title: Injury of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract in a patient with mild traumatic brain injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) have demonstrated injury of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract (DRTT) in various brain pathologies. However, no study on traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been reported. This case study attempted to demonstrate injury of the DRTT in a patient with mild TBI, using DTT.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 41-year-old female patient suffered from head trauma resulting from flexion-hyperextension injury by being hit from behind by a running car while stopped at an intersection. The patient lost consciousness and experienced post-traumatic amnesia for ∼1minute from the time of the car-accident. The patient's Glasgow Coma Scale score was 15. No specific lesion was observed on brain MRI. At 2 weeks after onset, the patient began to show resting and intentional tremor (more severe in the right upper and lower extremities) and ataxic gait. Her symptoms had been aggravated with the passage of time. On 1-month DTT, the left DRTT, which originated from the left dentate nucleus of the cerebellum, was thinner than the right DRTT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated injury of the DRTT in a patient with tremor and ataxia following mild TBI, using DTT. It is believed that analysis of the DRTT using DTT would be useful in elucidating the cause of post-traumatic abnormal movements.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , College of Medicine, Yeungnam University , Daegu , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , College of Medicine, Yeungnam University , Daegu , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeok Gyu
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Kwon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002529:Cerebellar Nuclei / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D013788:Thalamus / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Ataxia; dentato-rubro-thalamic tract; diffusion tensor imaging; mild traumatic brain injury; tremor