Preliminary evaluation of altered brain microstructure in the emotion-cognition region in children with haemophilia A: a diffusional kurtosis imaging study.

Aim Using diffusional kurtosis imaging ( DKI) to assess the impact of emotional disorders on microstructural changes of the brain in children with haemophilia A. Materials and Methods Diffusional kurtosis imaging was acquired from haemophilia A ( n = 22) and controls ( n = 22) using a 3T scanner. A regression analysis of frontal, cingulate, hippocampus, insula and amygdala regions of interest ( ROIs) was conducted. Clinical data and results of psychological tests were collected. A paired t-test was used to analyse the differences between the two groups' ROIs, and the Spearman test was used to analyse the correlation between ROIs and psychological tests or clinical data. Results Fractional anisotropy ( FA) in the left middle cingulate and right hippocampus; mean diffusion ( MD) in the frontal lobe, right anterior cingulate and right middle cingulate showed varying degrees of increase in the ROI compared to controls ( P < 0.003). MD in the frontal lobe and the course of disease ( P < 0.05), FA in the right hippocampus and the social score of the self-consciousness scale ( P < 0.01) had a positive correlation. Conclusion Our study is the first to evaluate the relationship between emotion disorders and cognitive changes in the microstructure of the brain in children with haemophilia A, suggesting that DKI provides more information about tissue microstructural changes than do the conventional image method and traditional psychological tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]