Related Experiment Videos
Whole-brain apparent diffusion coefficient in traumatic brain injury: correlation with Glasgow Coma Scale score
Kathirkamanathan Shanmuganathan1, Rao P Gullapalli, Stuart E Mirvis
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, USA.
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology
|April 20, 2004
Summary
Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histograms can detect traumatic brain injury (TBI) even with normal MRI. Peak ADC values strongly correlate with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, indicating the severity of neurologic dysfunction in TBI patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Radiology
- Medical Physics
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause cellular disruption.
- Low Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores in TBI patients may indicate severe injury.
- Whole-brain apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histograms offer a method to study cellular disruption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that ADC histograms can detect TBI-related cellular disruption.
- To correlate ADC parameters with GCS scores in TBI patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 21 TBI patients and 11 controls.
- Generation and normalization of whole-brain ADC maps and histograms.
- Determination of mean and peak ADC values and correlation with GCS scores.
Main Results:
- Peak histogram values significantly differed between controls and TBI groups with low GCS scores.
- ADC histogram values were significantly skewed in TBI groups compared to controls.
- Peak ADC values showed a strong correlation with GCS scores (R² = 0.67).
Conclusions:
- Whole-brain peak ADC values are significantly correlated with GCS scores in TBI patients.
- ADC histograms can independently indicate TBI, even when conventional MRI findings are normal.
- ADC parameters better represent the degree of neurologic dysfunction in TBI.