Decline of Fiber Tract Integrity Over the Adult Age Range: A Diffusion Spectrum Imaging Study

作者：Teipel Stefan J^*; Lerche Maximilian; Kilimann Ingo; O' Brien Kieran; Grothe Michel; Meyer Peter; Li Xingfeng; Saenger Peter; Hauenstein Karlheinz

来源：Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2014, 40(2): 348-359.

DOI：10.1002/jmri.24420

• white matter microstructure
• neurodegeneration
• diffusion spectrum imaging
• aging
• genetics
• generalized fractional anisotropy

Purpose: We applied a novel diffusion spectrum imaging (DSI) acquisition to determine associations between aging and subcortical fiber tract integrity. %26lt;br%26gt;Materials and Methods: We studied 35 cognitively healthy subjects (17 women), spanning the adult age range between 23 and 77 years, using anatomical MRI and a novel DSI acquisition scheme at 3 Tesla. The study was approved by the local institutional review board. DSI data were analyzed using tractography and complementary voxel-based analysis of generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) maps. We determined the effects of age on generalized fractional anisotropy in selected fiber tracts as well as in a whole brain voxel-based analysis. For comparison, we studied the effects of age on regional gray and white matter volumes. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: We found a significant reduction in anterior corpus callosum fiber tract integrity with age (P %26lt; 0.001), as well as significant GFA reduction throughout the subcortical white matter (P %26lt; 0.05, false discovery rate [FDR] corrected). GFA decline was accompanied by significant gray matter atrophy in frontal and temporal association cortex (P %26lt; 0.05, FDR corrected). %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion: Our data suggest that normal aging leads to a regionally specific decline in fiber tract integrity. DSI may become a useful biomarker in healthy and pathological aging.

• 出版日期2014-8