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Stroke patients' evolving symptoms assessed by tractography
Author(s) -
Yamada Kei,
Ito Hirotoshi,
Nakamura Hisao,
Kizu Osamu,
Akada Wataru,
Kubota Takao,
Goto Mariko,
Konishi Jyunya,
Yoshikawa Kenji,
Shiga Kensuke,
Nakagawa Masanori,
Mori Susumu,
Nishimura Tsunehiko
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20215
Subject(s) - diffusion mri , medicine , corticospinal tract , fiber tract , stroke (engine) , lesion , radiology , infarction , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear medicine , cardiology , surgery , myocardial infarction , mechanical engineering , engineering
Purpose To test the hypothesis that an interval evolution in the location of the depicted sensorimotor tract relative to the infarct (the “tract–infarct relationship”) may be related to stroke victims' symptom progression. Materials and Methods Patients ( N = 7) who underwent multiple diffusion‐tensor imaging (DTI) studies during symptomatic progression were included in this study. DTI was performed using a single‐shot echo‐planar imaging (EPI) technique with a motion‐probing gradient in six orientations, a b‐ value of 800 seconds/mm 2 , and six image averages. The total scan time was four minutes and 24 seconds. Fiber‐tracking of the sensorimotor pathways was performed, and the locations of these tracts were retrospectively assessed in relation to the evolution of the symptoms. Results Five of the seven patients showed an interval enlargement of the infarct on diffusion‐weighted (DW) images. In two of these cases the lesion enlarged to involve the sensorimotor tracts, while in three cases the lesion enlarged only so far to come into close proximity to the sensorimotor tract. In the remaining two cases there was no interval enlargement of the infarct, and therefore the tract–infarct relationship could not account for the evolution of the symptoms in these cases. Conclusion A tract–infarct relationship can be observed with the use of a fiber‐tracking technique, and the results may improve our understanding of the symptom progression seen in stroke victims. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;20:923–929. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.