Background:

• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has identified white matter changes in epilepsy subtypes.
• Gliomas are frequently associated with seizures, necessitating investigation into underlying imaging markers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential water diffusion abnormalities using DTI in glioma patients with seizures.
• To correlate diffusion metrics with seizure occurrence in different tumor and brain regions.

Main Methods:

• Two independent cohorts (prospective and retrospective) of glioma patients were analyzed.
• DTI metrics, including mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA), were measured in various regions of interest (ROIs).
• ROIs included tumor zones, peritumoral white matter, cortex, and other tumor-related tissues.

Main Results:

• In the prospective cohort, lower MD was observed in the marginal tumor zone (TU) of patients with seizures (p=0.005).
• The retrospective cohort showed significantly decreased normalized MD in non-enhancing tumor regions of non-glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cases with seizures (p=0.022).
• No significant seizure-associated differences in MD or FA were found in non-tumor white matter or cortical areas.

Conclusions:

• DTI analysis indicates seizure-associated diffusion restrictions within specific tumor-related areas in glioma patients.
• No widespread structural white matter or cortical abnormalities were detected in relation to seizures.