Microstructural alterations of major thalamic nuclei in the chronic pediatric spinal cord injured population.
World Neurosurg X 2024;
21:100268. [PMID:
38187507 PMCID:
PMC10767188 DOI:
10.1016/j.wnsx.2023.100268]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Background
The brain undergoes reorganization following spinal cord injury (SCI), but little is known about how the thalamus is affected in pediatric SCIs.
Purpose
To characterize microstructural alterations in the thalamus after SCI with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics.
Methods
18 pediatric participants with chronic SCI (8-20 years) were stratified using the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) into groups: A, B, and C/D. DTI of the brain used a 3 T Siemens Verio MRI using the parameters: 20 directions, number of averages = 3, b = 1000 s/mm2, voxel size = 1.8 mm × 1.8 mm, slice thickness = 5 mm, TE = 95 ms, TR = 4300 ms, 30 slices, FOV = 230 × 230 mm2, matrix = 128 × 128, acquisition time = 4:45 min. Diffusion data was processed to generate DTI metrics FA, MD, AD, and RD.
Data analysis
DTI metrics were acquired by superimposing the AAL3 thalamic atlas onto participant diffusion images registered to MNI152 space. We utilized a multiple Mann-Whitney U-test to compare between AIS groups, considering values of p ≤ 0.05 as significant.
Results
FA, AD, RD, and MD significantly differed in thalamic nuclei between AIS groups A vs B and B vs C/D. Significant nuclei include the right ventral anterior, left intralaminar, bilateral lateral pulvinar, and right lateral geniculate.
Conclusion
Our findings suggest the presence of microstructural alterations based on SCI severity in pediatric patients. These results are encouraging and warrant further study.
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