Fig. 5. FMT attenuates cortical volume loss and preserves white matter connectivity after TBI.
(A) Representative longitudinal and transverse MRI scans of animals (60DPI) with injury sites indicated with red arrows (N = 3). (B) FMT attenuates TBI-induced ventriculomegaly (red arrows) which is a well-described surrogate for cortical volume loss (P < 0.002). (C) Images ktrans level (measure of capillary permeability) were extracted from contrast-enhanced 3D-MRI. Fractional anisotropy (connectivity) maps were then extracted from the MRI images. (D) TBI induced a decrease in fractional anisotropy (white matter connectivity) compared to sham injury (P < 0.0001). FMT treatment attenuated this loss of connectively as compared to vehicle treated TBI mice (P = 0.04).