Using an advanced imaging technique, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine were able to predict which patients who’d recently suffered concussions were likely to fully recover. The study also sheds light on the brain’s mechanisms for repairing or compensating for concussion injuries—information that could speed the development of therapies. The study was published online today in the American Journal of Neuroradiology. “Until now, we haven’t had a reliable way to differentiate in advance those who may be burdened long-term and those who would have a complete recovery,” said Sara Strauss, M.D., the study’s lead author.
In the current study, researchers tested whether brain abnormalities identified on DTI of individual concussion patients could distinguish between those patients who will eventually recover and those who will not. DTI was performed on 39 patients diagnosed with mild TBI and on 40 healthy controls. The DTI image of each patient was compared with images for the entire group of healthy controls to see where patients’ brains were abnormal. A year later, 26 of the concussion patients returned for follow-up assessments.
DTI imaging comparing concussion patients and healthy controls revealed two types of white-matter abnormalities in patients: (1) areas of abnormally low FA that correlate with axon damage and the cognitive impairment that can affect concussion patients; and (2) other brain areas with abnormally high FA that may indicate where the brain has responded favorably to injury, perhaps by more efficiently connecting axons or by remyelinating injured tissue. The amount of high FA imaged in brains predicted patients’ outcomes following concussion. Having a greater volume of abnormally high FA white-matter areas was associated with better outcomes on follow-up assessments.
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