Donnie Cameron1, David A. Reiter1, Kenneth W. Fishbein1, Christopher M. Bergeron1, Richard G. Spencer1, and Luigi Ferrucci1
This work investigates
how ageing influences diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures through application
of a robust protocol to the human thigh. Fifteen
participants, from 27-73 years old, were recruited, and mean diffusivity (MD)
and fractional anisotropy (FA) were calculated in their quadriceps and plotted
against age. Fibre tractography was also calculated. Rectus femoris FA showed a significant
correlation with age (R2=0.27,
p=0.04), while FA approached significant correlations in other muscle heads. MD
had a more complicated relationship with age, if any, in contrast to
previous work where lipid influence was
neglected. This highlights the need for high-quality fat-suppression in DTI.
