• Sung Ho Jang and Hyeok Gyu Kwon.
• a Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation , College of Medicine, Yeungnam University , Daegu , Republic of Korea.
• Brain Inj. 2016 Jan 1; 30 (8): 1026-8.

ObjectivesThis study reports on a patient who developed degeneration of an injured spinothalamic tract (STT) detected on diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).Case DescriptionA 56-year-old female had suffered from head trauma resulting from a pedestrian car accident. The patient did not experience loss of consciousness or post-traumatic amnesia and the patient's Glasgow Coma Scale score was 15. She had begun to feel pain in her left hand and foot at ~ 7 days after onset. The characteristics and severity of pain were as follows: constant tingling and pricking sensation without allodynia or hyperalgesia (Visual Analogue Scale score: 3~4). No specific focal lesion was observed on brain and spine MRI and an electromyography study showed no evidence of peripheral nerve injury or radiculopathy. At 6 months after onset, the central pain in the left hand and foot became aggravated, with a Visual Analogue Scale score of 6.ResultsOn 1-month DTT, partial tearing was observed in both STTs. In contrast, both partially torn STTs had become atrophy on 9-month DTT.ConclusionsThis study recommends further studies conducted on the prognosis (regeneration or degeneration) of injured STTs and on the effect of change of an injured STT on central pain.

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