Anastasiya Batrachenko1, 2, Arnaud Guidon1, 3, Jessica Sun4, Mohamad Mikati5, Joanne Kurtzberg6, 7, Allen W. Song1, 8
1Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Medical Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 3Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 4Pediatrics, Pediatric Oncology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 5Pediatric Neurology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 6Pediatrics, Pediatrics Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 7Pathology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 8Radiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
In this study, we correlate diffusion connectivity metrics of the corticospinal tract with clinical behavioral scores in children with cerebral palsy undergoing autologous cord blood stem cell treatment. In diplegic and quadriplegic patients, total tract volumes were shown to have a significant inverse linear correlation with the disease severity scores. In hemiplegic patients, the fraction of the affected tract volume generally tends to decrease with greater disease severity, but also suggests cases of possible functional compensation by the unaffected tract. Standardized quantitative DTI will furthermore help characterize causes and effects of cerebral palsy manifestations and the treatment response mechanisms.