Evaluating motor functional outcome in intracerebral hemorrhagic patients with diffusion tensor imaging

Corticospinal tract (CST) is the most important neural tract for motor function. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) offers unique advantages in visualization and estimation of the corticospinal tract. DTI may evaluate the microscopic changes of CST damage and predict long-term neurological motor functional outcome in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Current studies could be classified into two groups: 1) studies for adoption of DTI parameters as a potential marker for prediction of motor outcome, and 2) studies for analysis of the integrity of the corticospinal tract in predicting motor outcome. We reviewed relevant DTI studies and discussed future perspective on characterization of DTI for prediction of motor outcome in stroke patients. (authors)