HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Polish Translation Turkish Data Supplement Correspondence: Submit a response Correspondence: View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Petropoulos, H. Articles by Dager, S. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Petropoulos, H. Articles by Dager, S. R. Related Collections MRI Autism

Gray matter abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder revealed by T2 relaxation

From the Departments of Radiology (H.P., S.D.F., D.W.W.S., S.R.D.), Anesthesiology (A.A.A.), Psychology (G.D.), Psychiatry (S.R.D.), and Bioengineering (S.R.D.), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Dager, Neuroimaging Research Group, Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1100 NE 45 St., Suite 555, Seattle, WA 98105; e-mail: srd{at}u.washington.edu

Objective: To perform quantitative T2 relaxation measurements to evaluate cerebral water content in children with autism.

Methods: Sixty 2- to 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 16 age-matched children with idiopathic developmental delay (DD), and 10 children with typical development (TD) were scanned on a 1.5 T GE MRI scanner to obtain dual-echo fast spin echo images (2.5 mm thick, 0-mm gap). Images were segmented into gray and white matter and used to mask regions of interest for calculating T2 for each tissue type. Analysis of variance, covarying for age and sex, was used to compare T2 between groups, and correlations were used to compare T2 to IQ measures.

Results: Children with ASD had prolonged cortical gray matter T2, but white matter T2 was not significantly different, compared with the children with TD. T2 was prolonged in cortical gray matter and white matter in children with DD compared with children with ASD or TD. Significant interactions between T2 measures and IQ were not observed.

Conclusions: Prolonged gray and white matter T2 in the children with developmental delay likely represents a delay in neuronal development and maturation. Prolonged T2 in gray matter, but not white matter, observed in children with autism spectrum disorder may signify abnormal developmental processes specific to autism.

Supported by a program project grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (U19HD34565) and by the NIMH(U54MH066399).

Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Received November 14, 2005. Accepted in final form April 25, 2006.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. J. Minshew and D. L. Williams The New Neurobiology of Autism: Cortex, Connectivity, and Neuronal Organization Arch Neurol, July 1, 2007; 64(7): 945 - 950. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Loddo, S. R. Dager, H. Petropoulos, S. D. Friedman, and D. W.W. Shaw Gray matter abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder revealed by T2 relaxation Neurology, April 10, 2007; 68(15): 1237 - 1238. [Full Text] [PDF]

				MRI T2 Relaxation Is Slowed in Cortical Gray Matter in Preschoolers with Autism Journal Watch Neurology, January 9, 2007; 2007(109): 4 - 4. [Full Text]

Correspondence: