Motor recovery via the peri-infarct area in patients with corona radiata infarct

Objectives: Diffusion tensor image tracography (DTT) could be useful for exploration of the state of the corticospinal tract at the subcortical white matter level. We investigated the neural pathway associated with motor recovery in the patients with corona radiata infarct (CR) using DTT. Design: Three hemiparetic patients who showed severe weakness of the affected upper extremity at stroke onset, were recruited. DTT was performed twice (subacute and chronic stage) using 1.5-T system. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the fiber tracts were obtained with FA < 0.2, angle > 45 degrees as termination criteria. Results: In all patients, the motor function of the affected upper extremity has recovered to be functional state at second DTT scanning. The motor tracts of the affected hemisphere were observed to pass along the posterior portion of the CR infarct on both the first and second DTT. Conclusions: It seems that the motor function of the affected upper extremity of the patients recovered via the posterior portion of infarct. This finding may reflect functional reorganization of the motor pathway following damage to the corticospinal tract.