Article

The recent development of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allows
visualization and estimation of the medial cholinergic pathway (MCP), which
originates from the nucleus basalis of Meynert and provides cortical cholinergic
innervation to the cerebral cortex. We investigated the injury to the MCP in
patients with traumatic axonal injury (TAI), using DTI. DESIGN: Retrospective
survey. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen patients with chronic TAI and 14 age- and
sex-matched normal control subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Using the Functional
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) Software Library (FMRIB analysis
group, Oxford University, United Kingdom), diffusion tensor images were acquired
by using a sensitivity-encoding head coil at 1.5 T DTIs. Fractional anisotropy
(FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and tract volume of the MCP were measured. RESULTS:
The FA value and tract volume were significantly decreased in the group with TAI
compared with those of the control group (P < .05); in contrast, there was no
difference in the MD value between the 2 groups (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Changes
in DTI parameters of the TAI group appear to be due to neuronal loss of the MCP.
We believe that DTI would be useful for the evaluation of the MCP in patients
with TAI.

Langue : ANGLAIS