Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2014, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (2): 190-197.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.125348

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Mild hypothermia for treatment of diffuse axonal injury: a quantitative analysis of diffusion tensor imaging

Guojie Jing1, 2, Xiaoteng Yao1, 2, Yiyi Li1, 2, Yituan Xie1, 2, Wang’an Li1, 2, Kejun Liu1, 2, Yingchao Jing1, 2, Baisheng Li3, Yifan Lv1, 2, Baoxin  Ma1, 2   

  1. 1 Department of Neurosurgery, Huizhou First People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China
    2 Huizhou Neurosurgery Institute, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China
    3 Department of Neurosurgery, Huizhou Central People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • Received:2013-11-25 Online:2014-01-10 Published:2014-01-10
  • Contact: Guojie Jing, Department of Neurosurgery, Huizhou First People’s Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, Huizhou Neurosurgery Institute, Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, jingguojie888@163.com.
  • Supported by:

    This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province in China, No. 10151600101000002.

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Abstract:

Fractional anisotropy values in diffusion tensor imaging can quantitatively reflect the consistency of nerve fibers after brain damage, where higher values generally indicate less damage to nerve fibers. Therefore, we hypothesized that diffusion tensor imaging could be used to evaluate the effect of mild hypothermia on diffuse axonal injury. A total of 102 patients with diffuse axonal injury were randomly divided into two groups: normothermic and mild hypothermic treatment groups. Patient’s modified Rankin scale scores 2 months after mild hypothermia were significantly lower than those for the normothermia group. The difference in average fractional anisotropy value for each region of interest before and after mild hypothermia was 1.32–1.36 times higher than the value in the normothermia group. Quantitative assessment of diffusion tensor imaging indicates that mild hypothermia therapy may be beneficial for patients with diffuse axonal injury.

Key words: nerve regeneration, brain injury, mild hypothermia, diffuse axonal injury, diffusion tensor imaging, region of interest, fractional anisotropy, modified Rankin scale, the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province in China, neural regeneration