Advanced MRI uncovers neurological insights in patients with Down syndrome
Ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging is allowing researchers to understand subtle differences in the brains of people with Down syndrome. The insights may help better measure patients’ cognitive skills.
That’s according to pediatric and imaging experts from Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic and many other organizations who shared their findings in Brain Communications.
With this advanced technology, researchers created highly detailed maps of the hippocampus, revealing structural and functional keys within this brain region that are instrumental to memory and learning.
“The gains in sensitivity and image resolution achievable with ultra-high field MRI provide levels of detail and accuracy that have not previously been attainable in studies of live, non-sedated individuals with Down syndrome,” first author Katherine Koenig, PhD, an assistant professor of radiology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western, explained Thursday.
The extra chromosome in those born with Down syndrome changes brain and body development, which can lead to mental and physical challenges, the authors explained. And while these abilities can vary widely among people, intellectual and developmental afflictions are often generalized.
“In other words, although abilities can range widely among people with DS, different types of cognitive skills are usually affected in a similar way in the same person,” the authors added.
For their investigation, Koenig and colleagues performed high-powered brain MR imaging on 34 individuals with Down syndrome and 27 age-matched controls.
They found a “significant” relationship between the size of subregions within the hippocampus and cognitive measures. It is the first real-time comparison of volumes within different segments of the hippocampus between these two groups of patients, the scientists noted.
“Although more work will be necessary to validate some of our findings, these results support the investigation of specific MRI measures as potential markers to study drug efficacy for possibly enhancing cognitive function in persons with Down syndrome,” senior author Alberto Costa, a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, concluded in a statement.
Read the entire study published April 19 in Brain Communications here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.