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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2011; 21(03): 221-224
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.85372
Neuroradiology

Diffusion tensor imaging in spinal cord injury

Ravindra B Kamble
Department of Radiology and Neurosciences, BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Neelam K Venkataramana
Department of Radiology and Neurosciences, BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Arun L Naik
Department of Radiology and Neurosciences, BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
,
Shailesh V Rao
Department of Radiology and Neurosciences, BGS Global Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
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Abstract

Background and Purpose: To assess the feasibility of spinal tractography in patients of spinal cord injury vs a control group and to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) values between the groups. Materials and Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed in the spinal cord of 29 patients (18 patients and 11 controls). DTI was done in the cervical region if the cord injury was at the dorsal or lumbar region and in the conus region if cord injury was in the cervical or dorsal region. FA was calculated for the patients and the controls and the values were compared. Results: The mean FA value was 0.550±0.09 in the control group and 0.367±0.14 in the patients; this difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). Conclusion: Spinal tractography is a feasible technique to assess the extent of spinal cord injury by FA, which is reduced in patients of spinal cord injury, suggesting possible Wallerian degeneration. In future, this technique may become a useful tool for assessing cord injury patients after stem cell therapy, with improvement in FA values indicating axonal regeneration.

Keywords

Fractional anisotropy - MRI - spinal cord injury - tensor imaging


Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
30. Juli 2021

© 2011. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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