title: Clinical usefulness of diffusion tensor imaging in patients with transtentorial herniation following traumatic brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the clinical usefulness of diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) for elucidation of the corticospinal tract (CST) state in patients with transtentorial herniation (TH) following traumatic brain injury (TBI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven consecutive patients with TH were recruited among 175 patients with TBI. Patients who showed TH were classified into two groups according to DTT findings: Group 1: the integrity of CST was preserved, Group 2: the integrity of CST was disrupted at the cerebral peduncle (CP) or pons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five patients belonged to Group 1 of TH, six patients to Group 2 of TH. On DTT of Group 1, fractional anisotropy values of the CP and pons along the CST in the affected hemisphere were lower than those of the unaffected hemisphere; however, the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). In Group 2, fractional anisotropy values of the CP and pons in the affected hemisphere were significantly lower than those of the unaffected hemisphere (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was found that DTT is useful in evaluation of the presence and the severity of CST injury in patients with TH following TBI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University , Taegu , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ji Heon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Seong Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Oh Lyong
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Sung Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006547:Hernia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult