Diffusion tensor imaging alterations in patients with postconcussion syndrome undergoing exercise treatment: a pilot...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Postconcussion syndrome (PCS) presents complex neurological challenges.
• Understanding the underlying white matter integrity in PCS is crucial for effective treatment.
• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) offers insights into brain microstructure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate DTI characteristics in patients with PCS.
• To compare DTI findings between PCS patients undergoing exercise or placebo treatments and healthy controls.
• To assess changes in white matter integrity over an 8-week period.

Main Methods:

• DTI magnetic resonance imaging was performed on PCS patients at baseline and follow-up.
• Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and z-score mapping were used for groupwise and localized anomaly analysis.
• Comparisons were made against a group of healthy controls.

Main Results:

• TBSS identified groupwise differences in the genu of the corpus callosum in PCS patients.
• Z-score analysis revealed heterogeneous, localized fractional anisotropy changes in various white matter regions.
• Abnormal regions in PCS patients showed significant differences compared to controls and changed over time, but did not correlate with symptom improvement.

Conclusions:

• DTI demonstrates persistent, spatially varying, and heterogeneous white matter irregularities in PCS patients.
• These DTI-detected anomalies persist despite symptom decrease and prognosis improvement in PCS.
• DTI is a sensitive tool for detecting subtle white matter changes in postconcussion syndrome.