Diffusion Tensor Imaging in ALS Compared with Proton MR Spectroscopy

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) may give information about the axonal impairment of the motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by changes of the patterns of anisotropy, e.g. fractional anisotropy (FA). Proton MR spectroscopy is thought to provide surrogate markers for the axonal integrity. In this study, changes of FA were compared with spectral changes in identical anatomic regions (motor area - MA) of nine patients with ALS and ten healthy controls. In patients, choline and the FA were positively correlated, whereas the mean of the FA in the MA was not different between patients and controls