Reduced Diffusion Tensor Fractional Anisotropy in the Left Arcuate Fasciculus of Patients with Aphasia Caused by Acute Cerebral Infarct

Background: Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a new technique that evaluates neural fiber integrity within the brain. We conducted DTI in patients exhibiting aphasia during the acute stage post-infarct and investigated the neural tracts responsible by comparison with DTI data from age-matched controls.

Methods: Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were generated from diffusion tensor brain images obtained from aphasic patients 14-21 days following their first infarct. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis was then applied. In addition, regions of interest (ROIs) were set within the right and left arcuate fasciculus, and mean FA values were extracted from individual TBSS data. The ratios between FA values in the left and right hemispheres were compared with those of the control group.

Results: The study examined 10 aphasic patients and 21 age-matched controls. Brain maps from TBSS analysis revealed significantly reduced FA in the left arcuate fasciculus of the patient group compared with that in the control group. Further ROI analyses confirmed significantly lower left/right arcuate fasciculus FA ratios in aphasic patients versus controls (median [range]: 0.955 [0.739-1.023] vs. 1.006 [0.982-1.088]; P = 0.0001 by Wilcoxon rank sum test).

Conclusions: These results suggest that FA in the left arcuate fasciculus decreased in association with aphasia after cerebral infarct. Because patients in the acute stage have not yet experienced the neural recovery that occurs in the chronic stage, the findings indicate that the left arcuate fasciculus is a crucial neural structure in aphasia.