Stefano Zanigni1,2, Stefania Evangelisti1,2, Claudia Testa1,2, David Neil Manners1,2, Giovanna Calandra-Buonaura1,3, Maria Guarino4, Anna Gabellini3,5, Luisa Sambati1,3, Pietro Cortelli1,3, Raffaele Lodi1,2, and Caterina Tonon1,2
1Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, 2Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Functional MR Unit, Bologna, Italy, 3IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy, 4Policlinico S.Orsola-Malpighi, Neurology Unit, Bologna, Italy, 5Ospedale Maggiore, Neurology Unit, Bologna, Italy
We applied a probabilistic tractography FSL-based method to evaluate
alterations in the cortico-spinal tract (CST), middle and superior cerebellar
peduncles (MCP and SCP, respectively) in 90 patients with neurodegenerative
parkinsonisms (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Multiple System Atrophy, and
Parkinson’s disease). Patients and healthy controls were evaluated on a 1.5T GE
scanner. DTI metrics were evaluated in the whole CST, MCP and SCP tracts, and
in addition, an along tract analysis for CST has been performed. We found that
specific patterns of neurodegeneration within these specific tracts are evident
and that they reflect the neuropathological and clinical profile of each
syndrome.
