Fiber Bundle Atrophy in Friedreichs and Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Elisabetta Pagani¹, Andrea Ginestroni², Federica Agosta¹, Mario Mascalchi², Massimo Filippi¹

We studied the spatial distribution of fiber bundle atrophy in patients with Friedreichs and spinocerebellar ataxia. The method used is based on anisotropy maps derived from diffusion tensor images to contrast fiber bundles and on a non-linear registration to calculate differences in comparison with an atlas. The analysis was run considering the whole brain first, and the cerebellum only thereafter. Consistent with pathological findings, both the analyses showed the involvement of the pons, the medulla and cerebellar peduncles. The spatial distribution of atrophy in each group was even better differentiated when the cerebellum was studied in isolation.