Harpreet Hyare1,2, John Thornton2,3, Durrenajaf Siddique1, John Stevens2, John Collinge1, Tarek Yousry2,3, Rolf Jager2,3
1MRC Prion Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK; 2Academic Neuroradiological Unit, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK; 3Lysholm Department of Neuroradiology, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether DWI at high b value (b=3000s/mm2) and ADC measurements in the basal nuclei, improve the diagnosis of variant CJD and sporadic CJD compared to DWI at b=1000s/mm2. At high b value, we found that signal change is more conspicuous, improving confidence in the radiological diagnosis of human prion disease. Regional cerebral ADC changes in prion disease patients compared to controls were demonstrated, the anatomical ADC patterns being different in sporadic and variant CJD. Our results suggest that high-b value DWI provides additional pathological sensitivity in prion diseases.