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Metabolic imaging of mild traumatic brain injury

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Abstract

Traumatic brain injury results in a metabolic cascade of changes that occur at the molecular level, invisible to conventional imaging methods such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Non-invasive metabolic imaging tools such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are the ideal methods for providing insight to these changes by measuring regional cerebral blood flow, glucose metabolism, and brain metabolite concentrations, respectively, after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the different methodologies and provide an up-to-date summary of recent findings with SPECT, PET, and MRS technologies, specifically after mTBI, as defined by standardized criteria. Given that the different physiological and pathological responses are heterogeneous, efforts will be made to separate studies at different time points after injury (acute, subacute, and chronic stages) as well as to the different types of mTBI such sports-related head injury where repetitive head injuries are much more common and may present a unique signature.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Department of Defense Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program of the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (W81XWH-10-1-0835; APL, HL), by an National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke funded R01 (R01 NS 078337; APL), by the Center for Integration of Medicine (CIMIT) Innovation Grants (APL), and by an NIH training grant (T32 HD040128-06A1; WPM)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    A. P. Lin, H. J. Liao, S. K. Merugumala & B. D. Ross

  2. Advanced Image Analysis Lab, Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    S. P. Prabhu

  3. Sports Concussion Clinic, Department of Medicine, Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    W. P. Meehan III

  4. Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, USA

    B. D. Ross

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  1. A. P. Lin
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  2. H. J. Liao
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  3. S. K. Merugumala
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  4. S. P. Prabhu
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  5. W. P. Meehan III
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  6. B. D. Ross
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Correspondence to A. P. Lin.

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Lin, A.P., Liao, H.J., Merugumala, S.K. et al. Metabolic imaging of mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Imaging and Behavior 6, 208–223 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-012-9181-4

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