Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Volume Assessed by 7 Tesla MRI 3D MT-Weighted SILENT Protocol in Patients with STARGARDT
Agata Szpringer-Wabicz1, Katarzyna Nowomiejska1, Anna Niedziałek2
1Chair and Department of General and Pediatric Ophthalmology, Medical University of Lublin, 20-079 Lublin, Poland.
Abstract:
Background/Objectives: To quantitatively assess lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) volume using 7 Tesla MRI in patients with Stargardt disease (STGD). Methods: A total of 18 patients with STGD and 15 healthy volunteers were examined with a 7 Tesla MRI of the brain. Measures of LGN volume were performed manually by three independent investigators (radiologists) using ITK-SNAP software, version 4.0.0-rc.2. The volume of the thalamus was evaluated using the open-source automated software package FreeSurfer. Before 7 Tesla MRI, patients underwent ophthalmic examination and 1.5 Tesla MRI. Results: The average LGN volume in both hemispheres was significantly smaller in patients with STGD (right, -111.2 mm3; left, 107.4 mm3) than in the control group (right, -128.7 mm3; left, 123.6 mm3, respectively) (p < 0.0001). The ratio of LGN to thalamus in the right hemisphere was significantly lower (p = 0.024) in the group of patients with STGD (0.014) than in the control group (0.017). Conclusions: The right and left LGN volumes in MR 7T imaging, as well as the right LGN/thalamus ratio, were reduced in patients with STGD compared to controls. 7T MRI using the 3D MT-weighted SILENT protocol provides new insight into structural changes in the brain in retinal dystrophies and offers a possible marker of the response to future therapies in STGD.
