Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies of cerebral white matter integrity in normal to moderate cardiovascular risk patients

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Background & Objectives: The cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) manifest as white matter lesion (WML) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study shows a lower white matter integrity in white matter lesion (WML) and its penumbra region, suggesting cerebral white matter damage. The aim of this study is to establish correlation between the DTI values of white matter with the age related white matter changes (ARWMC) visual rating score and identify predictors of ARWMC score. Methods: 63 brain MRI images of subjects were selected. Relevant clinical information of the subjects which satisfied QRISK2 risk factors were retrieved from the patients’ folder. DTI parameters were obtained via postprocessing at OsiriX DTImap workstation. Results: FA frontal (r = -0.36; p = 0.003) and AD frontal (r = -0.26; p = 0.040) had a substantial and negative correlation with the ARWMC score. There was a significant positive correlation shown between the ARWMC score and RD frontal (r = 0.30; p = 0.018). There were positive significant association between the ARWMC score and age (b(95%CI): 0.106 (0.061, 0.151); p<0.001) and QRISK2 score (b(95%CI): 0.235 (0.036, 0.433)). Conclusion: DTI is a good method to study the cerebral white matter integrity. It was found that frontal lobe is the first region affected in relation to ageing, in particular the myelin integrity. Increasing age and higher QRISK2 cardiovascular risk factors were shown to increase the ARWMC score.