TBI and Cerebral Atrophy

It is well known that one of the consequences of a moderate to severe TBI is atrophy or shrinking of the brain due to the injury to millions of cells. High speed velocity change injuries (motor vehicle accident or fall from a height) can give rise to acute Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI), which is widespread damage to the axons of the brain. This study (Ding, K. et al. 2008) showed the relationship between imaging studies which showed DAI in the acute phase, and whether or not at the chronic phase (more than six-months later) there was correlation to brain atrophy. They noted that acute axonal lesions measured by flare (MRI) imaging are strongly predictive of post traumatic cerebral atrophy. In other words, the more white matter damage found early by MRI flare or DTI, the more likely there would be pathological brain shrinkage with the passage of time.