Efficacy of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and three-dimensional fiber tractography in the detection of clinical manifestations of central nervous system lupus

Visualization of nerve fibers around the carotid bifurcation with use of a 9.4 Tesla microscopic magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging with tractography

“…In recent years, DTI, an MRI technique that allows us to delineate the axonal organizations, has been reported to be useful in understanding nerve anatomy3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and nerve disorders 4, 5, 6, 7, 18. In the head and neck region, reports are limited.…”

Automatic Segmentation of the Corpus Callosum Using a Cell-Competition Algorithm

“…In addition, the longitudinal analysis of the callosal volume and tissue integrity may further help monitor the efficacy of long-term treatments on the same patient with NPSLE. 16 To facilitate differential diagnosis and monitor the longitudinal changes of callosal volume and tissue integrity in the patients with NPSLE, our technical application can be integrated into the work flow of a neuroradiological practice, as follows, where steps 4 to 6 are the postprocessing used in this study.…”

“…4,12-14 Some DTI results have further demonstrated that DTI-derived indices, such as fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), correlate significantly with neuropsychological dysfunction, 15 and that fiber tracts abnormalities and pairwise connectivity are associated with clinical manifestations. 13,16,17 Therefore, an investigation of both volumetric changes and tissue alterations in the corpus callosum would help to understand the effects of CNS involvement in patients with SLE.Manual or semiautomatic segmentation approaches to volumetric measurement are time consuming, and the obtained segmentation results are likely to be error-prone and operator-dependent. 9 In contrast, automatic segmentation, which requires fewer inputs from operators and less processing time, would be more suitable for clinical applications.…”

“…4,[12][13][14] Some DTI results have further demonstrated that DTI-derived indices, such as fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), correlate significantly with neuropsychological dysfunction, 15 and that fiber tracts abnormalities and pairwise connectivity are associated with clinical manifestations. 13,16,17 Therefore, an investigation of both volumetric changes and tissue alterations in the corpus callosum would help to understand the effects of CNS involvement in patients with SLE.…”

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Neuropsychiatric Lupus

“…Previous studies found changes in various DTI indices in SLE and NPSLE patients, in relation to important microscopic injury of the white matter 75 . In patients with SLE, white matter injury in frontal lobes, corpus callosum, and thalamus has been found 67, 76– 78 . FA values were reported to be lower and MD values to be higher in the brain of NPSLE patients than in healthy controls.…”