This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The long-range objectives of this line of investigation are two fold: 1) to add to the classification value of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale by establishing imaging criteria for chronic spinal cord Injury (SCI), 2) to understand the variables that contribute to residual neurological function and to the enhanced capacity for recovery. Development of imaging correlates of the integrity of spinal cord white matter is needed for optimizing design of clinical trials in SCI and related neurological diseases. The resource investigators have successfully optimized methods to quantitatively evaluate the integrity of spinal cord white matter using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Magnetization Transfer (MT) imaging and shown that this could be correlated with neurological function in chronic non-traumatic SCI (patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy, AMN). The development of these imaging modalities have enabled us to obtain high spatial resolution images of the cervical spinal cord and sufficient SNR to distinguish gray and white matter contrast allowing visualization of specific neuronal tracks in the spinal cord at a field of 1.5 Tesla. The goal of the proposed study is to determine the feasibility of using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), Magnetization Transfer (MT) imaging, and MRS to define the integrity of white matter pathways important for functional classification of individuals with chronic SCI.
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