RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Lower diffusion in white matter of children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure
JF Neurology
JO Neurology
FD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
SP 2068
OP 2075
DO 10.1212/01.wnl.0000346516.49126.20
VO 72
IS 24
A1 Cloak, C. C.
A1 Ernst, T.
A1 Fujii, L.
A1 Hedemark, B.
A1 Chang, L.
YR 2009
UL http://n.neurology.org/content/72/24/2068.abstract
AB Background: Methamphetamine use is a common problem among women of childbearing age, leading to an increasing number of children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure. Whether microstructural brain changes associated with prenatal methamphetamine exposure can be detected with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is unknown. Method: Twelve-direction DTI was performed in 29 methamphetamine-exposed and 37 unexposed children ages 3–4 years on a 3-T MRI scanner. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were determined in the corpus callosum (genu and splenium) and bilaterally in the frontal and parietal white matter (WM), basal ganglia (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus), and thalamus. Results: Children with prenatal methamphetamine exposure had lower ADC in the frontal (right: −2.1%, p = 0.04; left: −2.0%, p = 0.09) and parietal WM (right: −3.9%, p = 0.002; left: −3.3%, p = 0.02) compared to unexposed children. The methamphetamine-exposed children also showed a trend for higher FA in the left frontal WM (+4.9%, p = 0.06) compared to the unexposed children. Conclusion: Since less myelination and higher dendritic or spine density have been reported in animals exposed to methamphetamine, lower diffusion in our children may reflect more compact axons or greater dendritic or spine density associated with prenatal methamphetamine exposure. These findings suggest alterations in white matter maturation in these children exposed to methamphetamine in utero. ADC=apparent diffusion coefficient; ANOVA=analysis of variance; ASI=Addiction Severity Index; CES-D=Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale; DSM-IV=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition; DTI=diffusion tensor imaging; EPI=echoplanar imaging; FA=fractional anisotropy; ISP=Index of Social Position; NART-R=National Adult Reading Test; ROI=region of interest; SASSI=Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory; TE=echo time; TI=inversion time; TR=repetition time; VIQ=verbal intelligence; WM=white matter.