Influence of Mild White Matter Lesions on Voxel-based Morphometry

• Published in: Magnetic Resonance in Medical Sciences Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 40 - 46
• Main Authors: Goto, Masami, Hagiwara, Akifumi, Fujita, Shohei, Hori, Masaaki, Kamagata, Koji, Aoki, Shigeki, Abe, Osamu, Sakamoto, Hajime, Sakano, Yasuaki, Kyogoku, Shinsuke, Daida, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japanese Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 01.01.2021; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Amygdala; Atrophy; Brain; diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra; Fazekas classification; Frontal lobe; lacunar infarction; Lesions; Major Paper; Morphometry; Substantia alba; Substantia grisea; voxel-based morphometry; white matter lesion; diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra; voxel-based morphometry; white matter lesion; Fazekas classification; lacunar infarction
• ISSN: 1347-3182; 1880-2206
• DOI: 10.2463/mrms.mp.2019-0154

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the detectability of brain volume change in voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with gray matter images is affected by mild white matter lesions (MWLs).Methods: Three-dimensional T1-weighted images (3D-T1WIs) of 11 healthy subjects were obtained using a 3T MR scanner. We initially created 3D-T1WIs with focal cortical atrophy simulated cortical atrophy in left amygdala (type A) and the left medial frontal lobe (type B) from control 3D-T1WIs. Next, the following three types of MWL images were created: type A + 1L and type B + 1L images, only one white matter lesion; type A + 4L and type B + 4L images, four white matter lesions at distant positions; and type A + 4L* and type B + 4L* images, four white matter lesions at clustered positions. Comparisons between the control group and the other groups were performed with VBM using segmented gray matter images.Results: The gray matter volume was significantly lower in the type A group than in the control group, and similar results were observed in the type A + 1L, type A + 4L, and type A + 4L* groups. Additionally, the gray matter volume was significantly lower in the type B group than in the control group, and similar results were observed in the type B + 1L, type B + 4L, and type B + 4L* groups, but the cluster size in type B + 4L* was smaller than that in type B.Conclusion: Our study showed that the detectability of brain volume change in VBM with gray matter images was not decreased by MWLs as lacunar infarctions. Therefore, we think that group comparisons with VBM should be analyzed by groups including and excluding subjects with MWLs, respectively.