Magnetic resonance imaging-based evaluation of parasagittal dura in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Motivation: To date, the assessment of cerebral parasagittal dura (PSD), a tissue lining the superior sagittal sinus, remains unexplored in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Goal(s): Our goal was to quantify the volume of PSD using 3D-T2 Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (3D-FLAIR) in young children with ASD and investigate correlations between PSD volume and both morphological and clinical variables. Approach: We employed a customized U-net for the automatic segmentation of PSD. Results: The study revealed a significant positive correlation between PSD volume and extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid volume, and a significant negative correlation with the degree of developmental delay in children with ASD. Impact: Our findings indicate that PSD volume may play a key role in neurodevelopment by affecting cerebrospinal fluid dynamics. This highlights the need for further research to understand alterations in the dynamics of neurofluids in the developing brain and in ASD.