Role of Neuroimaging Modality in the Assessment of Oxidative Stress in Brain: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Background & Objective:Oxidative stress (OS) is the secondary source of an injury in consequence to the earlier caused primary injury; it is the condition of an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants within the physiological system. OS causes alterations in proteins and DNA structure, leading to inflammation, apoptotic cell death, and tissue damage. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Glioma-induced neurodegeneration and the normal aging-related neuro-degeneration are primarily associated with the increased OS. The present review article is committed to delivering a comprehensive overview of the current neuroimaging modalities which estimates an indirect correlate of OS in the brain. OS-induced changes in white matter tracts and the gray matter volumes are reviewed assessing the role of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) respectively. Further, the role of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to assess the OS-induced alterations of chemical moieties, and thus the resultant structural implications in the neurological disorders are also briefly as well as precisely reviewed.Conclusions:In the present review article we present an overview of the role of neuroimaging modalities in the diagnosis, and longitudinal assessment during treatment of the OS induced changes.