Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Different Age Patients with Ischemic Stroke before and after Rehabilitation Treatment

Objective To explore the relationship between injury of corticospinal tract(CST),diffusion anisotropic features of white matter fibers and cerebral infarction prognosis in patients with different ages by MRI and diffusion tensor imaging(DTI).Methods 24 cases of cerebral infarction were divided into 3 groups according to age: Group A(n=8,45~59 years old),Group B(n=8,60~74 years old) and Group C(n=8,75~82 years old).DTI were acquired in the patients on a 3.0 T MR imaging scanner in the first 3 days.Before and 6 weeks after treatment,Fractional anistrophy(FA) value of the infarcted focus and the contralateral corresponding brain tissues were measured,and the nerve function were measured by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS).Results FA values of the infarcted focus were less than the FA of contralateral corresponding brain tissues(P0.05) and they were significantly improved 6 weeks after treatment(P0.05).The NISHH scores of corticospinal tract(CST) 2 were higher than that of CST 1 in each group(P0.05).The NISHH scores after admission were lower than the scores on admission in the same group and the same CST level.Conclusion DTT can show the relationship between the direction and morphology of the fiber tract and the infarct lesions,which can be used to evaluate the impairment of CST at the early stage of ischemic stroke,favoring the prognostic judgment in the rehabilitative therapy of cerebral infarction.