• Koji Kamagata, Hiroyuki Tomiyama, Taku Hatano, Yumiko Motoi, Osamu Abe, Keigo Shimoji, Kouhei Kamiya, Michimasa Suzuki, Masaaki Hori, Mariko Yoshida, Nobutaka Hattori, and Shigeki Aoki.
• Department of Radiology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan, kkamagat@juntendo.ac.jp.
• Neuroradiology. 2014 Mar 1; 56 (3): 251-8.

IntroductionDiffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a more sensitive technique than conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for assessing tissue microstructure. In particular, it quantifies the microstructural integrity of white matter, even in the presence of crossing fibers. The aim of this preliminary study was to compare how DKI and DTI show white matter alterations in Parkinson disease (PD).MethodsDKI scans were obtained with a 3-T magnetic resonance imager from 12 patients with PD and 10 healthy controls matched by age and sex. Tract-based spatial statistics were used to compare the mean kurtosis (MK), mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) maps of the PD patient group and the control group. In addition, a region-of-interest analysis was performed for the area of the posterior corona radiata and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) fiber crossing.ResultsFA values in the frontal white matter were significantly lower in PD patients than in healthy controls. Reductions in MK occurred more extensively throughout the brain: in addition to frontal white matter, MK was lower in the parietal, occipital, and right temporal white matter. The MK value of the area of the posterior corona radiata and SLF fiber crossing was also lower in the PD group.ConclusionDKI detects changes in the cerebral white matter of PD patients more sensitively than conventional DTI. In addition, DKI is useful for evaluating crossing fibers. By providing a sensitive index of brain pathology in PD, DKI may enable improved monitoring of disease progression.

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