Zili Chu1,2, Elisabeth A. Wilde3, Xiaoqi Li3, Jill V. Hunter1,2
1Radiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; 2Diagnostic Imaging, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA; 3Physical Medicine & Rehab, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
DTI measures diffusion of water while MRS measures concentrations of metabolites. This study demonstrates that a modal combination of DTI and MRS reveals useful and consistent information about basal ganglia and thalami. Compared to the developmental delay group, analysis showed that NAA/Cr was significantly decreased in the seizure group on the left basal ganglia with a trend toward significant decrease on the right basal ganglia and right thalamus. In contrast, radial diffusivity was increased in the seizure group, consistent with the MRS findings. We conclude that group differences in the basal ganglia are attributable to differences in neuron density.