MRI identifies disrupted cerebral development in medulloblastoma patients

作者：Asim K. Bag, Joseph L. Holtrop, John O. Glass, Samuel S. McAfee, Shengjie Wu, Yimei Li, Matthew Scoggins, Silu Zhang, Giles Robinson, Amar Gajjar, Tara M. Brinkman, Heather M. Conklin, Wilburn E. Reddick · 发表于：Brain Communications · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1093/braincomms/fcaf090 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications、Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment、Functional Brain Connectivity Studies

Abstract Cognitive decline in survivors of medulloblastoma is commonly attributed to radiation- and chemotherapy-induced brain microstructural alterations. Factors preceding this adjuvant therapy, such as disrupted brain development or resection surgery, may affect brain microstructure but have not been thoroughly explored in medulloblastoma. The aim of this study was to assess cortical thickness and microstructural integrity of the cerebrum prior to adjuvant therapy in medulloblastoma patients. Cross-sectional image data were acquired of medulloblastoma patients (n = 30) after surgery but before adjuvant therapy and compared with data from healthy controls (n = 35) matched for age range (12–22 years). Biomarkers of microstructural integrity include fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity and radial diffusivity. Thickness, surface area and volume were estimated for parcels of neocortex to evaluate potential morphology differences. Participants with medulloblastoma showed increased diffusivity parameters (mean, axial and radial diffusivity) and decreased fractional anisotropy, within nearly all white and grey matter parcels of the cerebrum, compared with healthy controls. Medulloblastoma participants additionally showed decreased cortical thickness in sub-regions of frontal, parietal, temporal and paracentral cortex. Broad cerebral microstructural alterations in medulloblastoma patients following surgery but before initiation of radiation or chemotherapy sug...