Motivation: There is an urgent need to achieve a more profound comprehension of the intricate processes of neural plasticity associated with acute spinal cord injury (ASCI). Goal(s): To explore whether advanced tensor-valued diffusion MRI (dMRI) can yield sensitive microstructural readouts and evaluate acute injury in spinal cord. Approach: We performed advanced tensor-valued diffusion MRI in ASCI rats and examined the sensitivity and specificity of the metrics. Results: The tensor-valued dMRI metric, microscopic fractional anisotropy (μFA), serves as a more sensitive marker for identifying damaged fibers and gray matter in injured spinal cords. Impact: Tensor-valued diffusion MRI is a promising neuroimaging tool to evaluate microstructural alteration in ASCI, especially in gray matter, helping characterize different microstructural features of acutely injured SC for precision medicine.
Yuan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.