Article

The survival rate for hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HI-BI) is less
than 20%. Several brain regions, including the caudate, hippocampus, and
hypothalamus, are vulnerable to HI-BI. Hypothalamus is involved in regulation of
temperature, sleep-wakefulness cycle, emotional behavior, and memory function.
Using diffusion tensor imaging, we examined injury of the hypothalamus in
patients with HI-BI. METHODS: Twelve patients with HI-BI and 27 healthy control
subjects were recruited. The region of interest was defined for the hypothalamus
and the fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient were measured.
RESULTS: The fractional anisotropy value was significantly lower in the patient
group compared with the control group (P < 0.05), whereas the apparent diffusion
coefficient value was significantly higher compared with that of the control
group (P < 0.05). In the individual analysis, 7 (58.3%) of 12 patients and 14
(58.3%) of 24 hemispheres showed a decrement or increment of more than two SDs in
either fractional anisotropy or apparent diffusion coefficient values compared
with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Using diffusion tensor imaging, injury of
the hypothalamus was demonstrated in patients with HI-BI. Our methodology and
results of this study would be helpful in research on the hypothalamus in
patients with HI-BI.

Langue : ANGLAIS