Extent of Axonal Injury Correlates with Neurodegeneration After Brain Injury

Millions of individuals suffer traumatic brain injury (TBI) worldwide each year, and many become disabled. TBI increases the risk for neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Clinicians need better tools to predict long-term prognosis after TBI.

To test whether the severity and location of diffuse axonal injury can predict the degree of progressive post-traumatic degeneration, investigators assessed 55 patients in a chronic phase after moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 19 healthy controls. To measure diffuse axonal injury (DAI), the investigators calculated fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion tensor imaging. They determined brain atrophy from serial …