Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in injury assessment and prognosis prediction of comatose patients with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) in coma patients by amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) , functional connectivity (FC) methods and magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) , and to predict its prognosis. Methods Twenty-one sTBI patients (study group) and 21 healthy subjects (control group) with matched education degree, age and gender were examined by rs-fMRI and DTI. The differences in ALFF, FC and anisotropy (FA) between the two groups were compared. According to the prognosis of sTBI patients, the patients in the study group were divided into awake group and coma group, and the differences in ALFF and FC between the two groups were compared. Results Compared with the normal control group, the ALFF and FC values in multiple regions of default network in the study group significantly decreased. The FA values in semioval center, genu and splenium of corpus callosum, and anterior and posterior limbs of internal capsule significantly decreased (P<0.05) . Compared with the coma group, the ALFF and FC values in multiple regions of default network in the awake group significantly increased (P<0.05) . Conclusion The ALFF and FC values increase in brain regions of default network in sTBI patients with better prognosis. Key words: Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Craniocerebral injury; Coma; Prognosis prediction