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White Matter Diffusion MRI project

About the project

Full title: A multi-site brain white matter diffusion MRI-study of CNS hypersomnolence patients and healthy controls

Analysis leads: Hilde T. Juvodden, Dag Alnæs, Lars T. Westlye, and Stine Knudsen-Heier

This project represents a NICHY subproject investigating white matter microstructure across CNS hypersomnolence disorders using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). This study analyzes diffusion MRI data to assess white matter integrity through multiple metrics including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). Specifically, we aim to:

  • Perform large-scale case-control comparisons of DTI metrics between narcolepsy type 1, narcolepsy type 2, idiopathic hypersomnia, Kleine-Levin Syndrome, and healthy controls.
  • Compare white matter differences between Pandemrix-vaccinated narcolepsy type 1 patients and sporadic narcolepsy type 1 patients to evaluate the potential contribution of H1N1-vaccination status to white matter changes.
  • Characterise associations between DTI metrics and clinical and sleep data (disease onset, duration, medication, HLA-DQB1*06:02 status, CSF hypocretin level, disease severity, and polysomnography or multiple sleep latency test results) across all patient groups.
  • Evaluate white matter abnormalities in idiopathic hypersomnia and Kleine-Levin Syndrome, conditions that have received minimal diffusion imaging investigation to date.

This work addresses significant gaps in understanding white matter pathology in CNS hypersomnolence disorders and may reveal shared or distinct neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, with potential implications for understanding disease mechanisms and progression.