Progressive and Short-Interval Changes Observed in the Corticospinal Tract and Corpus Callosum of Patients with...

Diffusion MRI measures indicative of white matter integrity have consistently been shown to be altered in the state of the corticospinal tract (CST) and corpus callosum (CC) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, diffusion MRI acquisitions are not routinely collected as part of the standard medical imaging of patients with ALS. T1-weighted MRI scans are commonly available in the clinical assessment of most patients with ALS. While visual inspection of these scans reveals little about the cerebral pathology of ALS, analysis of their textural patterns has identified disease-related abnormalities in patients at various stages of the disease. The present study aimed to examine the spatial and temporal profile of CST and CC degeneration in patients with ALS using texture analysis of T1-weighted MRI scans obtained at baseline and at 4- and 8-month follow-ups.

The study involved data from 64 patients with ALS and 83 healthy controls who participated in the multicenter Canadian ALS Neuroimaging Consortium (CALSNIC) project. The texture feature "autocorrelation" (autoc) was quantified along the superior-inferior course of the CST and along the anterior-posterior direction of the CC of participants.

Progressive textural changes were observed within the bilateral CST, particularly in the primary motor cortex region, posterior limb of the internal capsule, and the cerebral peduncle. As the disease progressed, significant textural changes developed in the middle and anterior parts of the CC. Autoc values in these regions correlated with the degree of upper motor neuron dysfunction on neurologic examination.

Progressive CST and CC degeneration was characterized in ALS using a novel imaging texture analysis approach, with changes observed over an interval of 4 months.