Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) affects besides muscle also the brain, resulting in memory and behavioral problems. The consequences of dystrophinopathy on gross macroscopic alterations are unclear. To elucidate the effect of dystrophin expression on brain morphology, we used high-resolution post-mortem MRI in mouse models that either express 0% (mdx), 100% (BL10) or a low amount of full-length dystrophin (mdx-Xist∆hs). While absence or low amounts of dystrophin did not result in significantly different whole brain volume and skull morphology, we found differences in volume of individual brain structures. The found results are in line with observations in humans, where whole brain volume was found to be reduced only in patients lacking both full-length dystrophin and the shorter isoform Dp140.

Template and brain volumesThis zip file contains the following information: mouse brain template, brain ROIs, registration settings and the processed data. Each mouse brain was registered to a template mouse brain and volumes (whole brain + 22 structures) were extracted using the ROIs. Volumes are stored [per structure per mouse] and volumes are stored [per structure per strain].MRI data part 1Contains Bruker scan data (including localizer scans) as 2dseq files and can be easily read with Bruker ParaVision software. On request, data can be converted to Nifti/Dicom.MRI data part 2Contains Bruker scan data (including localizer scans) as 2dseq files and can be easily read with Bruker ParaVision software. On request, data can be converted to Nifti/Dicom.