Table 2.
Summary of recent studies in movement disorders other than parkinsonism using dMRI (2012–13)
| Authors | Hypothesis/Study Intent | dMRI Methods* | N | Regions Studied with dMRI | Select dMRI Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dMRI in Dystonia | |||||
| Horovitz et al., 2012 [103] | Combined VBM/dMRI study of blepharospasm | TBSS (VBM) | 14 Dys 14 NC |
Whole brain, CBT | No significant difference in dMRI b/w groups. |
| van der Meer et al., 2012 [104] | dMRI study of myoclonus-dystonia (M-D) | ROI (WM VBM) | 16 M-D 18 NC |
Cortical, BG, brainstem, CBM | ↑ FA in the R subthalamic brainstem & thalamocortical WM of M-D vs. NC; ↓ MD in the WM underlying the SMC & near the subthalamic areas & R thalamus in M-D vs. NC. |
| Blood et al., 2012 [6] | Investigated dMRI measures in DYT1-negative cervical dystonia patients | Tractography | 12 Dys 12 NC |
bilateral pallidum & AL for tractography | ↓ FA in the WM near the L SCP & ↑ FA near & in the L SN; reduced probability of connectivity in Dys vs. NC in the L AL projections to the ipsilateral brainstem; increased probability of connectivity in Dys vs. NC in connections b/w the pallidum & brainstem |
| Cheng et al., 2012 [105] | Evaluated dMRI measures in DYT6 dystonia & subcellular distribution of THAP1 protein | ROI | 6 Dys 6 NC |
SMC, SLF, cingulate, CC, CTS, IC, SCP, MCP, cerebellar WM | ↓ FA in the SMC area in Dys vs. NC; ↑ MD in the R SLF & R supracapsular CST. |
| dMRI in Huntington’s disease | |||||
| Delmaire et al., 2012 [62] | Evaluated relationship b/w dMRI measures & clinical measures in early HD patients from TRACK-HD study | VBA | 27 HD 24 NC |
SVC – BG, IC, EC, centrum ovale, cingulate bundle, SLF, & CC | Detailed list of motor & cognitive tasks were correlated with abnormal dMRI (increased MD & decreased FA) measures in multiple distinct areas of gray & WM in the brain. |
| Di Paola et al., 2012 [106] | dMRI of corpus callosum in preclinical & early HD | TBSS | 17 PC-HD 17 HD 17 NC |
WM of CC | ↓ FA & ↑ AD in the isthmus of CC in PC-HD vs. NC; ↓ FA, ↑ AD, ↑ RD in HD vs. NC; ↓ FA, ↑ AD, ↑ RD in CC of HD vs. PC-HD. |
| Van Camp et al., 2012 [58] | Combined histopathology & dMRI study of quinolinic-acid rat model of HD | VBA, ROI | 9 Quin 6 Sham 5 NC |
IC, EC, 3 sub- region of CN/PUT | dMRI discriminated Quin rats +/− cortical lesions; dMRI was more sensitive than histology in detecting microstructural changes in the caudate, putamen, & IC/EC in cortically-lesioned rats. |
| Dumas et al., 2012 [53] | Investigated dMRI in HD & PC-HD as part of TRACK-HD study | ROI, tractography | 16 HD 27 PC-HD 28 NC |
CN, TH, CC, WM pathways. | ↑ MD in the CC & WM fibers of the SMC in PC-HD vs. NC; no differences in FA b/w PC-MD & NC; ↑ MD in CC, CN, & WM tracts of CC, TH, SMC, & prefrontal regions in HD vs. NC; ↓ FA in the CC & WM tracts of the CC & motor & prefrontal cortices; MD in multiple regions correlated with motor/cognitive tasks, as well as probability of onset & burden of pathology. |
| Georgiou-Karistianis et al., 2013 [40] | Quadratic discriminant analysis study using combined dMRI & volumetric data in PC-HD & HD | ROI | 33 HD 35 PC-HD 36 NC |
CN, PUT, pallidum, nucleus accumbens, TH | Group differences in: FA in CN, PUT, & R pallidum & accumbens; MD in CN, PUT, pallidum, & accumbens; the highest level of discriminative accuracy (78%) was attained when clinical motor scores were added to dMRI & volumetric measures, with MD the most accurate measure. |
| Matsui et al., 2013 [63] | Examined dMRI measures in sub-regions of the prefrontal cortex in relation to measures of disease burden in PC-HD | ROI | 53 PC-HD 34 NC |
Prefrontal cortex | Differences were found for RD & MD, but not FA or AD, in inferior & lateral sub-regions of the prefrontal cortex b/w groups. Within pre-symptomatic patients, abnormalities largely followed disease burden as defined by the age-CAG length calculation. |
| Marrakchi-Kacem et al., 2013 [64] | Investigated cortico-striatal connectivity using dMRI | TBSS, HARDI, Q-BI, | 15 HD 15 NC |
Cortico-striatal connections | Reduced inferred connectivity from CN to parietal & frontal lobes, & from the putamen to the associative temporal, dorsal & ventral frontal, parietal, & SMC cortices; % difference b/w groups in connectivity b/w areas of the striatum & cortex reported; relative preservation of limbic connections; reduced inferred connectivity in primary sensory vs. motor connections. |
| dMRI in essential tremor | |||||
| Saini et al., 2012 [73] | Studied dMRI measures of WM in ET patients | TBSS, ROI | 22 ET 17 NC |
ROI – CC, SCP, MCP, ICP, CST, anterior limb of IC | TBSS - ↑ MD in the R hemispheric WM & ↑ AD throughout the bilateral cortical WM, IC, EC, TH, brainstem, CBM; no differences in FA b/w ET patients & NC. ROI analysis - ↓ FA in the L SCP & R CST & ↑ MD in the R anterior limb of the IC & L CST; ↑ AD in the bilateral SCP & R ICP, CST, & anterior limb of IC. No correlations were found b/w tremor severity or disease duration & dMRI measures. |
| Buijink et al., 2013 [72] | Studied dMRI measures in FCMTE compared to ET & NC | Tractography, ROI | 7 FCMTE 8 ET 5 NC |
CBM | Mean FA was decreased in FCMTE vs. ET & NC, but FA was not different b/w ET patients & NC. |
*
( ) indicate non-dMRI methods. See table 1 for explanations of abbreviations.