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Abstract #1179

Inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer and DBSI detect downstream white matter damage in post-mortem human cervical spinal cord injury

Sarah Rosemary Morris1,2,3, Andrew Yung1,3,4, Valentin Prevost1,3,4, Shana I George5, Piotr Kozlowski1,2,3,4, Andrew Bauman1,3,4, Farah Samadi1,6, Caron Fournier1,6, Lisa Parker7, Kevin Dong1, Femke Streijger1, G.R. Wayne Moore1,6,7,8, Brian Kwon1,9,10, and Cornelia Laule1,2,3,6
1International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 3Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 4UBC MRI Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 5Carson Graham Secondary School, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 6Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 7Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 8Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 9Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 10Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Spinal cord injuries are heterogeneous, with complex microstructure which changes over time. We used 7T Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI) and inhomogeneous Magnetization Transfer (ihMT) to investigate microstructural damage in post-mortem human spinal cord injury tissue. We measured sharp decreases in DTI fractional anisotropy and DBSI fiber fraction at the injury epicentre of the three cords with the most severe injuries. We found evidence for downstream demyelination (ihMT) and axonal loss (DTI FA, DBSI fiber fraction) in the two cords with the longest injury-death interval suggesting a time-frame for the detection of Wallerian degeneration by MRI.

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