Correlation of Fractional Anisotropy (FA) Changes in Demyelination Lesion with Its Surrounding Edema in an Experimental Model

Krithika Balasubramanian¹, Senthil S. Kumaran¹, Uma Sharma¹, Naranamangalam R. Jagannathan¹

Evaluation of sequential changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) in demyelination lesion and associated edema in an experimental rat model of demyelination was carried out at 4.7T. Results showed that both FA(lesion) and FA(edema) decreased during demyelination till day 11. Decreased FA(lesion) is attributed to the damage of myelin which progressed till day 11 while reduced FA(edema) is due to breakdown of blood-brain barrier (BBB). From day 15 remyelination set in along with repair of BBB, which led to increased FA(lesion) and FA(edema). Our study thus showed that DTI may aid in better understanding of the pathophysiology of de- and re-myelination.