T2-weighted and T2 relaxometry images in patients with medial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
Quantification of increased T2-weighted MRI signal that is associated with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) can be performed through (1) mean of hippocampal signal in single-echo T2 MRI and (2) hippocampal T2 relaxometry. It is not clear whether these two techniques are equivalent. In this study, we compare the hippocampal signal, detected by single-echo T2 quantification and by T2 relaxometry, in patients with medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).

METHODS:
We studied magnetic resonance images from 50 MTLE patients and 15 healthy subjects. We compared the quantification of a T2 signal from single echo images to T2 relaxometry, both obtained from a manually traced region of interest (ROI) in coronal slices involving the whole hippocampus. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate the differences in the distribution of the Z-scores from single-echo T2 quantification and T2 relaxometry within subjects.

RESULTS:
We observed a significant difference between the measurements obtained from single-echo T2 quantification and T2 relaxometry (P < .001). Measurements from head, body, and tail of the hippocampus were different (P=.04), with a significant interaction between anatomic location and type of measurement used (P= .008). Post hoc paired comparisons revealed that T2 relaxometry yielded greater Z-scores for the body (P= .002) and tail (P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS:
For each subject with MTLE, T2 relaxometry was able to detect a higher signal in the body and tail of the hippocampus compared to single-echo T2. This is a possible indicator that T2 relaxometry is more sensitive in detecting T2 abnormalities within the body and tail of the hippocampus in patients with MTLE.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Coan, Ana Carolina (AC); Bonilha, Leonardo (L); Morgan, Paul S (PS); Cendes, Fernando (F); Li, Li Min (LM);

Affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology, State University of Campinas, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging (J Neuroimaging), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Jul; vol 16 (issue 3) : pp 260-5

Dates: Created 2006/06/30; Completed 2006/09/12; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16808828, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Hippocampus - pathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods
Male

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.