Diffusion Tensor Imaging of Basal Ganglia and Thalamus in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

PURPOSE To assess the involvement of basal ganglia and thalamus in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) method. METHODS Fourteen definite-ALS patients and 12 age-matched controls underwent whole brain DTI on a 3T scanner. Mean-diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were obtained bilaterally from the basal ganglia and thalamus in the regions-of-interest (ROIs). RESULTS The MD was significantly higher (P