asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in the white matter in the healthy elderly a tract-based study不对称,性别差异和年龄相关性白质的变化在健康老人tract-based研究.pdfVIP

Kitamura et al. BMC Research Notes 2011, 4:378 /1756-0500/4/378 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in the white matter in the healthy elderly: a tract-based study 1* 1,2 1 3 1 Soichiro Kitamura , Masayuki Morikawa , Kuniaki Kiuchi , Toshiaki Taoka , Masami Fukusumi , Kimihiko Kichikawa3 and Toshifumi Kishimoto1 Abstract Background: Hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes have been reported for the human brain. Meanwhile it was still unclear the presence of the asymmetry or sex differences in the human brain occurred whether as a normal development or as consequences of any pathological changes. The aim of this study was to investigate hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes by using a tract-based analysis in the nerve bundles. Methods: 40 healthy elderly subjects underwent magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and we calculated fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values along the major white matter bundles. Results: We identified hemispherical asymmetry in the ADC values for the cingulate fasciculus in the total subject set and in males, and a sex difference in the FA values for the right uncinate fasciculus. For age-related changes, we demonstrated a significant increase in ADC values with advancing age in the right cingulum, left temporal white matter, and a significant decrease in FA values in the right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Conclusion: In this study, we found hemispherical asymmetry, sex differences and age-related changes in particular regions of the white matter in the healthy elderly. Our results suggest considering these differences can be import