Correlation of diffusion tensor imaging and cognitive function in patients with leukoaraiosis

Conventional imaging technology does not measure white matter lesions of the brain or cognitive impairment. Diffusion tensor imaging is able to detect changes in the microstructure of white matter, and correlating vascular risk factors with cognitive dysfunction seems feasible using this technique. A total of 60 leukoaraiosis patients and 30 healthy elderly controls received diffusion tensor imaging examination to detect the average diffusion coefficient and fractional anisotropy of leukoaraiosis lesion and normal white matter. Leukoaraiosis severity positively correlated with average diffusion coefficient but negatively correlated with fraction anisotropy. Neuropsychology tests (mini-mental state examination) were related to average diffusion coefficient and fraction anisotropy of normal white matter in leukoaraiosis patients, especially in the anterior horn and centrum semiovale. The average diffusion coefficient and fraction anisotropy of leukoaraiosis displayed characteristic changes. Therefore, diffusion tensor imaging can detect the macrostructural changes in white matter with normal magnetic resonance imaging, and these changes are related to cognitive function. Application of diffusion tensor imaging techniques to analyze the correlation between vascular risk factors and cognitive dysfunction is feasible.