Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in dementia patients with frontal lobe symptoms

BACKGROUND: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a recent MRI technique demonstrating white matter tracts in the brain. Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease and this method has been used to demonstrate the loss of axonal fibers and myelin and decrease of fiber density in this condition. PURPOSE: To study a possible correlation between frontal lobe symptoms in patients with dementia and reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in white matter/fascicles in the frontal lobes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 23 patients with dementia and frontal lobe symptoms and 20 controls (10 Alzheimer patients without frontal lobe symptoms and 10 normal controls). Clinical tests and MRI with DTI were performed. FA in subcortical white matter of both the frontal lobes was analyzed and correlated with clinical frontal score tests. RESULTS: We found a significant correlation between frontal score results and reduction in FA in the frontal lobes. The FA in the study group was significantly lower than the FA in the control group. CONCLUSION: The present study reveals that there is a probable correlation between the extent of frontal lobe symptoms and FA in fascicles/white matter tissue in the frontal lobes.