Assessment of severity of leukoaraiosis: a diffusional kurtosis imaging study.

Authors :: Xu S
Ye D
Lian T
Cai J
Xiao Z
Huang Y
Chen X
Zhang Z
Source :: Clinical imaging [Clin Imaging] 2016 Jul-Aug; Vol. 40 (4), pp. 732-8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Feb 23.
Publication Year :: 2016
Abstract: Objective: The objective was to investigate the capabilities of diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) in detection of age-related white matter (WM) changes in elderly patients with leukoaraiosis.<br />Material and Methods: Fractional anisotropy (FA), kurtosis, and diffusion parameters in the frontal lobe and parietal lobe were compared between 14 patients at Fazekas scale 0 and 1, and 15 patients at Fazekas scale 2 and 3.<br />Results: FA and DKI parameters were significantly altered in the ischemic lesions vs normal regions of WM in the severe patients.<br />Conclusion: DKI can provide sensitive imaging biomarkers for assessing the severity of leukoaraiosis in reference to Fazekas score.<br /> (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)