The DTI study on the effect of the changes in microstructure of arcuate fasciculus on mild cognitive function

HAN Songlin; ZHANG Jian

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-3806.2024.01.15

Abstract：Objective To explore the effect of the changes in microstructure of arcuate fasciculus on mild cog-nitive function in patients with arcuate fasciculus lacunar cerebral infarction in the walking area based on magnetic reso-nance diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)technique.Methods A total of 64 patients with arcuate fasciculus lacunar cere-bral infarction in the walking area who were admitted to People's Hospital of Shuangyashan City between September 2022 and June 2023 were selected.According to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)scale scores,the patients were divided into the mild cognitive impairment(MCI)group(35 cases with MoCA scale scores ≥16 and＜26)and the non-MCI group(29 cases with MoCA scale scores ≥26).During the same period,20 healthy examinees who matched the age,gender,and education years of the patients were included as the control group.All the research subjects under-went head nuclear magnetic scan plus DTI examination,and the DTI dispersion indicator levels of ipsilateral arcuate fascic-ulus were compared among different lesions as well as the MoCA scale scores between the MCI group and the non-MCI group.Results In the MCI group,when the number of lesions was N＜2,the FA level and MoCA scale scores of the left arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when 2≤N＜4 and N≥4,while the MoCA scale scores of the right arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when 2≤N＜4 and N≥4;when the number of lesions was 2≤N＜4,the MoCA scale scores of the left and right arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when N≥4,and the differences were statis-tically significant(P＜0.05).In the non-MCI group,when the number of lesions was N＜2,the FA levels of the left and right arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when N ≥4,while the MD levels were lower than those when N ≥4,and the MoCA scale scores of the left arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when 2≤N＜4 and N≥4,while the MoCA scale scores of the right arcuate fasciculus were higher than those when N ≥4;when the number of lesions was 2≤N＜4,the MD levels of the left and right arcuate fasciculus were lower than those when N≥4,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion The changes in microstructure of arcuate fasciculus in patients with lacunar cerebral infarction are associated with MCI.The more lesions in lacunar cerebral infarction,the lower the FA level,and the more severe arcuate fasciculus injury and the lower MoCA scale scores.For the patients with arcuate fasciculus lacunar cerebral infarction in the walking area,head nuclear magnetic scan plus DTI examination can be used as important methods to evaluate MCI and prevent Alzheimer's disease(AD)by examining the changes in microstructure of arcuate fasciculus and combining them with MoCA scale score.