Structural integrity of corticospinal motor fibers predicts motor impairment in chronic stroke.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Motor impairment after stroke has been related to infarct size, infarct location, and integrity of motor tracts. To determine the value of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as a predictor of motor outcome and its role as a structural surrogate marker of impairment in chronic stroke, we tested correlations between motor impairment and DTI-derived measures of motor tract integrity.

Methods

Thirty-five chronic stroke patients with varying degrees of recovery underwent DTI and motor impairment assessments. Fibers originating from the precentral gyrus were traced and separated into pyramidal tract (PT) and alternate motor fibers (aMF). Asymmetry indices of fiber number and regional fractional anisotropy (FA) values comparing lesional with nonlesional hemispheres were corre

SUBMITTER: Lindenberg R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3122304 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature