Detection of neuroinflammation and ischemia in traumatic brain injury in rats using amide proton transfer MRI

Motivation: Ischemia and neuroinflammation, two key endophenotypes post-TBI, are difficult to assess in vivo. Goal(s): Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) imaging as a biomarker for detecting neuroinflammation and ischemia post-TBI. Approach: Brain APTw MRI signals of 55 rats subjected to a mild, moderate, or severe TBI were analyzed and compared to other criteria defining neuroinflammation and ischemia. Results: The areas under curve (AUCs) of the ipsilateral cortex APTw signals at 3 days and 1 hour post-TBI were 0.725 for detecting neuroinflammation and 0.411 for detecting ischemia, respectively. Impact: The feasibility of detecting neuroinflammation and ischemia using APTw MRI would improve the capability of MRI to objectively assess TBI and enable the accurate detection of these pathological processes at an early stage post-TBI.