Traumatic Microhemorrhages Are Not Synonymous With Axonal Injury
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is caused by acceleration-deceleration forces during trauma that shear white matter tracts. Susceptibility-weighted MRI (SWI) identifies microbleeds that are considered the radiologic hallmark of DAI and are used in clinical prognostication. However, this assumption is limited by a lack of systematic radiologic-pathologic correlation studies. Here, we performed ex vivo SWI on three brains from patients who died after severe TBI and assessed axonal injury around SWI microbleeds using immunohistochemistry to the amyloid-beta precursor protein. Axonal injury was present in 64% of microbleeds, indicating a heterogeneous injury response in the white matter.
DOI: 10.1002/acn3.70309
Language: English
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,100
Awards: G1013228188, G1202420656, G1630708652, G187944815, G1981129842, G2195122786, G2443624849, G2457857026, G2993297614, G3070797169, G333817976, G3865632432, G3914495899, G4119534169, A Connectome-Based Clinical Trial Platform to Promote Early Recovery of Consciousness after Traumatic Coma, CONNECT-TBI, G5850682332, Clinical & biological signatures of post-traumatic neurodegeneration: Toward in vivo diagnosis of the late effects of TBI., EValuation Of Longitudinal outcomes in mild TBI Active-Duty Military and VEterans 10-Year, G8609282329, G9000058730, G9000087139, G9000162892, G9000319975, University of Washington Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Transdisciplinary Research Accelerating Neuropathology Studies and Facilitating Open Research Methods in TBI (TRANSFORM-TBI)
OpenAlex ID: W7125261964