A Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Of Deep Midbrain Nuclei Of Patients With Migraine

Objective:To measure pathological damage of periaqueductal gray (PAG)、red nucleus (RN)、substantia niagra (SN) of patients with migraine., using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) quantitatively, and discuss the correlation of the DTI changes with migraine pathogenesis.Methods:DT-MRI、T2WI and3D-TOF-MRA scans of the brain were acquired from42patients with migraine and22sex-and age-matched healthy volunteers. Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the PAG、RN、SN were obtained from all subjects. The participants would be excluded when the lesions were visible in the ROIs on T2images or cerebral vascular abnormalities were presented. Both FA and MD values were compared between groups and subgroups using student t test and Spearman correlation was analyzed. p<0.05was declared statistically significant.Results:(1) In comparison with healthy volunteers, FA values of patients with migraine were lower (P<0.05) and MD higher (P<0.05) in bilateral PAG regions.(2) There were statistically differences (P<0.05) both of MD and FA values,in RN and SN except MD values in right RN (t=-1.103,P>0.05)between groups, but the trends were various.(3) FA values in Lpag、Lrn、Lsn、Rpag、Rrn、Rsn showed obvious correlation with migraine (r=-0.343、0.636、0.354、-0.709、-0.595、-0.421,P<0.05), MD values in Lpag、Lrn、Lsn、Rpag、Rsn showed obvious correlation with migraine (r=0.487、-0.277、0.694、0.737、0.297,P<0.05)Conclusions:The results in our study showed that DTI found microstructure impairments in PAG、RN、SN, especially the selective damage in PAG, which supports the role of PAG as a "generator" in the development of migraine.