Clinical Utility of Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a Biomarker to Identify Microstructural Changes in Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury

This study investigates the use of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), a type of MRI, to assess spinal cord damage in children with spinal cord injury (SCI). DTI measures the movement of water molecules in the spinal cord, providing information about its microstructure. Researchers compared DTI measurements in children with SCI to those of typically developed children to identify which DTI metrics best reflect spinal cord tissue damage. They also examined the relationship between DTI metrics and clinical measures of upper extremity function and independence. The study found that DTI metrics, particularly fractional anisotropy (FA), were associated with upper extremity muscle strength and differed significantly between children with and without SCI. This suggests that DTI could be a useful tool for evaluating SCI severity and location in children.

• 1
  A significant positive association was found between fractional anisotropy (FA) and upper extremity muscle strength in participants with SCI, indicating that higher muscle strength is associated with higher FA values.
• 2
  Most DTI parameters showed a significant difference between participants with SCI and typically developed (TD) participants, suggesting that DTI can effectively differentiate between individuals with and without SCI.
• 3
  Regional effects on group differences were found to be significant for FA and RD, meaning that the differences in these DTI parameters between SCI and TD participants varied along the length of the spinal cord.