Traumatic Axonal Injury: Relationships Between Lesions in the Early Phase and Diffuse Tensor Imaging Parameters in the Chronic Phase Of Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic axonal injury (TAI), which occurs in the white matter of the
brain, is a common consequence of
traumatic brain injury (TBI). Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), damage to the white matter
can be classified as nonhemorrhagic or microhemorrhagic, and some DTI
parameters such as fractional anisotropy (FA) can assess the degree of
diffusion restriction in white matter fibers surrounding the injured area.
A recent study in Norway investigated the relationship between DTI and
FA measures of white matter across different stages of TBI. Researchers
administered clinical MRI to 38 TBI patients in both the early phase and
the chronic phase of injury, classifying each patient’s TAI damage
as either transient or persistent.
The researchers determined the following:
- Participants with persistent white matter damage scored lower on FA values than participants with transient white matter damage.
- Those with transient damage scored lower on FA values than healthy participants.
- The presence and type of TAI lesions in affected white matter can significantly affect FA values.
Because the timing of TAI lesions can affect damage to white matter, early
MRI intervention in TBI cases may provide clinicians with information
that is crucial to creating an appropriate long-term treatment plan for
each patient.
Source: Moen KG, Vik A, Olsen A, et al. Traumatic axonal injury: Relationships
between lesions in the early phase and diffuse tensor imaging parameters
in the chronic phase of traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neuroscience
Research. (June 2016).
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