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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
[Brain microstructural abnormalities assessed by diffusion kurtosis MRI in patients with focal temporal lobe
M B Dolgushin1, R V Nadelyaev1, M Yu Martynov1,2
1Federal Center of Brain Research and Neurotechnologies, Moscow, Russia.
Objective:
To study microstructural abnormalities in epileptogenic focus and in mirror region by diffusion kurtosis (DK) MRI in patients with focal temporal lobe epilepsy.
Material And Methods:
The main group included 12 patients (mean age 35 [30.5; 39.0] years, 5 women) with a diagnosis of focal epilepsy in the right temporal lobe (r-TL). The control group consisted of 15 healthy volunteers (mean age 33 [29.0; 39.0] years, 5 women). In both groups all participants underwent clinical and neurologic assessments, EEG and video EEG monitoring, and MRI, including DK MRI.
Abstract:
Evaluation of microstructural changes in the temporal lobes included the study of 10 DK parameters.
Results:
In the main group, focal motor/nonmotor or bilateral tonic-clonic seizures were observed in 9 and 11 patients. Ten (83%) patients had focal epileptic activity on routine EEG in the r-TL and 9 (75%) patients had MRI focal changes in the same lobe. There was a significant decrease in fractional (FA) and kurtosis anisotropy (KA), mean (MK), radial (RK), and axial kurtosis (AK), as well as in axonal water fraction (AWF) in the r-TL of patients with epilepsy compared to the control group. Besides, FA, KA, MK, RK, AK, and AWF parameters in the l-TL in the main group were significantly reduced compared to the l-TL in the controls. There was a significant association between the duration of epilepsy, axial and radial extra axonal diffusion as well as axonal diffusivity in the l-TL. No association was observed in the r-TL. In the control group, MK, AK, RK, and AWF positively correlated with age. No correlation between age and MK, AK, RK, and AWF was found in the main group.
Conclusion:
In patients with an epileptic focus in the r-TL, microstructural changes are observed not only in the area of the epileptic focus, but also in the affected temporal lobe as a whole, and also mirrored in the conditionally healthy temporal lobe. Altered microstructure in the mirror region may reflect changes secondary to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures or evolution to secondary epileptogenic zone. Assessment of DK MRI parameters may provide additional information about the epileptogenic focus and the extent of microstructural abnormalities.
