Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 24, 2025
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chronic Spinal Cord Compression
Published on: May 7, 2019
Clinical Utility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a Biomarker to Identify Microstructural Changes in Pediatric Spinal
Laura Krisa1,2,3, Devon M Middleton4, Sona Saksena4
1Department of Physical Therapy, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Background:
Lack of clarity about the neurological consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI) in children causes speculation about diagnoses, recovery potential, and treatment effectiveness. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has shown promising results as a biomarker to evaluate spinal cord integrity at a microstructural level.
Objectives:
To look at the difference between pediatric participants with and without SCI to determine which DTI metrics best categorize spinal cord tissue damage and to correlate DTI metrics with two clinical measures: Capabilities of the Upper Extremity Test (CUE-T) and Spinal Cord Independence Measure version III (SCIM-III).
Methods:
This single-site, prospective study included pediatric participants with SCI (n = 26) and typically developed (TD) control subjects (n = 36). All participants underwent two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on a 3T MR scanner. Participants with SCI also completed the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI), CUE-T, and SCIM-III outcomes measures.
Results:
This study found significant strength of association between fractional anisotropy (FA) and upper extremity muscle strength (UEMS) in participants with SCI. Most DTI parameters showed a significant difference between participants with SCI and TD participants and a moderate correlation with the CUE-T total score. Regional effects on group differences were found to be significant.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates the strength of association between DTI parameters and clinical measures in the pedantic SCI population. It illustrates DTI as a potential biomarker of SCI location and severity in the pediatric SCI population.
