title: Correlation between fractional anisotropy and motor outcomes in one-year-old infants with periventricular brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether motor outcomes of an exercise intervention beginning at 2 months corrected age (CA) in children with periventricular brain injury (PBI) are correlated with fractional anisotropy (FA) measures derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 12 months CA.
  
  
  METHODS
  DTI was performed in eight infants with PBI who were randomly assigned to kicking and treadmill stepping exercise or a no-training condition. Development was assessed using the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). FA values were derived from regions of interest (ROIs) in the middle third of the posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC) and the posterior thalamic radiation (PTR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant correlations were observed between motor development and FA measures. For PLIC, the correlation coefficients were 0.82 between FA and AIMS, and -0.92 between FA and GMFCS, while for PTR the corresponding correlation coefficients were 0.73 and -0.80, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study suggest that quantitative evaluation of white matter tracts using DTI at 12 months CA may be useful for assessment of brain plasticity in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Sangeetha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madhavan
authors.forename: Suzann K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campise-Luther
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaebler-Spira
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zawacki
authors.forename: April
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boynewicz
authors.forename: Dipti
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kale
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bulanda
authors.forename: Jinsheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sui
authors.forename: Xiaohong Joe
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic
keywords: DTI; fractional anisotropy (FA); infants; periventricular brain injury; treadmill exercise