Investigating total sodium concentration in brain regions after concussion using anatomically-guided reconstruction

Motivation: Sodium (23Na) MRI uniquely assesses sodium ionic homeostasis, potentially revealing brain sodium changes linked to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and ionic dysfunction. Goal(s): To show feasibility of whole brain and regional quantification of brain total sodium concentration (TSC) after injury in mTBI patients and measure regional TSC in a small cohort. Approach: Using a novel anatomically-guided sodium reconstruction method, we quantified regional TSC in 11 patients with subacute mTBI. Results: Our preliminary findings show no significant differences in in-vivo TSC between mTBI patients and controls. However, a trend toward higher TSC in certain corpus callosum regions was observed, lacking statistical significance. Impact: We demonstrate feasibility of measuring and mapping regional brain sodium in a small cohort of mTBI subjects, providing a method by which to measure regional brain sodium and study potential ionic dysfunction after injury.