Original Article Diffusion tensor imaging of patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia: a controlled study

* Equal contributors. Received September 7, 2015; Accepted December 5, 2015; Epub February 15, 2016; Published February 29, 2016 Abstract: Background: This study aimed to investigate the clinically important early symptoms of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and the characteristics of bvFTD in structural imaging and to explore the value of diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-DTI) in the early diagnosis of bvFTD. Material and Methods: Siemens 3T Verio MRI with echoplanar imaging (EPI) was employed in 8 patients with suspected bvFTD diagnosed according to the FTDC diagnostic consensus, 8 matched Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and 8 healthy controls, and 3DT1 and DWI images were collected. Results: DTI showed the bilateral thalamic radiation, cingulate gyrus and hippocampus had significantly reduced FA ( P<0.001). After FEW correction, FA in these regions was compa- rable between bvFTD patients and AD patients. The MD of the anterior frontal lobe and temporal lobe increased significantly in bvFTD patients, suggesting more severe white matter damage. Analysis of lateralization effect of FA showed lateralization distribution in the left thalamic radiation, inferior longitudinal fasciculus and cingulate gyrus in bvFTD patients as compared to healthy controls. Conclusion: MRI-DTI shows evident white matter lesions in bvFTD patients, and the injury to white matter at left thalamic radiation, left cingulate gyrus, forceps minor, left fasciculus occipitofrontalis inferior, right inferior longitudinal fasciculus and left uncinate fasciculus deteriorates. Moreover, the asymmetrical damage to the left thalamic radiation, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and left cingulated is helpful for the early differential diagnosis.