Diffusion tensor imaging of the spinal cord: insights from animal and human studies. Neurosurgery 2014 Jan;74(1):1-8; discussion 8; quiz 8
Date
09/26/2013Pubmed ID
24064483Pubmed Central ID
PMC4986512DOI
10.1227/NEU.0000000000000171Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84891824848 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 77 CitationsAbstract
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) provides a measure of the directional diffusion of water molecules in tissues. The measurement of DTI indexes within the spinal cord provides a quantitative assessment of neural damage in various spinal cord pathologies. DTI studies in animal models of spinal cord injury indicate that DTI is a reliable imaging technique with important histological and functional correlates. These studies demonstrate that DTI is a noninvasive marker of microstructural change within the spinal cord. In human studies, spinal cord DTI shows definite changes in subjects with acute and chronic spinal cord injury, as well as cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Interestingly, changes in DTI indexes are visualized in regions of the cord, which appear normal on conventional magnetic resonance imaging and are remote from the site of cord compression. Spinal cord DTI provides data that can help us understand underlying microstructural changes within the cord and assist in prognostication and planning of therapies. In this article, we review the use of DTI to investigate spinal cord pathology in animals and humans and describe advances in this technique that establish DTI as a promising biomarker for spinal cord disorders.
Author List
Vedantam A, Jirjis MB, Schmit BD, Wang MC, Ulmer JL, Kurpad SNAuthors
Shekar N. Kurpad MD, PhD Chair, Director, Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of WisconsinBrian Schmit PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Marquette University
Aditya Vedantam MD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Marjorie Wang MD Clinical Transformation Officer, Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsDiffusion Tensor Imaging
Humans
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Diseases