High‐resolution diffusion tensor imaging of fixed brain in a mouse model of Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease: comparison with quantitative measures of white matter pathology

摘要: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a powerful technique for the noninvasive assessment of central nervous system. To facilitate application this to in vivo studies, we characterised mouse model leukodystrophy, Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease (PMD), comparing high-resolution ex DTI findings with quantitative histological analysis selected areas brain. The mice used study (Plp1-transgenic) carry transgenic copies Plp1 gene and are models PMD as result duplication. display mild ataxia experience frequent seizures around time at which they were imaged. Axial (λ1) radial (RD) diffusivities fractional anisotropy (FA) data analysed using an exploratory whole-brain voxel-based method, approach tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), by conventional region interest (ROI) analyses white matter tracts. Raw t value maps TBSS indicated widespread changes throughout brain Plp1-transgenic compared wild-type. ROI corpus callosum, anterior commissure hippocampal fimbria showed that FA was reduced significantly, whereas λ1 RD increased derived from subsequently measures taken same regions. These revealed almost complete absence myelin, preservation axons, marked astrocytosis or unchanged cell densities. contribute our growing understanding basis anisotropic water diffusion normal diseased Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.