Hemispheric Differences in Brain Diffusion Values in 3 Tesla MR

Objectives:The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the variability of the diffusion values in different anatomical regions of the brain.Materials and Methods:3T diffusion MR images of 190 patients underwent brain imaging were evaluated. Patients were divided into groups according to ages: 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69. The ROIs were placed in the frontal, temporal, occipital, parietal lobes, cerebellum, thalamus, to be of equal size in both hemispheres. The ADC values obtained were standardized by dividing by the ADC values obtained from the ventricle.Results:One hundred and ninety patients, 97 men and 93 women, aged between 20 and 69 years, were included in the study. The mean ADC values were: frontal lobe=726,8x10-3 mm2/sec (532-945x10-3 mm2/sec), cerebellum=680x10-3 mm2/sec (586-816x10-3 mm2/(609- 996x10-3 mm2/sec) in the temporal lobe=791,2x10-3 mm2/sec (448-945x10-3 mm2/sec), parietal=789,9x10-3 mm2/sec (671-935 x10-3 mm2/sec) and in the occipital=790,6x10-3 mm2/sec (690-973x10-3 mm2/sec). Significant differences were found in the frontal, temporal lobes and cerebellum (p=0.600, p=0.430, p=0.227, respectively) in the thalamus, parietal and occipital lobes when the whole brain was evaluated. 0.011, p=0.000, p=0.000). There was a significant difference between all age groups for all lobes. When the frontal lobe, cerebellum, thalamus, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes were evaluated, the highest ADC values were obtained between ages 60-69 (748±44×10-3 mm2/sec, 689±34×10-3 mm2/sec, 731±41x10-3 mm2/sec, 827+41x10-3 mm2/sec, 809+56x10-3 mm2/sec, 821+56x10-3 mm2/sec).Conclusion:In different anatomical regions of brain, diffusion values are different.