MRI-based cerebellar volume measurements correlate with the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale score in patients with spinocerebellar degeneration or multiple system atrophy. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hara, Daisuke; Maki, Futaba; Tanaka, Shigeaki; Sasaki, Rie; Hasegawa, Yasuhiro
• Is Part Of: Cerebellum & ataxias. Volume 3:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 10
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: MRI -- Cerebellar volume -- Spinocerebellar degeneration -- Multiple system atrophy; Cerebellum -- Periodicals; Cerebellum -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Cerebellar ataxia -- Periodicals; Ataxia -- Periodicals; 612.827
• DOI: 10.1186/s40673-016-0052-4
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2053-8871

Abstract

Abstract Background Progression of clinical symptoms and cerebellar atrophy may vary among subtypes of spinocerebellar degeneration and multiple system atrophy. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to demonstrate the relationship between the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) score and cerebellar volume derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a broad spectrum of Japanese patients with cerebellar ataxia. Methods A total of 86 patients with cerebellar ataxia (18 with cortical cerebellar atrophy, 34 with spinocerebellar ataxia, and 34 with multiple system atrophy) and 30 healthy subjects were studied. MRI-based cerebellar volume measurements were performed in all subjects using T1-weighted images acquired with a 1.5-T MRI scanner. The cerebellar volume/cranial anteroposterior (AP) diameter was used for statistical analysis. Results Stepwise multiple regression analyses demonstrated that cerebellar volume/cranial AP diameter and midbrain AP/cranial AP diameter were significantly associated with the total score and domain I sub-score of ICARS. We found no interactions between these two anatomical factors in the ICARS total and domain I sub-scores. The main effects of these two predictors were statistically significant both in total and domain I sub-scores (p = 0.001 and 0.022, respectively). Conclusions Cerebellar volume and midbrain AP diameter normalized to the cranial AP diameter were significantly correlated with the ICARS total and domain I sub-scores. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to explore the role of these MRI biomarkers for predicting disease progression.