Manoj Kumar1, Deepa Pal1,
1Radiodiagnosis, Sanjay Gandhi Post
Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; 2Mathematics
and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology, , Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh,
India; 3Neurosurgery, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical
University,, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Diffusion
tensor imaging (DTI) was performed within 7 days and after 6 months of injury
in 21 traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with frontal lobe injury and 21
age/sex matched controls. Diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) was proposed
for quantification of various white matter (WM) tracts in patients with
frontal lobe injury to assess diffuse axonal injury (DAI) and to look for
correlation of these fiber bundles measures with various neuropsychological
tests (NPT). We found reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased mean
diffusivity (MD) values in all WM tracts in TBI patients compared to
controls, NPT scores were found to be significantly impaired in follow-up
patients compare to controls and some of these tests showed significant
correlation with DTI indices with different WM tracts. WM tracts which show
significant difference on DTT were also correlated with those NPT which are
associated with main function of frontal lobe such as memory, attention,
visual and motor function. It appears more realistic methods for DAI
quantification in TBI patients and provides information about structural
integrity and connectivity of whole fiber tracts.