Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms

Patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), especially those with chronic health symptoms, often experience behavioral impairments attributable to white matter (WM) microstructural degeneration. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to these WM abnormalities, which are frequently a consequen...

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Main Authors: Xiaojian Kang, John P. Coetzee, Keith L. Main, Srija Seenivasan, Kaitlly Zhu, Maheen M. Adamson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-12-01
Series:NeuroImage: Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666956021000453
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author Xiaojian Kang
John P. Coetzee
Keith L. Main
Srija Seenivasan
Kaitlly Zhu
Maheen M. Adamson
author_facet Xiaojian Kang
John P. Coetzee
Keith L. Main
Srija Seenivasan
Kaitlly Zhu
Maheen M. Adamson
author_sort Xiaojian Kang
collection DOAJ
description Patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), especially those with chronic health symptoms, often experience behavioral impairments attributable to white matter (WM) microstructural degeneration. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to these WM abnormalities, which are frequently a consequence of diffuse axonal injuries precipitated by the original trauma. In this study, tract profile analyses using an automated fiber quantification (AFQ) procedure compared diffusion properties along 20 major fiber tracts in a total of 46 participants, including individuals with TBI, who either have (n = 17) or did not have (n = 16) chronic symptoms, and a control group (n = 13). The tract profile analyses indicated that fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) are more sensitive biomarkers of WM integrity than other commonly used diffusion measures, such as the linear anisotropy coefficient (CL) and mean diffusivity (MD). For all participants with TBI, FA was significantly lower and RD significantly higher in the middle portion of the left cingulum hippocampus (as compared to the control group). Additionally, FA was significantly lower in the inside segment of the left uncinate and the posterior segment of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus for TBI participants with chronic symptoms compared to the controls, but this was not the case for individuals with TBI without chronic symptoms. TBI participants with chronic symptoms also exhibited significantly lower fiber volume (VOL) in three other fiber tracts. This study provides evidence that the diffusion properties of discrete segments along the major fiber tracts, as measured by AFQ, can serve as biomarkers of WM abnormalities, especially for individuals with TBI and chronic health symptoms.
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spelling doaj-art-d51ed50c1ee94e9f8a0b9171828b4ad92025-08-20T02:56:59ZengElsevierNeuroImage: Reports2666-95602021-12-011410004710.1016/j.ynirp.2021.100047Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptomsXiaojian Kang0John P. Coetzee1Keith L. Main2Srija Seenivasan3Kaitlly Zhu4Maheen M. Adamson5Adamson Lab, Headache Center for Excellence, Rehabilitation Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA, 94305, USATraumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, 1335 East-West Hwy, Suite 6-100, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, USA; General Dynamics Information Technology, 3150 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA, 22042, USAAdamson Lab, Headache Center for Excellence, Rehabilitation Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USAAdamson Lab, Headache Center for Excellence, Rehabilitation Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USAAdamson Lab, Headache Center for Excellence, Rehabilitation Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Dr, Stanford, CA, 94305, USAPatients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), especially those with chronic health symptoms, often experience behavioral impairments attributable to white matter (WM) microstructural degeneration. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to these WM abnormalities, which are frequently a consequence of diffuse axonal injuries precipitated by the original trauma. In this study, tract profile analyses using an automated fiber quantification (AFQ) procedure compared diffusion properties along 20 major fiber tracts in a total of 46 participants, including individuals with TBI, who either have (n = 17) or did not have (n = 16) chronic symptoms, and a control group (n = 13). The tract profile analyses indicated that fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) are more sensitive biomarkers of WM integrity than other commonly used diffusion measures, such as the linear anisotropy coefficient (CL) and mean diffusivity (MD). For all participants with TBI, FA was significantly lower and RD significantly higher in the middle portion of the left cingulum hippocampus (as compared to the control group). Additionally, FA was significantly lower in the inside segment of the left uncinate and the posterior segment of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus for TBI participants with chronic symptoms compared to the controls, but this was not the case for individuals with TBI without chronic symptoms. TBI participants with chronic symptoms also exhibited significantly lower fiber volume (VOL) in three other fiber tracts. This study provides evidence that the diffusion properties of discrete segments along the major fiber tracts, as measured by AFQ, can serve as biomarkers of WM abnormalities, especially for individuals with TBI and chronic health symptoms.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666956021000453TBIChronic health symptomsAutomated fiber quantificationDiffusion-tensor imagingFractional anisotropyMean diffusivity
spellingShingle Xiaojian Kang
John P. Coetzee
Keith L. Main
Srija Seenivasan
Kaitlly Zhu
Maheen M. Adamson
Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
NeuroImage: Reports
TBI
Chronic health symptoms
Automated fiber quantification
Diffusion-tensor imaging
Fractional anisotropy
Mean diffusivity
title Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
title_full Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
title_fullStr Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
title_full_unstemmed Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
title_short Fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
title_sort fiber tract integrity in patients with brain injury and chronic health symptoms
topic TBI
Chronic health symptoms
Automated fiber quantification
Diffusion-tensor imaging
Fractional anisotropy
Mean diffusivity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666956021000453
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