White Matter Integrity According to BDNF Genotype After Stroke

Changes of White Matter Integrity According to BDNF Genotype During Motor Recovery After Stroke

The aim of this study was to investigate differential plastic changes of fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corticospinal tract (CST), the intrahemispheric corticocortical tract from the primary motor cortex to ventral premotor cortex (M1PMv) and the corpus callosum (CC) from 2 weeks to 3 months after stroke according to BDNF genotype.

The aims of this study were to investigate plastic changes in the fractional anisotropy (FA) of three motor-related white matter fibers according to the BDNF genotype from 2 weeks to 3 months after stroke onset; one is a the majority of fibers from M1 to medullary oblongata (CST), another is the intrahemispheric connection from M1 to ventral premotor cortex (M1PMv), and the other is the interhemispheric connection between bilateral M1s (CC). There were also to investigate the relationships between motor impairment and tract-related FA of white matter tracts in each BDNF genotype

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosed with first-ever hemispheric ischemic infarction with damage to the supratentorial area confirmed by brain MRI within 2 weeks after stroke onset

Exclusion Criteria:

• any clinically significant or unstable medical disorder or neuropsychiatric comorbidity