Article

The authors report on a patient with traumatic brain injury who showed recovery
of an injured lower portion of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)
between the pontine reticular formation and the thalamus.
A 57-yr-old male
patient experienced head trauma. After 4 mos from onset, he exhibited impaired
alertness, with a score of 7 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. At 40 mos after onset,
the patient had a full Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15. The lower portion of the
ARAS was reconstructed using the probabilistic tractography method. On 4-mo
diffusion tensor tractography, the fractional anisotropy and the tract volume of
the lower portion of the right ARAS were lower by more than 2 SDs of those of
control subjects. By contrast, on 40-mo diffusion tensor tractography, the
fractional anisotropy and the tract volume values of the lower portion of the
right ARAS were within 2 SDs of those of the control subjects.
The increment
fractional anisotropy and the FV value of the lower portion of the right ARAS on
40-mo diffusion tensor tractography indicated recovery of the injured lower ARAS.
As a result, recovery of an injured lower portion of the ARAS in a patient with
traumatic brain injury was demonstrated.

Langue : ANGLAIS