Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2019
Meta AnalysisSpecific Brain Morphometric Changes in Spinal Cord Injury: A Voxel-Based Meta-Analysis of White and Gray Matter Volume.
The objective of the study was to investigate degenerative changes of white matter volume (WMV) and gray matter volume (GMV) in individuals after a spinal cord injury (SCI). Published studies of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) published between January 1, 2006 and March 1, 2018 comparing SCI patients with controls were collected by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. Voxel-wise meta-analyses of GMV and WMV differences between SCI patients and controls were performed separately using seed-based d mapping. ⋯ In conclusion, anatomical atrophy in cortical-thalamic-spinal pathways suggested that SCIs may result in degenerative changes of the sensorimotor system. Further, OFC and insula GMV abnormalities may explain symptoms such as neuropathic pain and potential cognitive-emotional impairments in chronic SCI patients. These findings indicate that anatomical brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols could be neuroimaging biomarkers for interventional studies and treatments.