http://www.nitrc.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=7763 <table border="0" width="100%"><tr><td align="left"/></tr></table> <p><b>Region-specific connectivity in patients with periventricular nodular heterotopia and epilepsy: A study combining diffusion tensor imaging and functional MRI.</b></p> <p>Epilepsy Res. 2017 Aug 23;136:137-142</p> <p>Authors: Liu W, An D, Tong X, Niu R, Gong Q, Zhou D</p> <p>Abstract<br/> OBJECTIVES: Periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) is an important cause of chronic epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate region-specific connectivity in PNH patients with epilepsy and assess correlation between connectivity strength and clinical factors including duration and prognosis.<br/> METHODS: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting state functional MRI (fMRI) were performed in 28 subjects (mean age 27.4years; range 9-56years). The structural connectivity of fiber bundles passing through the manually-selected segmented nodules and other brain regions were analyzed by tractography. Cortical lobes showing functional correlations to nodules were also determined.<br/> RESULTS: For all heterotopic gray matter nodules, including at least one in each subject, the most frequent segments to which nodular heterotopia showed structural (132/151) and functional (146/151) connectivity were discrete regions of the ipsilateral overlying cortex. Agreement between diffusion tensor tractography and functional connectivity analyses was conserved in 81% of all nodules (122/151). In patients with longer duration or refractory epilepsy, the connectivity was significantly stronger, particularly to the frontal and temporal lobes (P&lt;0.05).<br/> CONCLUSIONS: Nodules in PNH were structurally and functionally connected to the cortex. The extent is stronger in patients with longstanding or intractable epilepsy. These findings suggest the region-specific interactions may help better evaluate prognosis and seek medical or surgical interventions of PNH-related epilepsy.<br/> </p><p>PMID: 28850831 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]</p> en-us Copyright 2000-2026 NITRC OSI Sat, 02 May 2026 23:32:39 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss NITRC RSS generator