Table 3.
Studies that correlated DTI metrics within the corticospinal tract (CST) in the early subacute phase (7–90 days post-stroke) with motor outcomes assessed at least 4 weeks after stroke.
| Study | Lesion characteristics | Demographics | Details of acquisition | Technique/software/metrics | Mentioned lesion mask | CST | Time of evaluation (months after stroke) | Reported rehabilitation | Outcome | Did CST DTI metrics correlate with outcomes? | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Time period after stroke for DTI acquisition (days) | Lesion site or arterial territory if IS | n | Gender M/F | Age range | Mean age (SD) |
MRI field (T) |
Directions/b0 | b value (s/mm2) | Ipsilateral | Contralateral | ||||||||
| IS | HS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radlinska et al. (104) | √ |  |
12 | Included white matter | 18 | 5/13 | 42–86 | 73.0 (12.9) | 3.0 | 64/NS | 1,000 | Tractography (NS) MINC suite tools rFA |
|
√ | √ | 6 | |
RMFT | rFA: yes r = 0.87 |
| Koyama et al. (105) | |
√ | 14–18 | Thalamus, putamen or both | 15 | 6/9 | 31–85 | 51 (NS) | 3.0 | 12/1 | 1,000 | ROI: CP Customized code IDL software rFA |
√ | √ | 1 | √ | MRC (1 m) |
rFA:yes r2 = 0.272 |
|
| Wang et al. (95) | |
√ | 14 | Thalamus, putamen | 27 | 14/13 | 42–77 | 60.2 (10.5) | 1.5 | 15/NS | 1,000 | ROI: CP SPM99 FA, MD |
|
√ | √ | 6 | |
NIHSSm
(6 m) mRS (17 m) FIM (17 m) |
rFA: yes NIHSSm, rs = −0.7 mRS, rs = −0.653 FIM, rs = 0.661 |
| Kim et al. (106) | √ | |
7–30 | Middle cerebral artery | 37 | 28/9 | 27–81 | 57.4 (15.2) | 1.5 | 32/NS | 1,000 | Tractography (NS) FSL, DTI-Studio ROI: anterior mid-pons to anterior lower pons rFA |
|
√ | |
6 | |
MI MBC |
rFA: yes MI, r = 0.517 MBC, r = 0.473 p = 0.003 |
| Koyama et al. (53) | |
√ | 14–18 | Thalamus, putamen | 32 | 16/16 | 31–88 | NS | 3.0 | 12/1 | 1,000 | ROI: CR/IC and CP FSLutils rFA |
|
√ | √ | 1 | √ | MRC mRS (1 m) |
rFA: yes CP, MRC, r2 = 0.271 CP, MRS, r2 = 0.239 CR/IC,MRC, r2 = 0.085 CR/IC, MRS, r2 = 0.057 |
| Puig et al. (12) | √ | |
30 | Middle cerebral artery | 70 | 42/28 | NS | 72 (12) | 1.5 | 15/NS | 1,000 | ROI: pons NeuroScape 2.0 MR Stroke Edition rFA |
|
√ | √ | 24 | |
MI (2 y) |
rFA: yes (OR = 1.6) |
| Groisser et al. (94) | √ | |
30–60 | Middle cerebral artery | 10 | 5/5 | 19–67 | 53 (13) | 3.0 | 60/10 | 700 | Tractography (NS) ROI: 10 voxels with highest density Trackvis r (FA, AD, RD) |
√ | √ | √ | 6 | |
Hand grip MI NHPT (6–7 m) |
rFA: yes Hand grip, rs = 0.7 MI, rs = 0.87 NHPT, rs = 0.79 rAD and rRD: No |
| Koyama et al. (97) | √ | |
14–18 | Cortex ± corona radiata or PLIC | 16 | 11/5 | 47–80 | 70 (NS) | 3.0 | 12/1 | 1,200 | Whole-brain voxel-wise analysis TBSS, ROI = CST FSL FSLutils of CST FA, rFA |
|
√ | √ | ~3 | √ | BRS FIM (5–7 m) |
rFA and BRS: yes Proximal, rs = 0.687 Distal, rs = 0.579 rFA and FIM: No |
| Cheng et al. (107) | |
√ | 14 | Thalamus, putamen | 48 | 31/17 | NS | 62 (14) | 3.0 | 30/NS | 1,000 | Tractography (NS) ROI: CR, CP, pons, PH Neuro 3D software FA, rFA |
|
√ | √ | 3 | √ | MI | rFA at CR after 1 and 3 months: yes MI at 1 m, rs = 0.433 MI at 3 m, rs = 0.405 CP, pons, PH: No |
| Imura et al. (108) | √ | √ | 10 | NS | 25 | 14/11 | NS | 71.5 (11) | 3.0 | 16/NS | 1,000 | Tractography (NS) FiberTrak FA |
|
√ | √ | 1 | |
MI BRS |
FA, CST: Yes MI-UE, rs = 0.65 BRS-UE, rs = 0.61 MI-LE, rs = 0.60 BRS-LE, rs = 0.69 |
| Zhang et al. (109) | √ | |
14 | Pons | 17 | 12/5 | 34–73 | 58.3 (NS) | 3.0 | 64/1 | 700 | 4 ROIs (medulla, CP, IC, CS) DT imaging studio rFA |
|
√ | √ | 6 | |
FMA mRS (3 m, 6 m) |
rFA, ROIs CP, IC,CS: yes 3 m FM, r = 0.771 rFA, mRS, r = −0.569 6 m FM, r = 0.73 mRS, r = −0.498 ROI medulla: No |
| Buch et al. (110) | √ | |
14 | Middle and/or anterior cerebral artery | 25 | 14/11 | 37–83 | 61 (NS) | 3.0 | 30/1 | 1,000 | Whole-brain voxel-wise analysis TORTOISE, DTI-TK, MRIcro aFA |
√ | √ | √ | 3 | |
FMA | Yes rs < −0.8 p < 0.0001 |
| Jang et al. (100) | √ | |
7–28 | Pons | 31 | 12/19 | 36–79 | 64.76 (10.76) | 1.5 | 32/NS | 1,000 | Tractography (deterministic) ROI: pons DTI studio FA, rFA |
|
√ | √ | 6 | √ | MI BRS |
FA, rFA: no |
NS, not specified; IS, ischemic stroke; HS, hemorrhagic stroke; M, male; F, female; SD, standard deviation; T, Tesla; CST (corticospinal tract); UE, upper extremity; LE, lower extremity; FA, fractional anisotropy; rFA, ratio between ipisilesional/contralesional fractional anisotropy; aFA, asymmetry between (contralesional-ipsilesional)/(contralesional+ipsilesional) fractional anisotropy; CS, centrum semiovale; ROI, region of interest; CR, corona radiata; IC, internal capsule; CP, cerebra peduncle; TBSS, tract-based spatial statistics; PH, parihoematomal edema; MBC, Modified Brunnstrom classification; BRS, Brunnstrom Recovery Scale; MRC, Medical Research Council; r, Pearson correlation coefficient; rs, Spearman correlation coefficient; OR, odds ratio; NIHSSm, Motor score (upper and lower limb); mRS, Modified Rankin Scale; NHPT, Nine Hole Peg Test; MI, Motricity Index; FIM, Functional Independence Measures; FMA, Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment.