Injury of the Papez circuit in a patient with traumatic spinal cord injury and concomitant mild traumatic brain injury

This case study explores the brain injury in a patient with both traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). It focuses on the Papez circuit, a brain structure important for memory. The patient, who experienced a spinal cord injury after a fall, also showed signs of mild TBI and memory problems. Brain scans using a technique called diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) revealed damage to specific parts of the Papez circuit. The findings suggest that in patients with TSCI and mild TBI who have memory issues, evaluating the Papez circuit with DTT could be beneficial, especially when standard brain scans don't show any clear damage.

• 1
  The patient with TSCI and mild TBI showed memory impairment.
• 2
  Diffusion tensor tractography revealed injury to the left thalamocortical tract and the right mammillothalamic tract, parts of the Papez circuit.
• 3
  The study suggests that injury to the Papez circuit may be related to the patient's memory impairment following TSCI and mild TBI.