Advanced neuroimaging to quantify myelin in vivo: Application to mild TBI

Abstract

Background: Difficulty providing accurate diagnosis and prognosis, especially after mild forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI), has increased efforts to detect changes in white matter microstructure using advanced neuroimaging techniques. Although methods such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have greatly increased knowledge of white matter changes resulting from TBI, several shortcomings limit the utility of these techniques particularly when applied to populations with mild TBI (mTBI) history. In vivo imaging of myelin may be particularly well suited to detect changes in white matter microstructure resulting from mTBI.

Review: This manuscript will briefly review the animal and histological data supporting the important role of myelin following TBI, contributions and shortcomings of the use of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in mild TBI and the utility of multi-component relaxometry (MCR) techniques as a method for improved visualizing of white matter microstructural integrity in myelin.

Conclusion: The use of MCR-based techniques has potential as a clinical and research tool to assess and track changes in myelin as well as the common behavioural changes such as slowed processing speed following TBI.

Keywords:

• Concussion
• DTI
• mcDESPOT

Declaration of interest

This work was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Material Command and the US Department of Veterans Affairs [Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium] under Award No. W81XWH-13-2-0095 and I01 RX002076. The US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Government, or the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The funding agencies had no role in data collection, analysis or manuscript development.