Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Evaluating Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Retrospective Study

Currently there is little report about the application of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technology to judge the prognosis of patients with cerebral apoplexy. This study was to investigate cerebral functional connection in both sides of the M1 area in patients with cerebral infarction, who were treated with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), using DTI technology. Fifteen patients with cerebral infarction admitted to the hospital between February 2013 and August 2014 were enrolled for the study. The patients were treated with TMS and underwent DTI. The fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the relative FA value (rFA), and relative ADC values (rADC) were analyzed using paired t-test. rFA, rADC, and NIHSS of the lesion side before and after treatment were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. The results showed that before treatment, ADC value and FA value of the lesion side were lower than those of the contralateral healthy side with statistical significance (ADCt = 2.849, P < 0.05; FAt = 10.285, P < 0.05). Four weeks after treatment, ADC value and FA value of the lesion side were higher than those before treatment with statistical significance (ADCt = 6.206, P < 0.05; FAt = 3.788, P < 0.05). Both rFA values of pre-treatment and post-treatment showed negative correlation with NIHSS score with statistical significance (P < 0.05). In conclusion, after TMS with TDI technique, the value of FA and ADC values significantly increased compared to that of pre-treatment. It suggested that transcranial magnetic stimulation played a positive role in stroke rehabilitation.