Abstract #1614

Takahashi M, Hackney D, Vartanian T

MRI determination of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in nervous tissue has demonstrated sensitivity to axonal diameter and density. The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) has been shown to be an indicator of tissue injury. In the present study, we performed the MRI measurements of ADCs and MTR in the rat optic nerve crush injury model at one week and one month after the surgery. The results demonstrated that MR determination of ADC and MTR correlated with time after injury and severity of axonal damage and both parameters would be evaluated together as a stronger indicator than any one parameter alone.