Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke Can Be Differentiated by Analyzing the Diffusion Tensor Imaging

OBJECTIVE We wanted to differentiate between transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor stroke using fractional anisotropy and three-dimensional (3D) fiber tractography. MATERIALS AND METHODS The clinical data, conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were obtained for 45 TIA patients and 33 minor stroke patients. The fractional anisotrophy ratio (rFA) between the lesion and the mirrored corresponding contralateral normal tissue was calculated and analyzed. The spatial relationship between the lesion and the corticospinal tract (CST) was analyzed and the lesion sizes in the minor stroke patients and TIA patients were compared. RESULTS Twenty-two of the 45 TIA patients (49%) revealed focal abnormalities following DWI. The rFA was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the stroke patients (0.71 ± 0.29) compared to that of the TIA patients (1.05 ± 0.37). The CST was involved in almost all stroke lesions, but it was not involved in 68% of the TIA lesions. The TIA patients had significantly lower CST injury scores (3.25 ± 1.75) than did the stroke patients (8.80 ± 2.39) (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION Our data indicate that TIA and minor stroke can be identified by analyzing the rFA and the degree of CST involvement, and this may also allow more accurate prediction of a patient's long-term recovery or disability.