Cerebral diffusion tensor MR tractography in tuberous sclerosis complex: Correlation with neurologic severity and tract-based spatial statistical analysis

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The neurologic significance of residual cerebral white matter tracts, identified on diffusion tensor tractography, has not been well studied in tuberous sclerosis complex. We aimed to correlate the quantity of reconstructed white matter tracts with the degree of neurologic impairment of subjects with the use of DTI and determined differences in white matter integrity between patients with tuberous sclerosis complex and controls with the use of voxelwise analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, 16 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex and 12 control subjects underwent DTI. Major white matter tracts, comprising bilateral PF and CF, were reconstructed and assessed for quantity, represented by NOP and NOF. A neurologic severity score, based on the presence of developmental disability, seizure, autism, and other neuropsychiatric disorders, was calculated for each subject. We then correlated this score with white matter quantity. Voxelwise tract-based spatial statistics was used to determine differences in FA, axial, and radial diffusivity values between the tuberous sclerosis complex group and the control subjects. RESULTS: NOP and NOF of CF, bilateral PF, and MWT in the tuberous sclerosis complex group were all significantly lower than those in the control subjects (P