• Milan Jolapara, Chandrasekharan Kesavadas, V V Radhakrishnan, Jitender Saini, Satya Narayan Patro, Arun Kumar Gupta, Tirur Raman Kapilamoorthy, and Narendra Bodhey.
• Department of Imaging Sciences and Interventional Radiology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, 695011, India.
• Neuroradiology. 2009 Feb 1; 51 (2): 123-9.

IntroductionThe signal characteristics of an epidermoid on T2-weighted imaging have been attributed to the presence of increased water content within the tumor. In this study, we explore the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion tensor metrics (DTM) in knowing the microstructural anatomy of epidermoid cysts.Materials And MethodsDTI was performed in ten patients with epidermoid cysts. Directionally averaged mean diffusivity (D(av)), exponential diffusion, and DTM-like fractional anisotropy (FA), diffusion tensor mode (mode), linear (CL), planar (CP), and spherical (CS) anisotropy were measured from the tumor as well as from the normal-looking white matter.ResultsEpidermoid cysts showed high FA. However, D(av) and exponential diffusion values did not show any restriction of diffusion. Diffusion tensor mode values were near -1, and CP values were high within the tumor. This suggested preferential diffusion of water molecules along a two-dimensional geometry (plane) in epidermoid cysts, which could be attributed to the parallel-layered arrangement of keratin filaments and flakes within these tumors.ConclusionThus, advanced imaging modalities like DTI with DTM can provide information regarding the microstructural anatomy of the epidermoid cysts.

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