Nikolaus Krebs1, 2, Christian Langkammer3, Stefan Ropele3, Franz Fazekas3, Walter Goessler4, Kathrin Yen5, Eva Scheurer1, 2
1Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Clinical-Forensic Imaging, Graz, Austria; 2Medical University, Graz, Austria; 3Department of Neurology, Medical University, Graz, Austria; 4Institute of Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry, Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria; 5Institute of Legal Medicine and Traffic Medicine, University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
Diffuse axonal injury can be observed following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and might be associated with diffusivity changes. Therefore, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity values were investigated using in situ diffusion tensor imaging in corpses having died of TBI and an uninjured age and temperature matched control group. Additionally, wet-to-dry mass ratios of the same regions were determined to estimate influence of posttraumatic edema. Decreased fractional anisotropy and significantly increased mean diffusivity values were observed in posttraumatic white matter regions. In combination with indifferent wet-to-dry mass ratios these results might suggest a direct influence of traumatic injury on postmortem diffusivity.