Published online Jan 16, 2016. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v4.i1.1
Peer-review started: April 18, 2015
First decision: July 6, 2015
Revised: October 14, 2015
Accepted: December 1, 2015
Article in press: December 2, 2015
Published online: January 16, 2016
Processing time: 271 Days and 21.2 Hours
Some specially imaging of magnetic resonance imaging, the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), the diffusion tensor imaging and fractional anisotropy (FA), are useful to described, detect, and map the extent of spinal cord lesions. FA measurements may are used to predicting the outcome of patients who have spinal cord lesions. Fiber tracking enable to visualizing the integrity of white matter tracts surrounding some lesions, and this information could be used to formulating a differential diagnosis and planning biopsies or resection. In this article, we will describe the current uses for DWI and fiber tracking and speculate on others in which we believe these techniques will be useful in the future.
Core tip: Intramedullary high grade astocytomas are rare tumors of spinal cord. Current surgical treatment involves loss of neurological function. The possibility to visualize directly the white matter tracts in the spine, with the applications of specific sequences of magnetic resonance imaging (diffusion-weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging and fractional anisotropy) allows neurosurgeons to better guide the surgical approach and resection, with the goal of neurological function preservation.