Relationship between the phase value of ESWAN and fractional anisotropy of diffusion tensor imaging in patients with cerebral microbleeds: preliminary results.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to measure phase values (PVs) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) using phase and FA map, and to investigate the potential relationship between PVs and FAs in CMBs in vivo.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 30 patients with CMBs using enhanced T2*-weighted angiography and diffusion tensor imaging. The PVs and FAs of CMBs were measured and documented, and the mean FAs were compared between CMBs and the corresponding normal brain tissue. The mean PVs were correlated with FAs in CMBs in seven different brain regions.

RESULTS

A total of 106 CMBs were defined, and the mean FA of the CMBs in white matter, EC/IC/CR, thalamus, and cerebellum were significantly lower than that of normal brain tissue in the control group (p<0.05). Positive correlations were observed between the PV and FA of CMBs in white matter, external capsule, internal capsule and corona radiata (r=0.70, 0.38).

CONCLUSION

Enhanced T2*-weighted angiography and diffusion tensor imaging sequence may be useful neuroimaging sequences that could reflect the severity of damage of white matter by measuring the FA of CMBs and provide useful reference data for the quantitative assessment of CMBs.