• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2012

Purpose : To evaluate white matter abnormalities on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Materials and Methods: DTI was performed in 21 patients with mild AD, in 13 with MCI and in 16 old healthy subjects. A fractional anisotropy (FA) map was generated for each participant and processed for voxel-based comparisons among the three groups using TBSS. For comparison, DTI data was processed using the VBM method, also. Results: TBSS showed that FA was significantly lower in the AD than in the old healthy group in the bilateral anterior and right posterior corona radiata, the posterior thalamic radiation, the right superior longitudinal fasciculus, the body of the corpus callosum, and the right precuneus gyrus. VBM identified additional areas of reduced FA, including both uncinates, the left parahippocampal white matter, and the right cingulum. There were no significant differences in FA between the AD and MCI groups, or between the MCI and old healthy groups. Conclusion: TBSS showed multifocal abnormalities in white matter integrity in patients with AD compared with old healthy group. VBM could detect more white matter lesions than TBSS, but with increased artifacts.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.155-165
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• 2002

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the brain areas whose regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was changed in medial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) using ${H_2}^{15}O-PET$. Materials and Methods: 12 patients with mTLE (6 left, 6 right mTLE) and 6 normal controls were scanned during a fixation baseline period and a sensory-motor condition where subjects pressed a button to an upward arrow. A voxel-based analysis using SPM99 software was peformed to compare the patient groups with the normal controls for the rCBF during fixation baseline period and for relative changes of rCBF during the sensory-motor task relative to fixation. Results: During the fixation baseline, a significant reduction of rCBF was found posterior insula bilaterally and right frontopolar regions in right mTLE patients compared to the normal controls. In left mTLE patients, the reduction was found in left frontopolar and temporal legions. During the sensory-motor task, rCBF increase over the fixation period, was reduced in left frontal and superior temporal legions in the right mTLE patients whereas in various areas of right hemisphere in left mTLE patients, relative to normal controls. However, the increased rCBF was also found in the left inferior parietal and anterior thalamic/fornix regions in both right and left mTLE patients compared to normal controls. Conclusion: Epilepsy induced changes were found not only in relative increase/decrease of rCBF during a simple sensory-motor control condition relative to a fixation rest condition but also in the relative rCBF distribution during the rest period.