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Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 2000 Aug;69(2):269–272. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.69.2.269

Diffusion tensor imaging can detect and quantify corticospinal tract degeneration after stroke

D Werring 1, A Toosy 1, C Clark 1, G J Parker 1, G Barker 1, D Miller 1, A Thompson 1
PMCID: PMC1737065  PMID: 10896709

Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) fully characterises water molecule mobility in vivo, allowing an exploration of fibre tract integrity and orientation in the human brain. Using DTI this study demonstrates reduced fibre coherence (anisotropy) associated with cerebral infarction and in the corticospinal tract remote from the lesion, in five patients 2 to 6 months after ischaemic stroke. The study highlights the potential of DTI to detect and monitor the structural degeneration of fibre pathways, which may provide a better understanding of the pattern of clinical evolution after stroke.



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