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A prospective study of secondary degeneration following subcortical infarction using diffusion tensor imaging

¹ Department of Neurology and Stroke Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
² Medical Imaging Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
³ Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor Jinsheng Zeng
Department of Neurology and Stroke Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No 58 Zhongshan Road II, Guangzhou, 510080, PR China; zengjs{at}pub.guangzhou.gd.cn

Background: Secondary degeneration of the pyramidal tract distal to the primary lesion after a stroke has been detected by some studies using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) but its potential clinical significance and the degeneration of the fibre tract proximal to the primary lesion have received little attention.

Methods: Twelve patients underwent DTI on the 1st, 4th and 12th week following a subcortical infarct involving the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and 12 age and sex matched controls underwent DTI once. The DTI parameters mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy (FA), and the clinical scores before DTI examination, including the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), the Fugl–Meyer (FM) scale and the Barthel index (BI), were assessed. The relations between the per cent changes in DTI parameters and clinical scores were analysed.

Results: From the 1st to the 12th week after stroke onset, FA values decreased (p<0.01, respectively) in the fibre tract above and below the internal capsule, and the NIHSS decreased (p<0.01) but the FM scale and BI increased (p<0.01, respectively) progressively. The per cent reductions in FA value in the fibre tract above and below the internal capsule were negatively correlated with the per cent changes in NIHSS and FM scale (p<0.05, respectively).

Conclusions: Secondary degeneration of the fibre tract proximal and distal to a primary lesion can be detected by DTI clearly and quantitatively and deteriorates with time progressively, which may hamper functional recovery after a subcortical cerebral infarct.

Abbreviations: BI, Barthel Index; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; FA, fractional anisotropy; FLAIR, fluid attenuated inversion recovery; FM, Fugl–Meyer; MD, mean diffusivity; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; ROI, region of interest; WD, Wallerian degeneration

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Tracking the dynamics of secondary degeneration after stroke

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