Abstract #1706

Early Diffusion Changes Following Controlled Cortical Impact Injury on a Rat Model

Jiachen Zhuo^1,2, Su Xu^1,2, Jennifer Racz³, Da Shi^1,2, Gary Fiskum³, Rao Gullapalli^1,2

¹Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ²Core for Translational Research in Imaging at Maryland (C-TRIM), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States; ³Anesthesiology and the Center for Shock Trauma and Anesthesiology Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

The understanding of tissue alterations at an early stage following traumatic brain injury (TBI) is critical for injury management and prevention of more severe secondary damage. In this study, we investigated the early changes in tissue water diffusion at 2 hours and 4 hours following mild to moderate controlled cortical impact injury on a rat model. Our study indicates a distance effect from the site of injury and suggests a therapeutic window of about 2-3 hours to limit the cascade of events that may lead to secondary injury.