Dataset Information

White matter abnormalities associated with military PTSD in the context of blast TBI.

ABSTRACT: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among recent military veterans and involve substantial symptom overlap, making clinical distinction and effective intervention difficult. Emerging evidence of cerebral white matter abnormalities associated with mTBI may provide a biological measure to inform diagnosis and treatment, but the potentially confounding effects between PTSD and mTBI have largely gone unexamined. We collected diffusion imaging data from 133 recently-deployed American service members who developed PTSD and/or sustained mTBI, or had neither condition. Effects of PTSD and mTBI on traditional tensor-based measures of cerebral white matter integrity (fractional anisotropy [FA] and mean diffusivity [MD]) were compared in anatomical regions of interest and individual voxels throughout the brain. Generalized FA (GFA), which allows for multiple fiber orientations per voxel, was also included to improve sensitivity in white matter areas containing crossing or diverging axon bundles. PTSD was consistently associated with high GFA in select brain regions, greater likelihood of regions and voxels with abnormally low MD, and a greater number of voxels with abnormally high FA, while mTBI was associated with fewer high MD regions. Overall, PTSD was associated with more restricted diffusion (low MD) and greater anisotropy (high GFA) in regions of crossing/diverging fibers poorly characterized by a single tensor (FA), suggesting that interstitial fibers may be involved. Contrary to earlier results in a sample without PTSD, mTBI was not associated with anisotropy abnormalities, perhaps indicating the cooccurrence of PTSD and mTBI requires special consideration with regard to structural brain connectivity.

SUBMITTER: Davenport ND

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6869802 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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White matter abnormalities associated with military PTSD in the context of blast TBI.

Davenport Nicholas D ND Lim Kelvin O KO Sponheim Scott R SR

Human brain mapping 20141112 3

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common among recent military veterans and involve substantial symptom overlap, making clinical distinction and effective intervention difficult. Emerging evidence of cerebral white matter abnormalities associated with mTBI may provide a biological measure to inform diagnosis and treatment, but the potentially confounding effects between PTSD and mTBI have largely gone unexamined. We collected diffusion imaging data ...[more]

PMID: 25387950

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Project description:Blast-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been a common injury among returning troops due to the widespread use of improvised explosive devices in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. As most of the TBIs sustained are in the mild range, brain changes may not be detected by standard clinical imaging techniques such as CT. Furthermore, the functional significance of these types of injuries is currently being debated. However, accumulating evidence suggests that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is sensitive to subtle white matter abnormalities and may be especially useful in detecting mild TBI (mTBI). The primary aim of this study was to use DTI to characterize the nature of white matter abnormalities following blast-related mTBI, and in particular, examine the extent to which mTBI-related white matter abnormalities are region-specific or spatially heterogeneous. In addition, we examined whether mTBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) was associated with more extensive white matter abnormality than mTBI without LOC, as well as the potential moderating effect of number of blast exposures. A second aim was to examine the relationship between white matter integrity and neurocognitive function. Finally, a third aim was to examine the contribution of PTSD symptom severity to observed white matter alterations. One hundred fourteen OEF/OIF veterans underwent DTI and neuropsychological examination and were divided into three groups including a control group, blast-related mTBI without LOC (mTBI - LOC) group, and blast-related mTBI with LOC (mTBI + LOC) group. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine the extent to which mTBI and PTSD predicted white matter abnormalities using two approaches: 1) a region-specific analysis and 2) a measure of spatial heterogeneity. Neurocognitive composite scores were calculated for executive functions, attention, memory, and psychomotor speed. Results showed that blast-related mTBI + LOC was associated with greater odds of having spatially heterogeneous white matter abnormalities. Region-specific reduction in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left retrolenticular part of the internal capsule was observed in the mTBI + LOC group as the number of blast exposures increased. A mediation analysis revealed that mTBI + LOC indirectly influenced verbal memory performance through its effect on white matter integrity. PTSD was not associated with spatially heterogeneous white matter abnormalities. However, there was a suggestion that at higher levels of PTSD symptom severity, LOC was associated with reduced FA in the left retrolenticular part of the internal capsule. These results support postmortem reports of diffuse axonal injury following mTBI and suggest that injuries with LOC involvement may be particularly detrimental to white matter integrity. Furthermore, these results suggest that LOC-associated white matter abnormalities in turn influence neurocognitive function.

Project description:Background: Concussion symptoms in adolescents typically resolve within 4 weeks. However, 20 - 30% of adolescents experience a prolonged recovery. Abnormalities in tracts implicated in visuospatial attention and emotional regulation (i.e., inferior longitudinal fasciculus, ILF; inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, IFOF; uncinate fasciculus; UF) have been consistently reported in concussion; yet, to date, there are no objective markers of prolonged recovery in adolescents. Here, we evaluated the utility of diffusion MRI in outcome prediction. Forty-two adolescents (12.1 - 17.9 years; female: 44.0%) underwent a diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) protocol within the first 10 days of concussion. Based on days of injury until medical clearance, adolescents were then categorized into SHORT (<28 days; N = 21) or LONG (>28 days; N = 21) recovery time. Fractional anisotropy (FA) in the ILF, IFOF, UF, and/or concussion symptoms were used as predictors of recovery time (SHORT, LONG). Forty-two age- and sex-matched healthy controls served as reference. Higher FA in the ILF (left: adjusted odds ratio; AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.15 - 0.91, P = 0.030; right: AOR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.10 - 0.83, P = 0.021), IFOF (left: AOR = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.07 - 0.66, P = 0.008; right: AOR = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.11 - 0.83, P = 0.020), and UF (left: AOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.09 - 0.74, P = 0.011; right: AOR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.10 - 0.73, P = 0.010) was associated with SHORT recovery. In additional analyses, while adolescents with SHORT recovery did not differ from HC, those with LONG recovery showed lower FA in the ILF and IFOF (P < 0.014). Notably, inclusion of dMRI findings increased the sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.93) of a prediction model including clinical variables only (AUC = 0.75). Our findings indicate that higher FA in long associative tracts (especially ILF) might inform a more objective and accurate prognosis for recovery time in adolescents following concussion.

Dataset Information

White matter abnormalities associated with military PTSD in the context of blast TBI.

Publications

White matter abnormalities associated with military PTSD in the context of blast TBI.

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