To explore the changes in the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of the pontocerebellar tract 3 months and one year after ischemic stroke and analyze the data′s potential for predicting long-term motor outcomes.
The average FA on the healthy side 3 months and 1 year after onset was significantly less than on the affected side at each time point. The ratio of the FA of the affected side to that of the unaffected side (rFA) in the PCF correlated significantly with the average paresis scores of the lower and upper extremity and the total paresis score at each time point. Moreover, the rFA of the PCF was significantly correlated with the average functional independence score, the prognosis for the upper and lower extremities as well as motor functioning. The area ratio under the ROC curve of the PCF for predicting lower extremity motor outcome was 0.84, and the optimal threshold was 0.92 (sensitivity 71.4%, specificity 73.9%). The area ratio under the ROC curve was not a significant predictor of upper extremity motor outcome.