Diffusion-tensor and Diffusion-kurtosis Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Assessment of Diffuse Axonal Injury (Literature Review)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the main cause of disability and mortality among young people, and neurological dysfunctions can persist many years after injury. One of the main type of TBI is diffuse axonal injury (DAI). The prevalence of diffuse axonal injury is often underestimated in computed tomography (CT) and routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In such cases, diffusion-tensor MRI (DT MRI) and diffusion-kurtosis MRI (DK MRI) provide additional information about the integrity of the brain tissue, which cannot be obtained using standard MRI. In this review, we examined the contribution of DT MRI and DK MRI methods to understanding the pathophysiology and prognosis of DAI to help experts interested in planning new studies and participating in the care of patients with TBI.