Cross-Sectional Area Analysis of the Head of the Caudate Nucleus in Huntington's Disease.
Head of the caudate nucleus
Huntington’s disease
Magnetic resonance image
T2-weighted image
Journal
European neurology
ISSN: 1421-9913
Titre abrégé: Eur Neurol
Pays: Switzerland
ID NLM: 0150760
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2019
2019
Historique:
received:
29
01
2019
accepted:
22
03
2019
pubmed:
24
4
2019
medline:
27
6
2020
entrez:
24
4
2019
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Caudate nucleus atrophy is a well-known neuroimaging feature of Huntington's disease (HD). Some researchers have reported a decrease in the volume of the striatum on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) even in the presymptomatic stage of the disease. Despite the many neuroimaging studies on HD, the optimal method for measuring the caudate nucleus area on MRIs and the most effective cutoff values for diagnosing HD remain unclear. To define suitable imaging sequences and cutoff values for HD, we measured the area of the head of the caudate nucleus (HCN) in 11 patients with HD, 22 age- and sex-matched individuals without neurodegenerative disorders in the central nervous system, 22 sex-matched patients with Alzheimer's disease, 22 sex-matched patients with Parkinson's disease, and 7 patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy. On T2-weighted images (T2WIs), we found significantly reduced HCN area at the rostral level in individuals with HD relative to those of the individuals in the other groups. A significant inverse correlation (ρ = -0.61, p = 0.046) was observed between the HD duration and HCN area at the rostral slice level on T2WIs. The cutoff value for distinguishing patients with HD from healthy individuals and those with other neurodegenerative diseases was 85 mm2 at the rostral level on T2WIs (100% sensitivity and specificity). This cutoff value can be applied clinically to evaluate brain atrophy in HD. Our method is advantageous because it is simple and can be implemented easily in daily clinical practice.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Caudate nucleus atrophy is a well-known neuroimaging feature of Huntington's disease (HD). Some researchers have reported a decrease in the volume of the striatum on magnetic resonance images (MRIs) even in the presymptomatic stage of the disease. Despite the many neuroimaging studies on HD, the optimal method for measuring the caudate nucleus area on MRIs and the most effective cutoff values for diagnosing HD remain unclear.
OBJECTIVES AND METHODS
To define suitable imaging sequences and cutoff values for HD, we measured the area of the head of the caudate nucleus (HCN) in 11 patients with HD, 22 age- and sex-matched individuals without neurodegenerative disorders in the central nervous system, 22 sex-matched patients with Alzheimer's disease, 22 sex-matched patients with Parkinson's disease, and 7 patients with dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy.
RESULTS
On T2-weighted images (T2WIs), we found significantly reduced HCN area at the rostral level in individuals with HD relative to those of the individuals in the other groups. A significant inverse correlation (ρ = -0.61, p = 0.046) was observed between the HD duration and HCN area at the rostral slice level on T2WIs. The cutoff value for distinguishing patients with HD from healthy individuals and those with other neurodegenerative diseases was 85 mm2 at the rostral level on T2WIs (100% sensitivity and specificity).
CONCLUSIONS
This cutoff value can be applied clinically to evaluate brain atrophy in HD. Our method is advantageous because it is simple and can be implemented easily in daily clinical practice.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31013498
pii: 000499909
doi: 10.1159/000499909
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
13-18Informations de copyright
© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.