Abstract #3616

Regional cortical folding morphometry in Friedreich ataxia using Laplace Beltrami based gyrification index

Rosita Shishegar^1,2, Imis Dogan^3,4, Martin B. Delatycki^1,5,6,7, Gary F. Egan^1,2, Elsdon Storey⁸, Louise A. Corben^1,5,7, and Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis¹

¹School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, ²Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, ³Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, ⁴JARA - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen and Juelich, Germany, ⁵Bruce Lefroy Centre for Genetic Health Research, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, ⁶Clinical Genetics, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia, ⁷Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, ⁸Department of Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder mainly affecting the spinal cord and dentate nuclei of the cerebellum. Although there is growing evidence of cerebral atrophy and cortical thinning in FRDA, no research has investigated the pattern of cortical folding (gyrification) in the disorder. We have proposed a new MRI analysis technique, Laplace Beltrami based gyrification index (LB-GI), and validated its use in individuals with FRDA. Preliminary results reveal significantly increased regional gyrification in the motor cortex in individuals with FRDA, compared to healthy controls. Overall, our results demonstrate that LB-GI is a sensitive technique which requires further investigation as a potential neuroimaging marker of disease progression in FRDA.

This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.

Join Here