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Neuroimaging evidence of gray and white matter damage and clinical correlates in progressive supranuclear palsy

Journal of Neurology volume 262, pages 1850–1858 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

To evaluate gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) abnormalities and their clinical correlates in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Sixteen PSP patients and sixteen age-matched healthy subjects underwent a clinical evaluation and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging, including three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Volumetric and DTI analyses were computed using SPM and FSL tools. PSP patients showed GM volume decrease, involving the frontal cortex, putamen, pallidum, thalamus and accumbens nucleus, cerebellum, and brainstem. Additionally, they had widespread changes in WM bundles, mainly affecting cerebellar peduncles, thalamic radiations, corticospinal tracts, corpus callosum, and longitudinal fasciculi. GM volumes did not correlate with WM abnormalities. DTI indices of WM damage, but not GM volumes, correlated with clinical scores of disease severity and cognitive impairment. The neurodegenerative changes that occur in PSP involve both GM and WM structures and develop concurrently though independently. WM damage in PSP correlates with clinical scores of disease severity and cognitive impairment, thus providing further insight into the pathophysiology of the disease.

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Conflicts of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical standard

The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee, and performed according to the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from the legal guardian of patient.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università, 30, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Maria Cristina Piattella, N. Upadhyay, E. Sbardella, F. Tona, A. Formica, N. Petsas, A. Berardelli & P. Pantano

  2. Neuromed Institute IRCCS, Pozzilli (IS), Italy

    M. Bologna, A. Berardelli & P. Pantano

Authors
  1. Maria Cristina Piattella
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  2. N. Upadhyay
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  3. M. Bologna
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  4. E. Sbardella
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  5. F. Tona
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  6. A. Formica
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  7. N. Petsas
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  8. A. Berardelli
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  9. P. Pantano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Cristina Piattella.

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Piattella, M.C., Upadhyay, N., Bologna, M. et al. Neuroimaging evidence of gray and white matter damage and clinical correlates in progressive supranuclear palsy. J Neurol 262, 1850–1858 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-015-7779-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-015-7779-3

Keywords

  • Progressive supranuclear palsy
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Diffusion tensor imaging
  • Gray matter
  • White matter