TY - JOUR
T1 - Pediatric diffusion tensor imaging
T2 - Normal database and observation of the white matter maturation in early childhood
AU - Hermoye, Laurent
AU - Saint-Martin, Christine
AU - Cosnard, Guy
AU - Lee, Seung Koo
AU - Kim, Jinna
AU - Nassogne, Marie Cecile
AU - Menten, Renaud
AU - Clapuyt, Philippe
AU - Donohue, Pamela K.
AU - Hua, Kegang
AU - Wakana, Setsu
AU - Jiang, Hangyi
AU - Van Zijl, Peter C.M.
AU - Mori, Susumu
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by NIH grants RO1 AG20012, P41 RR15241, and R21-EB000991. Dr. van Zijl is a paid lecturer for Philips Medical Systems. This arrangement has been approved by Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
PY - 2006/1/15
Y1 - 2006/1/15
N2 - Recent advances in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have made it possible to reveal white matter anatomy and to detect neurological abnormalities in children. However, the clinical use of this technique is hampered by the lack of a normal standard of reference. The goal of this study was to initiate the establishment of a database of DTI images in children, which can be used as a normal standard of reference for diagnosis of pediatric neurological abnormalities. Seven pediatric volunteers and 23 pediatric patients (age range: 0-54 months) referred for clinical MR examinations, but whose brains were shown to be normal, underwent anatomical and DTI acquisitions on a 1.5 T MR scanner. The white matter maturation, as observed on DTI color maps, was described and illustrated. Changes in diffusion fractional anisotropy (FA), average apparent diffusion constant (ADCave), and T2-weighted (T2W) signal intensity were quantified in 12 locations to characterize the anatomical variability of the maturation process. Almost all prominent white matter tracts could be identified from birth, although their anisotropy was often low. The evolution of FA, shape, and size of the white matter tracts comprised generally three phases: rapid changes during the first 12 months; slow modifications during the second year; and relative stability after 24 months. The time courses of FA, ADCave, and T2W signal intensity confirmed our visual observations that maturation of the white matter and the normality of its architecture can be assessed with DTI in young children. The database is available online and is expected to foster the use of this promising technique in the diagnosis of pediatric pathologies.
AB - Recent advances in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have made it possible to reveal white matter anatomy and to detect neurological abnormalities in children. However, the clinical use of this technique is hampered by the lack of a normal standard of reference. The goal of this study was to initiate the establishment of a database of DTI images in children, which can be used as a normal standard of reference for diagnosis of pediatric neurological abnormalities. Seven pediatric volunteers and 23 pediatric patients (age range: 0-54 months) referred for clinical MR examinations, but whose brains were shown to be normal, underwent anatomical and DTI acquisitions on a 1.5 T MR scanner. The white matter maturation, as observed on DTI color maps, was described and illustrated. Changes in diffusion fractional anisotropy (FA), average apparent diffusion constant (ADCave), and T2-weighted (T2W) signal intensity were quantified in 12 locations to characterize the anatomical variability of the maturation process. Almost all prominent white matter tracts could be identified from birth, although their anisotropy was often low. The evolution of FA, shape, and size of the white matter tracts comprised generally three phases: rapid changes during the first 12 months; slow modifications during the second year; and relative stability after 24 months. The time courses of FA, ADCave, and T2W signal intensity confirmed our visual observations that maturation of the white matter and the normality of its architecture can be assessed with DTI in young children. The database is available online and is expected to foster the use of this promising technique in the diagnosis of pediatric pathologies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=30344437623&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=30344437623&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.08.017
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.08.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 16194615
AN - SCOPUS:30344437623
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 29
SP - 493
EP - 504
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
IS - 2
ER -