Microstructural alterations of major thalamic nuclei in the chronic pediatric spinal cord injured population.

Publication/Presentation Date

1-1-2024

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/mm

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.

Volume

21

First Page

100268

Last Page

100268

ISSN

2590-1397

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

38187507

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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