Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ajnr.A1272v1 29/10/1976 most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ellingson, B.M. Articles by Schmit, B.D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ellingson, B.M. Articles by Schmit, B.D. Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight? American Journal of Neuroradiology 29:1976-1982, November-December 2008 © 2008 American Society of Neuroradiology SPINE Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury B.M. Ellingson a , J.L. Ulmer b , S.N. Kurpad c and B.D. Schmit a a Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis b Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis c Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis Please address correspondence to Brian D. Schmit, PhD, Marquette University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881; e-mail: brian.schmit@marquette.edu BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diffusion tensor MR imaging is emerging as an important tool for displaying anatomic changes in the brain after injury or disease but has been less widely applied to disorders of the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to characterize the diffusion properties of the entire human spinal cord in vivo during the chronic stages of spinal cord injury (SCI). These data provide insight into the structural changes that occur as a result of long-term recovery from spinal trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen neurologically intact subjects and 10 subjects with chronic SCI (>4 years postinjury) were enrolled in this study. A single-shot twice-refocused spin-echo diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging pulse sequence was used to obtain axial images throughout the entire spinal cord (C1-L1) in <60 minutes. RESULTS: Despite heterogeneity in SCI lesion severity and location, diffusion characteristics of the chronic lesion were significantly elevated compared with those of uninjured controls. Fractional anisotropy was significantly lower at the chronic lesion and appeared dependent on the completeness of the injury. Conversely, mean diffusivity measurements in the upper cervical spinal cord in subjects with SCI were significantly lower than those in controls. These trends suggest that the entire neuraxis may be affected by long-term recovery from spinal trauma. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that diffusion tensor imaging may be useful in the assessment of SCI recovery. This article has been cited by other articles: T. H. Kim, L. Zollinger, X. F. Shi, S. E. Kim, J. Rose, A. A. Patel, and E. K. Jeong Quantification of Diffusivities of the Human Cervical Spinal Cord Using a 2D Single-Shot Interleaved Multisection Inner Volume Diffusion-Weighted Echo-Planar Imaging Technique AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., April 1, 2010; 31(4): 682 - 687. Abstract Full Text PDF Home Subscribe Author Instructions Submit Online Search the AJNR Archives Feedback Help Copyright © 2010 by the American Society of Neuroradiology. Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Neuroradiology American Journal of Neuroradiology

Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Loading next page...
 
/lp/american-journal-of-neuroradiology/diffusion-tensor-mr-imaging-in-chronic-spinal-cord-injury-pdJVaSu5j3

References (47)

Publisher
American Journal of Neuroradiology
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the American Society of Neuroradiology.
ISSN
0195-6108
eISSN
1936-959X
DOI
10.3174/ajnr.A1272
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: ajnr.A1272v1 29/10/1976 most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ellingson, B.M. Articles by Schmit, B.D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ellingson, B.M. Articles by Schmit, B.D. Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight? American Journal of Neuroradiology 29:1976-1982, November-December 2008 © 2008 American Society of Neuroradiology SPINE Diffusion Tensor MR Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury B.M. Ellingson a , J.L. Ulmer b , S.N. Kurpad c and B.D. Schmit a a Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis b Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis c Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wis Please address correspondence to Brian D. Schmit, PhD, Marquette University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881; e-mail: brian.schmit@marquette.edu BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diffusion tensor MR imaging is emerging as an important tool for displaying anatomic changes in the brain after injury or disease but has been less widely applied to disorders of the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to characterize the diffusion properties of the entire human spinal cord in vivo during the chronic stages of spinal cord injury (SCI). These data provide insight into the structural changes that occur as a result of long-term recovery from spinal trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen neurologically intact subjects and 10 subjects with chronic SCI (>4 years postinjury) were enrolled in this study. A single-shot twice-refocused spin-echo diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging pulse sequence was used to obtain axial images throughout the entire spinal cord (C1-L1) in <60 minutes. RESULTS: Despite heterogeneity in SCI lesion severity and location, diffusion characteristics of the chronic lesion were significantly elevated compared with those of uninjured controls. Fractional anisotropy was significantly lower at the chronic lesion and appeared dependent on the completeness of the injury. Conversely, mean diffusivity measurements in the upper cervical spinal cord in subjects with SCI were significantly lower than those in controls. These trends suggest that the entire neuraxis may be affected by long-term recovery from spinal trauma. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that diffusion tensor imaging may be useful in the assessment of SCI recovery. This article has been cited by other articles: T. H. Kim, L. Zollinger, X. F. Shi, S. E. Kim, J. Rose, A. A. Patel, and E. K. Jeong Quantification of Diffusivities of the Human Cervical Spinal Cord Using a 2D Single-Shot Interleaved Multisection Inner Volume Diffusion-Weighted Echo-Planar Imaging Technique AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., April 1, 2010; 31(4): 682 - 687. Abstract Full Text PDF Home Subscribe Author Instructions Submit Online Search the AJNR Archives Feedback Help Copyright © 2010 by the American Society of Neuroradiology. Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X

Journal

American Journal of NeuroradiologyAmerican Journal of Neuroradiology

Published: Nov 1, 2008

There are no references for this article.