Facial nerve atrophy in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Evaluation with fast imaging employing steady‐state acquisition (FIESTA). Issue 3 (9th August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Miyata, Mari; Kakeda, Shingo; Hashimoto, Tomoyo; Ide, Satoru; Okada, Kazumasa; Adachi, Hiroaki; Korogi, Yukunori
• Is Part Of: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging. Volume 51:Issue 3(2020)
• Page Start: 757
• Page End: 766
• Publication Date: 2019-08-09
• Subjects: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- cochlear nerve -- fast imaging employing steady‐state acquisition -- facial nerve; Magnetic resonance imaging -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.26890
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1053-1807

Abstract

Abstract : Background: In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neurons in the brainstem markedly deplete, whereas sensory neurons are less severely affected. Purpose: To determine whether facial nerve (FN) measurement on 3D fast imaging employing steady‐state acquisition (FIESTA) is useful for ALS diagnosis. Study Type: Retrospective. Subjects: Fifteen ALS patients and 16 controls. Field Strength/Sequence: 3T FIESTA MR. Assessment: The cross‐sectional area of the FN and cochlear nerve (CN) were measured, and the FN/CN ratio (FCR) was assessed. For qualitative assessment, the FN cross‐sectional area was compared with that of the CN and the following scores were assigned: score 1 (large), the FN is larger than the CN; score 2 (almost equal), the size difference between the FN and CN is within 10%; score 3 (small), the FN is smaller than the CN (10–50%); score 4 (significantly small), size of the FN is less than half the size of the CN. Statistical Tests: The differences in FCR between the ALS patients and the controls were tested using the Wilcoxon Mann–Whitney U ‐test. For the qualitative and quantitative assessments, we performed a receiver operating characteristic analysis for the diagnosis of ALS with an abnormal finding as score 3 or 4. Results: The mean FCR was significantly smaller for ALS patients (0.71 ± 0.17) than for controls (0.95 ± 0.08) ( P < 0.001) and the area under the curve was 0.93. When an FN score was 3 or 4, indicative of FN atrophy, the sensitivity and specificity values of FIESTA for discriminating ALS patients from controls were 93.3% (14/15) and 90.0% (18/20), respectively. Data Conclusion: The FN atrophy revealed on FIESTA, which may reflect lower motor neuron impairment in ALS, allowed us to distinguish ALS patients from controls with a high degree of accuracy. Level of Evidence: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:757–766.