White matter disruption in moderate/severe pediatric XXXX : advanced tract-based analyses.

@entity1 @entity131 @entity73 @entity601 @entity204 @entity130
@entity131 ( @entity131 ) is the leading cause of @entity204 and disability in @entity1 and can lead to a wide range of impairments. Brain imaging methods such as DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) are uniquely sensitive to the white matter (WM) damage that is common in @entity131 . However, higher-level analyses using tractography are complicated by the damage and decreased FA (fractional anisotropy) characteristic of @entity131 , which can result in premature tract endings. We used the newly developed autoMATE (automated multi-atlas tract extraction) method to identify differences in WM integrity. 63 pediatric @entity1 aged 8-19  years with moderate/severe @entity131 were examined with cross sectional scanning at one or two time points after injury: a post-acute assessment 1-5  months @entity130 and a chronic assessment 13-19  months @entity130 . A battery of cognitive function tests was performed in the same time periods. 56 @entity1 were examined in the first phase, 28 @entity131 @entity1 and 28 healthy controls. In the second phase 34 @entity1 were studied, 17 @entity131 @entity1 and 17 controls (27 @entity1 completed both post-acute and chronic phases). We did not find any significant group differences in the post-acute phase. Chronically, we found extensive group differences, mainly for mean and radial diffusivity ( @entity601 and RD). In the chronic phase, we found higher @entity601 and RD across a wide range of WM. Additionally, we found correlations between these WM integrity measures and @entity73 . This suggests a distributed pattern of WM disruption that continues over the first year following a @entity131 in @entity1 .
