White-matter alterations in dysthyroid optic neuropathy: a diffusion kurtosis imaging study using tract-based spatial statistics

So far, there is no gold standard to diagnosis dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON). Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) has the potential to provide imaging biomarkers for the timely and accurate diagnosis of DON. This study aimed to explore the white matter (WM) alterations in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients with and without DON using DKI with tract-based spatial statistics method.

Fifty-three TAO patients (21 DON and 32 non-DON) and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. DKI data were analyzed and compared among groups. The correlations between diffusion parameters and clinical variables were assessed. Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the feasibility of using DKI parameters to distinguish DON and non-DON.

Compared with HCs, both DON and non-DON groups exhibited significantly decreased radial kurtosis (RK), mean kurtosis (MK), axial kurtosis (AK), kurtosis fractional anisotropy, and fractional anisotropy values in several WM tracts. No significant differences were observed in mean diffusivity values among groups. Meanwhile, DON patients exhibited lower RK, MK, and AK values than non-DON patients mainly in the visual system. Significant correlations were observed between RK values of posterior thalamic radiation (PTR) and best-corrected visual acuity. For distinguishing DON, the RK values of PTR exhibited decent diagnostic performance.

Microstructural abnormalities in WM, especially in the visual system, could provide novel insights into the potential neural mechanisms of the disease, thereby contributing to the timely diagnosis of DON and the development of neuroprotective therapy.