Thalamus morphology in healthy and disease patients: MRI retrospective study

Background: The thalamus, are large, gray masses that act as an evolved sensory and motor gateway to the cortex. The thalamus has been implicated in the pathophysiology of several illnesses. In this study we measure and compare the size of thalamus and interthalamic adhesion using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between normal, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis Arab patients. Moreover, we assess the gender differences and right-left differences of the thalamus and interthalamic adhesion in all three groups Materials: and methods: This prospective study was used T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance images (MRI) to measure the anteroposterior, transvers and vertical length of the thalamic and interthalamic adhesion. The MRI scan were obtained from 150 (75 males and 75 females) healthy participants, 100 (52 males and 48 females) Alzheimer’s patients, and a 100 (56 males and 44 females) multiple sclerosis patients. Results: The thalamus and interthalamic adhesion size were significantly reduce in both Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis patients comparing to healthy controls. There was no correlation between gender or right-left sides and the dimensions of the thalamus and interthalamic adhesion within the same disease group. Conclusion: The study showed a correlation between some neurodegenerative disorder and the thalamus and interthalamic adhesion size. The gender and the right-left sides not effecting the thalamus and interthalamic adhesion size within the same neurodegenerative disorder group.