Evaluation of myelinization related changes in brain, during infant and childhood using adc MAPS

Aim: The purpose of our work; the changes in myelinization in different regions of the brain during infancy and childhood in the normal population are assessed by measuring ADC values in routine MRI scans. Material and methods: 109 patients between 0-17 years of age who underwent brain MRI examination with a 3.0T device and whose myelinization and maturation were interpreted as normal in conventional sequences were evaluated. Based on T2 weighted images, 30 different localized ADC maps were evaluated in the workstation on all examinations. Results: In normal populations, there is a functional relationship between myelination process and ADC values during infancy and childhood. As the age increases, the ADC values decrease in all localizations, especially in the first 2 years. The ADC values, which are higher in the white matter in the postnatal process, decrease with the completion of white matter maturation and become higher in the cortical gray matter. There was no significant difference in reciprocal structures in both hemispheres except thalamus, caudate nucleus and central syntenium semiovale. There was no significant difference between the genders in the 0 to 2 year age group Conclusions: Diffusion weighted imaging and ADC maps, which are frequently used in routine MR practice in brain MR examinations, make it easy to obtain ADC values for each localization. Thus, the relationship between ADC values and myelinization process can be demonstrated in the whole brain and normative values can be obtained for multiple regions in the brain. Key Words: Myelination, diffusion weighted imaging, MRI, ADC