Tractography of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Second- and Third-Trimester Fetuses

Machado-Rivas, Afacan, Khan, Marami, Rollins, Ortinau, Velasco-Annis, Warfield, Gholipour, and Jaimes. 2021. “Tractography of the Cerebellar Peduncles in Second- and Third-Trimester Fetuses”. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 42 (1): 194-200.

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Little is known about microstructural development of cerebellar white matter in vivo. This study aimed to investigate developmental changes of the cerebellar peduncles in second- and third-trimester healthy fetuses using motion-corrected DTI and tractography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 3T data of 81 healthy fetuses were reviewed. Structural imaging consisted of multiplanar T2-single-shot sequences; DTI consisted of a series of 12-direction diffusion. A robust motion-tracked section-to-volume registration algorithm reconstructed images. ROI-based deterministic tractography was performed using anatomic landmarks described in postnatal tractography. Asymmetry was evaluated qualitatively with a perceived difference of >25% between sides. Linear regression evaluated gestational age as a predictor of tract volume, ADC, and fractional anisotropy. RESULTS: Twenty-four cases were excluded due to low-quality reconstructions. Fifty-eight fetuses with a median gestational age of 30.6 weeks (interquartile range, 7 weeks) were analyzed. The superior cerebellar peduncle was identified in 39 subjects (69%), and it was symmetric in 15 (38%). The middle cerebellar peduncle was identified in all subjects and appeared symmetric; in 13 subjects (22%), two distinct subcomponents were identified. The inferior cerebellar peduncle was not found in any subject. There was a significant increase in volume for the superior cerebellar peduncle and middle cerebellar peduncle (both,
Last updated on 02/27/2023