Background Stroke can affect any portion of the central nervous system leading to a wide variety of symptoms depending on the part that is involved. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an emerging neuroimaging technique that allows measuring the integrity of white matter tracts. Objectives The objective of this study is to find out if the diffusion tensor tractography technique can provide prognostic information regarding clinical outcome following ischemic stroke. Subjects and methods Forty patients with acute ischemic stroke were studied with DTI. Size of infraction, degree of reduction of fractional anisotropy (FA), and pattern of corticospinal tract (CST) affection were identified. We assessed our patients according to the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Medical Research Council (MRC) scale at onset of stroke and 3 months later. Results FA reduction was correlated with MRC and NIHSS on admission ( P < 0.001, 0.004 respectively) and after 3 months ( P < 0.001, 0.013 respectively). The pattern of CST affection was associated with NIHSS and MRC after 3 months ( P = 0.035, 0.001 respectively). Conclusion DTI may be an indirect indicator of the ischemic stroke outcome.

中文翻译：

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弥散张量成像病变模式能否预测缺血性中风的结果？

背景 中风可影响中枢神经系统的任​​何部分，根据所涉及的部位，导致多种症状。弥散张量成像 (DTI) 是一种新兴的神经成像技术，可以测量白质束的完整性。目的 本研究的目的是找出扩散张量纤维束成像技术是否可以提供有关缺血性中风后临床结果的预后信息。受试者和方法 40 名急性缺血性卒中患者使用 DTI 进行研究。确定了损伤的大小、各向异性分数 (FA) 的降低程度和皮质脊髓束 (CST) 影响的模式。我们根据美国国立卫生研究院卒中量表 (NIHSS) 和医学研究委员会 (MRC) 量表在中风发作时和 3 个月后评估了我们的患者。结果 FA 减少与入院时（分别为 P < 0.001、0.004）和 3 个月后（分别为 P < 0.001、0.013）的 MRC 和 NIHSS 相关。3 个月后 CST 的影响模式与 NIHSS 和 MRC 相关（分别为 P = 0.035、0.001）。结论 DTI 可能是缺血性卒中结局的间接指标。