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In vivo diffusion tensor imaging and ex vivo histologic characterization of white matter pathology in a post–status epilepticus model of temporal lobe epilepsy
Author(s) -
van Eijsden Pieter,
Otte Wim M.,
Saskia van der Hel W.,
van Nieuwenhuizen Onno,
Dijkhuizen Rick M.,
de Graaf Robin A.,
Braun Kees P. J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.02991.x
Subject(s) - white matter , diffusion mri , status epilepticus , epilepsy , ex vivo , temporal lobe , pathology , medicine , neuroscience , magnetic resonance imaging , in vivo , psychology , biology , radiology , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary Although epilepsy is historically considered a disease of gray matter, recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown white matter abnormalities in patients with epilepsy. The histopathologic correlate of these findings, and whether they are a cause or consequence of epilepsy, remains unclear. To characterize these changes and their underlying histopathology, DTI was performed in juvenile rats, 4 and 8 weeks after pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus (SE). In the medial corpus callosum (CC), mean diffusivity and axial diffusivity (MD and λ 1 ) as well as a myelin staining were significantly reduced at 4 weeks. Only the λ 1 decrease persisted at 8 weeks. In the fornix fimbriae (FF), λ 1 and myelin staining were decreased at both time points, whereas fractional anisotropy (FA) and MD were significantly reduced at 8 weeks only. We conclude that SE induces both transient and chronic white matter changes in the medial CC and FF that are to some degree related to myelin pathology.