Better Brain Injury Diagnoses

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, May 14, 2008; 4:15 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new technique for analyzing MRIs may help detect hard to diagnose nerve damage in cases of traumatic brain injuries.

This serious, subtle damage occurs in nerve cells called axons. The condition is called diffuse axonal injury (DAI). DAI occurs when the head suddenly stops moving, which is common in car accidents. The force can shear the axons. The damage doesn't show up on computerized tomography scans and MRI's are not reliable when it comes to picking it up. But detecting it can help predict a patient's degree of recovery.

"No matter how many seat belts and airbags there are, if you hit a tree at 50 miles an hour, you are going to have this kind of injury," Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurology at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas, and senior author the study was quoted assaying. "It may account for up to half of the traumatic brain injuries from car accidents."

Researchers say a new technique for analyzing MRIs may be the answer. The method used in this study is a new mathematical analysis called diffusion tensor tractography. When axons are damaged, they absorb water. As they die, they release it. The technique records how easily water can move around in the areas surrounding the axons. A reduction in the motion of the water was significantly linked to how much the patient improved over time.

The study was small, but the results show promise. More studies are needed on more patients to back up these initial findings.

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SOURCE: Archives of Neurology, 2008;65:619-626