BACKGROUND

Swallowing impairment after stroke may be related to the state of the corticobulbar tract (CBT), which is the motor projection fiber responsible for deglutition, but evidence is still lacking regarding which parameter could relate to poststroke swallowing recovery as measured by videofluroscope findings. This prospective study evaluated diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters among dysphagic stroke patients compared with those of nondysphagia stroke patients and age-matched healthy subjects and followed swallowing recovery in dysphagic patients as assessed with the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP©).

METHODS

Diffusion tractography was performed in 69 subjects, consisting of 27 S patients with dysphagia, 18 healthy subjects and 24 S patients with no evidence of dysphagia. DTI was performed within 14 days of stroke onset. Follow-up DTI was performed in the dysphagic group at three months. The tract volume (TV) of the CBT and frontal operculum as determined by fractional anisotropy (FA) was compared among the 3 groups. Correlations of these parameters with initial dysphagia severity and swallowing parameters at baseline and 3 months postonset were assessed.

RESULTS

All stroke patients showed lower CBT TV on the affected and unaffected sides than those in the control group, even in those who showed no evidence of clinical dysphagia. The dysphagia group showed a greater reduction in CBT TV on the affected side (P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that cutoff values of 4.1 cm for TV and 0.24 for FA from the affected side could classify dysphagia with good accuracy (AUC = 0.77, 0.75, respectively) and specificity levels. FA values in the unaffected frontal operculum showed a significant correlation (rho = -0.40, P = 0.02) with swallowing outcome as observed by the total scores of MBSImP©. In addition, these values proved to be significant variables to predict swallowing outcome in multiple regression analysis (R = 0.6317, adjR = 0.5815, F = 12.58, p < 0.001, AIC = 203.65).

CONCLUSIONS

Even when clinical dysphagia is not apparent, individuals with a supratentorial stroke may show reduced CBT parameters compared to healthy controls. Supratentorial stroke may manifest with dysphagia if a certain extent of CBT volume and white matter tract integrity is involved, with a greater degree of CBT injury in the affected sides determining poststroke dysphagia severity. In contrast, recovery was independent of the affected parameters, and an initial lower FA value in the unaffected frontal operculum was indicative of a poorer 3-month dysphagia outcome. DTI parameters obtained within two weeks of stroke onset may help classify those with dysphagia, predict recovery and help plain therapeutic strategies to maintain the adaptive role of the white matter tract, which is crucial in swallowing recovery.