Abnormal development of corticospinal tracts in children with Tourette syndrome: A single-center retrospective study

To explore the abnormal changes and localization of never fiber bundles on magnetic resonance imaging diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in children with Tourette syndrome, children with Tourette syndrome were retrospectively enrolled to undergo three-dimensional (3D) T1 + DTI sequence scanning, raw data collection of 1 to 15 year old head, and cross-sectional spacing of 0.5 mm on DTI scanning. The specific software was used to display relevant nerve fiber bundles on DTI. In total, 7 children with Tourette syndrome were enrolled including 6 boys and 1 girl aged 3 to 10 (5.6 ± 2.3) years. The symptoms included paroxysmal shoulder convulsions, facial muscle twitching, involuntary blinking, right hand twitching, epilepsy, involuntary shrug, and attention deficit. On DTI, the morphology and course of the corticospinal tracts were damaged or abnormal, the inferior frontal occipital tracts were damaged or abnormal, the fiber bundles in the compression part of the corpus callosum were reduced in the number and abnormal in the morphology, and the brain nerve fiber bundle connection was reduced. In conclusion, the nerve fiber bundle connection and damage and abnormality of the morphology and course of the corticospinal tract, fiber bundles of the compression part of the corpus callosum, and the inferior frontal occipital tract in children with the Tourette syndrome can be clearly observed on DTI, and the DTI technique can provide valuable imaging support for revealing the neuropathological mechanism of the Tourette syndrome in children.