Asymmetry of the Frontal Aslant Tract and Development of Supplementary Motor Area Syndrome

TY - JOUR

T1 - Asymmetry of the Frontal Aslant Tract and Development of Supplementary Motor Area Syndrome

AU - Aliaga-Arias, Jahard M

AU - Jung, Josephine

AU - Lavrador, Jose Pedro

AU - Rajwani, Kapil

AU - Mirallave-Pescador, Ana

AU - Jones, Amy

AU - Wren, Hilary

AU - Gullan, Richard

AU - Bhangoo, Ranj

AU - Ashkan, Keyoumars

AU - Dell'Acqua, Flavio

AU - Vergani, Francesco

PY - 2024/11/5

Y1 - 2024/11/5

N2 - Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate preoperative interhemispheric differences of the FAT in relation to the onset of postoperative SMA syndrome. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent surgical resection of diffuse gliomas involving the SMA between 2018 and 2022. Inclusion criteria were availability of preoperative and postoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging, no previous surgery, and no neurological deficits at presentation. Diffusion-weighted data were processed by spherical deconvolution (SD) and diffusion tensor imaging tractography algorithms, and TrackVis was used to dissect the FAT of both hemispheres. The FAT data were analyzed for correlation with postoperative SMA syndrome onset. Results: N = 25 cases were included in the study, among which n = 23 had preoperative bilaterally identifiable FAT by SD. N = 12 developed an SMA syndrome, 6 demonstrated a motor-only syndrome, 4 had a verbal-only syndrome, and 2 had mixed verbal and motor features. The SMA syndrome incidence was significantly more frequent in lower-grade gliomas ( p = 0.005). On the tumor side, the FAT identified by SD was smaller than the contralateral (mean volume 6.53 cm 3 and 13.33 cm 3, respectively, p < 0.001). In the 6 cases that developed a verbal SMA syndrome, a normalized FAT volume asymmetry (FAT-VA) demonstrated an asymmetry shifted towards the non-dominant side (mean FAT-VA = -0.68), while the cases with no postoperative verbal impairment had opposite asymmetry towards the dominant side (mean FAT-VA = 0.42, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Preoperative interhemispheric FAT volume asymmetry estimated according to functional dominance can predict postoperative onset of verbal SMA syndrome, with proportionally smaller FAT on the affected dominant hemisphere.

AB - Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate preoperative interhemispheric differences of the FAT in relation to the onset of postoperative SMA syndrome. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent surgical resection of diffuse gliomas involving the SMA between 2018 and 2022. Inclusion criteria were availability of preoperative and postoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging, no previous surgery, and no neurological deficits at presentation. Diffusion-weighted data were processed by spherical deconvolution (SD) and diffusion tensor imaging tractography algorithms, and TrackVis was used to dissect the FAT of both hemispheres. The FAT data were analyzed for correlation with postoperative SMA syndrome onset. Results: N = 25 cases were included in the study, among which n = 23 had preoperative bilaterally identifiable FAT by SD. N = 12 developed an SMA syndrome, 6 demonstrated a motor-only syndrome, 4 had a verbal-only syndrome, and 2 had mixed verbal and motor features. The SMA syndrome incidence was significantly more frequent in lower-grade gliomas ( p = 0.005). On the tumor side, the FAT identified by SD was smaller than the contralateral (mean volume 6.53 cm 3 and 13.33 cm 3, respectively, p < 0.001). In the 6 cases that developed a verbal SMA syndrome, a normalized FAT volume asymmetry (FAT-VA) demonstrated an asymmetry shifted towards the non-dominant side (mean FAT-VA = -0.68), while the cases with no postoperative verbal impairment had opposite asymmetry towards the dominant side (mean FAT-VA = 0.42, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Preoperative interhemispheric FAT volume asymmetry estimated according to functional dominance can predict postoperative onset of verbal SMA syndrome, with proportionally smaller FAT on the affected dominant hemisphere.

U2 - 10.3390/cancers16223739

DO - 10.3390/cancers16223739

M3 - Article

C2 - 39594695

SN - 2072-6694

VL - 16

JO - Cancers

JF - Cancers

IS - 22

M1 - 3739

ER -