Altered brain tissue viscoelasticity in pediatric cerebral palsy measured by magnetic resonance elastography

Charlotte A. Chaze; Grace McIlvain; Daniel R. Smith; Gabrielle M. Villermaux; Peyton L. Delgorio; Henry G. Wright; Kenneth J. Rogers; Freeman Miller; Jeremy R. Crenshaw; Curtis L. Johnson

NeuroImage: Clinical (Jan 2019)

Altered brain tissue viscoelasticity in pediatric cerebral palsy measured by magnetic resonance elastography

Charlotte A. Chaze,
Grace McIlvain,
Daniel R. Smith,
Gabrielle M. Villermaux,
Peyton L. Delgorio,
Henry G. Wright,
Kenneth J. Rogers,
Freeman Miller,
Jeremy R. Crenshaw,
Curtis L. Johnson

Affiliations

Charlotte A. Chaze: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Grace McIlvain: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Daniel R. Smith: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Gabrielle M. Villermaux: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Peyton L. Delgorio: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Henry G. Wright: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Kenneth J. Rogers: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, United States
Freeman Miller: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, United States
Jeremy R. Crenshaw: Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
Curtis L. Johnson: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States; Corresponding author at: 150 Academy St, Newark, DE 19716, United States.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 22

Abstract

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that results in functional motor impairment and disability in children. CP is characterized by neural injury though many children do not exhibit brain lesions or damage. Advanced structural MRI measures may be more sensitively related to clinical outcomes in this population. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) measures the viscoelastic mechanical properties of brain tissue, which vary extensively between normal and disease states, and we hypothesized that the viscoelasticity of brain tissue is reduced in children with CP. Using a global region-of-interest-based analysis, we found that the stiffness of the cerebral gray matter in children with CP is significantly lower than in typically developing (TD) children, while the damping ratio of gray matter is significantly higher in CP. A voxel-wise analysis confirmed this finding, and additionally found stiffness and damping ratio differences between groups in regions of white matter. These results indicate that there is a difference in brain tissue health in children with CP that is quantifiable through stiffness and damping ratio measured with MRE. Understanding brain tissue mechanics in the pediatric CP population may aid in the diagnosis and evaluation of CP. Keywords: Cerebral palsy, Magnetic resonance elastography, Stiffness, Brain, Pediatric, Viscoelasticity

Published in NeuroImage: Clinical

ISSN: 2213-1582 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics; Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage-clinical/

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