BackgroundFunctional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging offers plenty of new opportunities in the diagnosis of central nervous system diseases. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a technique sensitive to the random motion of water providing information about tissue architecture. We applied DTI to normal appearing spinal cords of 13 dogs of different breeds and body weights in a 3.0 T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner. The aim was to study fiber tracking (FT) patterns by tractography and the variations of the fractional anisotropy (FA) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) observed in the spinal cords of dogs with different sizes and at different locations (cervical and thoracolumbar). For that reason we added a DTI sequence to the standard clinical MR protocol. The values of FA and ADC were calculated by means of three regions of interest defined on the cervical or the thoracolumbar spinal cord (ROI 1, 2, and 3).ResultsThe shape of the spinal cord fiber tracts was well illustrated following tractography and the exiting nerve roots could be differentiated from the spinal cord fiber tracts. Routine MR scanning times were extended for 8 to 12 min, depending on the size of the field of view (FOV), the slice thickness, and the size of the interslice gaps. In small breed dogs (< 15 kg body weight) the fibers could be tracked over a length of approximately 10 vertebral bodies with scanning times of about 8 min, whereas in large breed dogs (> 25 kg body weight) the traceable fiber length was about 5 vertebral bodies which took 10 to 12 min scanning time. FA and ADC values showed mean values of 0.447 (FA), and 0.560 × 10-3 mm2/s (ADC), respectively without any differences detected with regard to different dog sizes and spinal cord 45 segments examined.ConclusionFT is suitable for the graphical depiction of the canine spinal cord and the exiting nerve roots. The FA and ADC values offer an objective measure for evaluation of the spinal cord fiber integrity in dogs.

BackgroundTraumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) results in sensory and motor function impairment and may cause a substantial social and economic burden. For the implementation of novel treatment strategies, parallel development of objective tools evaluating spinal cord (SC) integrity during motor function recovery (MFR) is needed. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables in vivo microstructural assessment of SCI.MethodsIn the current study, temporal evolvement of DTI metrics during MFR were examined; therefore, values of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were measured in a population of 17 paraplegic dogs with naturally-occurring acute SCI showing MFR within 4 weeks after surgical decompression and compared to 6 control dogs. MRI scans were performed preoperatively and 12 weeks after MFR was observed. DTI metrics were obtained at the lesion epicentre and one SC segment cranially and caudally. Variance analyses were performed to compare values between evaluated localizations in affected dogs and controls and between time points. Correlations between DTI metrics and clinical scores at follow-up examinations were assessed.ResultsBefore surgery, FA values at epicentres were higher than caudally (p = 0.0014) and control values (p = 0.0097); ADC values were lower in the epicentre compared to control values (p = 0.0035) and perilesional (p = 0.0448 cranially and p = 0.0433 caudally). In follow-up examinations, no significant differences could be found between DTI values from dogs showing MFR and control dogs. Lower ADC values at epicentres correlated with neurological deficits at follow-up examinations (r = − 0.705; p = 0.0023).ConclusionsFindings suggest that a tendency to the return of DTI values to the physiological situation after surgical decompression accompanies MFR after SCI in paraplegic dogs. DTI may represent a useful and objective clinical tool for follow-up studies examining in vivo SC recovery in treatment studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12967-018-1630-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.