title: Diffuse axonal injury after traumatic cerebral microbleeds: an evaluation of imaging techniques.
abstract: Previous neuropathological studies regarding traumatic brain injury have primarily focused on changes in large structures, for example, the clinical prognosis after cerebral contusion, intracerebral hematoma, and epidural and subdural hematoma. In fact, many smaller injuries can also lead to severe neurological disorders. For example, cerebral microbleeds result in the dysfunction of adjacent neurons and the disassociation between cortex and subcortical structures. These tiny changes cannot be adequately visualized on CT or conventional MRI. In contrast, gradient echo sequence-based susceptibility-weighted imaging is very sensitive to blood metabolites and microbleeds, and can be used to evaluate traumatic cerebral microbleeds with high sensitivity and accuracy. Cerebral microbleed can be considered as an important imaging marker for diffuse axonal injury with potential relevance for prognosis. For this reason, based on experimental and clinical studies, this study reviews the role of imaging data showing traumatic cerebral microbleeds in the evaluation of cerebral neuronal injury and neurofunctional loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China ; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 3990 John R St, Detroit, MI, USA ; School of Public Administration, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 3990 John R St, Detroit, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Zhifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: School of Public Administration, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yongquan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
keywords: cerebral microbleeds; diffuse axonal injury; gradient-recalled-echo; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuroimaging; review; susceptibility weighted imaging; traumatic brain injury