Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Evaluating Myelinization of White Matter of Brain in Children

Objective To study the parameters of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging coefficients during the development of white matter of brain in healthy children.Methods 49 healthy children were classified into five groups(≤1 year,1-3 years,3-6 years,6-12 years,12-18 years) and underwent conventional MRI(magnetic resonance imaging) and DTI(diffusion tensor imaging).Postprocessed the DTI source data to obtain the coefficients of each ROI(region of interest) and made an analysis statistically.Results There were no significant differences between the symmetric bilateral ROIs in DTI coefficients among the 10 locations selected in the brain.The FA(fractional anisotropy) and RA(relative anisotropy) values increased alongside with the increased ages while the tendency of the ADC(apparent diffusion coefficient) and 1-VR(volume ratio) values was opposite.The DTI coefficients of different locations ranged as follows: frontal lobe parietal lobe centrum ovale occipital lobe temporal lobe(FA and RA values),temporal lobe occipital lobe centrum ovale parietal lobe frontal lobe(1-VR values).Conclusions The DTI coefficients showed certain characteristics during the myelinization of white matter of brain in children.