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Combined diffusion tensor imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping to characterize normal-appearing white matter in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

  • Advanced Neuroimaging
  • Published:
Neuroradiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

In brain development, Myelination is the characteristic feature of white matter maturation, which plays an important role in efficient information transmitting. The white matter abnormality has been reported to be associated with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS). This study aimed to detect the altered white matter region in the SeLECTS patients by the combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) technique.

Methods

27 children with SeLECTS and 23 age- and gender-matched healthy children were enrolled. All participants were scanned with 3.0-T MRI to acquire the structure, diffusion and susceptibility-weighted data. The susceptibility and diffusion weighted data were processed to obtain quantitative susceptibility map and fraction anisotropy (FA) map. Then voxel-wise tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used to analyze quantitative susceptibility and FA data.

Results

Both DTI and QSM revealed extensive white matter alterations in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes in SeLECTS patients. The overlapped region of DTI and QSM analyses was located in the fiber tracts of the corona radiata. The FA values in this overlapped region were negatively correlated with the magnetic susceptibility values.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that TBSS-based QSM can be employed as a novel approach for characterizing alterations in white matter in SeLECTS. And the combination of QSM and DTI can provide a more comprehensive evaluation of white matter integrity by utilizing different biophysical features.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

SeLECTS:

Self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

DTI:

Diffusion Tensor Imaging

FA:

Fractional Anisotropy

QSM:

Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping

HC:

Healthy Controls

MNI:

Montreal Neurological Institute

FSL:

FMRIB Software Library

TBSS:

Tract Based Spatial Statistics

ASMs:

Antiseizure medications

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Funding

This study has received funding by Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Projects (grant number [2020] 1Y346).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, No 149, The Dalian Road, Guizhou, China

    Gaoqiang Xu & Xiaoxi Chen

  2. The Public Experimental Center of Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, No 149, The Dalian Road, Guizhou, China

    Yao Zhang

Authors
  1. Gaoqiang Xu
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  2. Yao Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gaoqiang Xu.

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Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the institutional review board of the affiliated hospital of zunyi medical university (No. 1-047).

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Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study.

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Xu, G., Zhang, Y. & Chen, X. Combined diffusion tensor imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping to characterize normal-appearing white matter in self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Neuroradiology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-024-03367-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-024-03367-2

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