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• Clinical Article •
Quantitative study on the brain of children with global developmental delay using synthetic MRI techniques
LI Tianyu  ZHAO Xin  ZHOU Liang  WANG Changhao  LU Lin  CHENG Meiying  ZHANG Xiaoan 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.12.006.


[Abstract] Objective Using synthetic MRI (SyMRI) technology to analyze brain microstructural changes in children with global developmental delay and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of T1 and T2 relaxation values and proton density (PD) values in SyMRI.Materials and Methods The study was conducted from May 2024 to October 2024, involving 55 children with global developmental delay (GDD group) and 30 typically developing children (TD group) from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. SyMRI sequences and clinical data were collected. Post-processing was performed to derive SyMRI parameters, and T1 and T2 relaxation values and PD values were measured in eight gray matter regions of interest (ROIs) for all children. Correlation analyses were performed between the T1, T2, and PD values of brain regions with significant differences and clinical scales. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy SyMRI parameters.Results Compared to the TD group, the GDD group showed increased T1 relaxation values in the left parietal gray matter and right occipital gray matter, T2 relaxation values in the left parietal gray matter and bilateral temporal gray matter, as well as PD values in the left temporal gray matter and right occipital gray matter. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.003). Correlation analyses revealed that the T1 relaxation values in the left parietal gray matter were positively correlated with adaptive behavior developmental quotient (r = 0.327, P = 0.015) and personal-social developmental quotient (r = 0.535, P < 0.001). The T2 relaxation values in the left parietal gray matter were positively correlated with adaptive behavior developmental quotient (r = 0.449, P = 0.001). The T2 relaxation values in the left temporal gray matter were positively correlated with adaptive behavior developmental quotient (r = 0.348, P = 0.009) and personal-social developmental quotient (r = 0.321, P = 0.017). The PD values in the left temporal gray matter were positively correlated with fine motor developmental quotient (r = 0.322, P = 0.017). ROC curve analysis indicated that the T2 relaxation value of left parietal gray matter had the largest area under the curve, at 0.752.Conclusions SyMRI parameters can indicate abnormal brain microstructure in GDD children, aiding in understanding GDD pathophysiology and offering potential value for early recognition and diagnosis.
[Keywords] global developmental delay；synthetic magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance imaging；brain microstructure；Gesell Developmental Scales

LI Tianyu1, 2, 3   ZHAO Xin1, 2, 3   ZHOU Liang1, 2, 3   WANG Changhao1, 2, 3   LU Lin1, 2, 3   CHENG Meiying1, 2, 3   ZHANG Xiaoan1, 2, 3*  

1 Department of Radiology, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

2 Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Zhengzhou 450052, China

3 Henan Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neuroimaging Medicine, Zhengzhou 450052, China

Corresponding author: ZHANG X A, E-mail: zxa@zzu.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-07-03
Accepted  2025-10-31
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.12.006
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.12.006.

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