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Progressive supranuclear palsy and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease are associated with local reduction of in vivo brain viscoelasticity

  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To apply three-dimensional multifrequency MR-elastography (3DMRE) for the measurement of local cerebral viscoelasticity changes in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Methods

T1-weighted anatomical imaging and 3DMRE were performed in 17 PD and 20 PSP patients as well as 12 controls. Two independent viscoelasticity parameters, |G*| and φ, were reconstructed combining seven harmonic vibration frequencies (30–60 Hz). Spatially averaged values were compared by one-way ANOVA, groups were compared using unpaired t test and Mann-Whitney test, respectively. Correlation between clinical data and parameters of brain elasticity and volume were calculated by Pearson’s correlation coefficient.

Results

In patients, |G*| was significantly reduced in the frontal and mesencephalic regions (p < 0.05). Beyond that, reduced mesencephalic |G*| discriminated PSP from PD (p < 0.05). Neurodegeneration causes significant brain atrophy (p < 0.01) and is pronounced in PSP patients (p < 0.05 vs. PD). Reduced brain viscoelasticity is correlated with brain atrophy in PSP (r=0.64, p=0.002) and PD (r=0.65, p=0.005) patients but not in controls.

Conclusions

MRE-measured viscoelasticity reflects local structural changes of brain tissue in PSP and in PD and provides a useful parameter to differentiate neurodegenerative movement disorders based on imaging examinations.

Key points

• 3D multifrequency MR-elastography reveals diffuse regional changes in brain viscoelasticity in neurodegenerative disorders.

• Reduced mesencephalic viscoelasticity separates PD and PSP.

• Reduced brain viscoelasticity and brain atrophy as independent hallmarks of neurodegeneration hypothesized.

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Abbreviations

|G*|:

Magnitude of the complex shear modulus

3DMRE:

Three-dimensional magnetic resonance elastography

FoV:

Field of view

GM, WM:

Cortical grey matter, white matter

MEG:

Motion-encoding gradients

MRE:

Magnetic resonance elastography

PD:

Parkinson’s disease

PSP:

Progressive supranuclear palsy

PSPRS:

PSP rating scale

ROI:

Regions-of-interest

UPDRS part III :

Motor part of the MDS-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale

φ:

Phase angle of the complex shear modulus

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Funding

This study has received funding by the German Research Foundation (DFG Sa901/17) to Ingolf Sack. Parts of the study were supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme (ID 668039, EU FORCE – Imaging the Force of Cancer) and German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF 01GQ1408)

Author information

Author notes

  1. Axel Lipp and Cornelia Skowronek contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353, Berlin, Germany

    Axel Lipp, Cornelia Skowronek & Kaspar-Josche Streitberger

  2. Institute of Medical Informatics, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Jürgen Braun

  3. Department of Radiology, Charité - University Medicine Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Andreas Fehlner & Ingolf Sack

Authors
  1. Axel Lipp
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  2. Cornelia Skowronek
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  3. Andreas Fehlner
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  4. Kaspar-Josche Streitberger
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  5. Jürgen Braun
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  6. Ingolf Sack
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ingolf Sack.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Ingolf Sack.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects in this study.

Methodology

• prospective

• observational

• performed at one institution.

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Lipp, A., Skowronek, C., Fehlner, A. et al. Progressive supranuclear palsy and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease are associated with local reduction of in vivo brain viscoelasticity. Eur Radiol 28, 3347–3354 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5269-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5269-y

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