High angular resolution diffusion-weighted imaging in mild traumatic brain injury

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can cause subtle white matter abnormalities.
• Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) is sensitive to microstructural changes in the brain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter abnormalities in mTBI patients using DW-MRI.
• To evaluate a global analysis approach for detecting these abnormalities.

Main Methods:

• DW-MRI was performed on 102 mTBI patients and 30 controls.
• A global approach focusing on single-fiber voxels was applied, alongside tract skeleton analysis and tractography.
• Microstructural parameters were correlated with age, time from injury, patient outcome, and white matter hyperintensities.

Main Results:

• The global approach restricted to single-fiber voxels showed significantly decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased radial diffusivity in mTBI patients compared to controls.
• This single-fiber voxel approach yielded more significant and reproducible results than other methods.
• FA correlated with patient outcomes, white matter hyperintensities, and age.

Conclusions:

• A global DW-MRI approach focusing on single-fiber voxels is a promising method for detecting white matter abnormalities in mTBI.
• This method offers a potentially valuable imaging biomarker for mTBI assessment.