Corticospinal Tract Integrity and Long-Term Hand Function Prognosis in Patients With Stroke

Conclusions: The present study showed that CST integrity (at 6 months after onset) in patients with chronic stroke was related to functional hand status. In addition, the mid-pons FA value was more predictive of functional restoration of the hand than the FN or FA value at the pontomedullary junction. These results may be useful in predicting the functional restoration of the hand and understanding the functional prognosis of stroke. Introduction Restoration of hand function is one of the most important goals for patients with stroke (1). Thus, techniques that aid in predicting restoration of hand function are also important for clinicians. Clinicians often predict the prognosis for motor function of an upper or lower limb based on the size and location of brain lesions (2–7). Clinicians have also used motor ability at an early stage or at discharge to predict the long-term motor outcome (1, 8). In addition, the relationship between corticospinal tract (CST) integrity and motor function has been evaluated in patients with stroke (9, 10). The evaluation of CST integrity using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been explored as a technique for predicting functional motor prognosis in patients with stroke (11–13). The CST injury seen using axial diffusivity in the acute phase may predict upper-limb strength (11). In addition, information about the early integrity of the CST may be useful for predicting long-term motor outcomes, specifically motor recovery ...
Source: Frontiers in Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research