Is There any Regional Difference of Brain Tissue Densities Between Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) Patients and Normal Controls: a Morphometric Study with High Resolution MR Brain Imaging

摘要

Observation of sub-clinical neurological abnormalities has led to proposal of neuro-developmental etiologic model for AIS. Longer latency in somatosensory -evoked potential (SSEP) and impaired balance control have been demonstrated in AIS subjects. In this study, we investigated whether regional brain tissue densities in AIS patients differ from matched control subjects. Nine left thoracic AIS girls (mean Cobbs angle 19°) and 11 matched controls; 20 right thoracic AIS girls (mean Cobbs 33.8°) and 17 matched controls underwent MR imaging of the brain. Fully automatic morphometric analysis was used to analyse the MR images; it included linear registration to a template brain and brain-tissue classification into grey matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Tissue densities were compared between AIS subjects and controls. There was no significant difference between AIS subjects and normal controls when comparing absolute and relative (i.e. brain-size adjusted) volumes of grey and white matter. Using voxel-based morphometry, significant group differences (Controls > left AIS) were found in density of WM, in genu of corpus callosum, left internal capsule (anterior arm) and WM underlying orbitofrontal cortex of the left hemisphere. The above difference was not observed in right AIS group. Corpus callosum, major commissural fiber responsible for controlling the balance of right and left side of the body, was different in atypical left scoliosis while significant regional brain changes have not yet found in those with typical right thoracic scoliosis. Further investigation is warranted to see whether the above discrepancy is related to laterality of the scoliotic curve.