18F-FDG 18F-FDG Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Cortical Reorganization in Spinal Trauma

Spinal cord injury (SCI) extensively impacts the sensorimotor reorganization in the brain. The effects can be both anatomical and functional. To date, not many studies using 18F-Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) to evaluate metabolic changes in the brain are done. Understanding such changes is crucial for developing clinical management and evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for these patients.

In this study, we compared 18F-FDG PET imaging of 6 SCI patients with complete paraplegia and 19 controls. Statistical parametric mapping software was utilized to compare the images on a voxel to voxel basis (significance level P < 0.05 and clusters having >50 voxels).

The study showed raised metabolism in supplementary motor areas, comprehension centers, some areas in the parietal and temporal lobe, putamen and cerebellum while reduced metabolic uptake in areas like anterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampus and sensory cortical areas when SCI patients were compared against healthy controls. The frontal lobe showed varied results where certain regions showed higher metabolism while the others showed lower in patients compared with controls.

Cerebral deafferentation or disuse atrophy can be linked with reduced metabolism while raised uptake can be associated with initiation and planning of movement and cognitive changes in the brain posttrauma.