Magnetic resonance morphometry of the brain in different variants of multisystem atrophy

Introduction. Neurodegenerative diseases occupy a significant place in the structure of diseases of the Central nervous system and have a high social and economic significance. One of the methods of more accurate neuroimaging assessment of the neurodegenerative process is magnetic resonance morphometry using specialized software. Purpose of research. To evaluate the possibilities of magnetic resonance morphometry as a method of differential diagnosis of parkinsonism syndromes and to investigate the characteristic of volumetric changes of individual brain structures in different variants of Multisystem atrophy. Materials and methods. Morphometric markers of Multisystem atrophy variants development using postprocessing processing of native MRI on Freesurfer software are analyzed. 24 patients with striatonigral degeneration and 20 patients with olivopontocerebellar degeneration were examined. Patients without relevant neurological pathology of appropriate age were examined as a control group. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on a magnetic resonance tomograph of Siemens with magnetic field induction of 1,5 T. 240 structures from the right and left hemispheres of the brain were subjected to statistical analysis. There were significant differences in the distribution of atrophy among the structures of the brain stem and hemispheres in patients with olivopontocerebellar and striatonigral degeneration. Сonclusions. The obtained data of the study on the atrophy of cortical areas involved in the realization of cognitive functions showed the difference between the variants of Multisystem atrophy. Thus, striatonigral atrophy is characterized by a decrease in the thickness of the structures of the frontal cortex, while olivopontocerebellar degeneration reveals a decrease in the thickness of the parahippocampal zone. Methods of postprocessing processing of MR morphometry data allow to confirm the clinical diagnosis instrumentally, as well as to clarify the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and to clarify the distribution of the brain structures most susceptible to neurodegeneration.

magnetic resonance imaging, morphometry, Freesurfer, neurodegenerative diseases, Multisystem atrophy, olivopontocerebellar degeneration, striatonigral degeneration

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