Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [b] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Daegu Medical Center, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [c] Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [d] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Therapy, Daegu Hanny University, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [e] Department of Physical Therapy, Yeungnam College of Science and Technology, Daegu, Republic of Korea
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Sung Ho Jang, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, 317-1, Daemyungdong, Namku, Taegu 705-717, South Korea. Tel.: +83 53 620 3269; Fax: +83 53 620 3269; E-mail: strokerehab@hanmail.net/belado@med.yu.ac.kr
Abstract: Diffusion tensor image tractography (DTT) can visualize white matter tracts and provide a powerful vehicle with which to investigate the neural pathway at the subcortical level. We attempted to demonstrate the clinical significance of transcallosal fibers (TCF) originating from the corticospinal tract in patients with corona radiata infarct located below the corpus callosum, using diffusion tensor image tractography (DTT). Forty patients with corona radiata infarct located below the corpus callosum and 26 control subjects were enrolled in this study. We classified the DTT findings as follows: no transcallosal fiber from the CST (type A), transcallosal fiber ended in the corpus callosum or connected to the cortex of the opposite hemisphere (type B), and transcallosal fiber that descended toward the lesion after passing through the corpus callosum (type C). Type C indicated that the presence of transcallosal fibers starting from the CST of the unaffected hemisphere was significantly more prevalent in the patients, and these patients showed the poorest motor function. It seems that transcallosal fibers originated from the CST of the unaffected hemisphere, and fibers descending toward the lesion in patients with corona radiata infarct may act to compensate for motor deficits.
