Abstract: Objective To explore the relationship between corticospinal tract (CST) repairment and motor function recovery after rehabilitation in stroke patients by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods 15 stroke patients with internal capsule lesions and injured CST, 4-8 weeks after onset were included. They were scanned with DTI and assessed with the simple Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) before and after 3-month rehabilitation. The fractional anisotropy (FA), FA ratio (rFA) and FA asymmetry (FAasy) in cerebral peduncle, posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) and corona radiate were obtained. The correlation of differences of FA, rFA and FAasy of CST with FMA was analyzed. Results The scores of FMA increased after treatment (P<0.01). The FA of the ipsilesional CST were significantly less than that of contralesional ones before and after rehabilitation. There was statistical differences in FA, rFA and FAasy in the corona radiate section of CST after treatment (P<0.05), but was not in the cerebral peduncle and PLIC section. However, there was no significant correlation of FA, rFA and FAasy of corona radiate section to scores of FMA. Conclusion DTI can respond to the repairment of corticospinal tract after stroke, especially in the corona radiate section.

Key words: stroke, motor function, diffusion tensor imaging, corticospinal tract, rehabilitation