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Mapping of the cortical spinal tracts using magnetoencephalography and diffusion tensor tractography in pediatric brain tumor patients

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Abstract

Prior to resection of a cerebral brain tumor, mapping of the functional and structural anatomy of the adjacent tissue is essential to reduce the risk of damage to descending and ascending pathways. We investigated the effectiveness of concurrent magnetoencephalography (MEG) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography to delineate the motor cortex and associated corticospinal tract (CST) in a case series of children with brain tumors seen for pre-surgical evaluation. Using activation points generated from MEG to launch tractography, we delineated the CST of four patients and eight control subjects. Displacement of the CST was considerably larger in children with tumors located in the center of the hemisphere than in children whose tumors were more posteriorly located. Our findings suggest that the use of concurrent MEG and DTI may be an effective tool in the pre-surgical evaluation of eloquent cortex and associated white matter tracts in pediatric brain tumor patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    William Gaetz

  2. Program in Neuroscience and Mental Health, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 1X8

    Nadia Scantlebury, Conrad Rockel, Colleen Dockstader & Donald Mabbott

  3. Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Elysa Widjaja

  4. Division of Neurosurgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    James Rutka

  5. Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    James Rutka

  6. Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Eric Bouffet

  7. Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Eric Bouffet

  8. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Donald Mabbott

Authors
  1. William Gaetz
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  2. Nadia Scantlebury
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  3. Elysa Widjaja
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  4. James Rutka
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  5. Eric Bouffet
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  6. Conrad Rockel
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  7. Colleen Dockstader
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  8. Donald Mabbott
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Correspondence to Donald Mabbott.

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Gaetz, W., Scantlebury, N., Widjaja, E. et al. Mapping of the cortical spinal tracts using magnetoencephalography and diffusion tensor tractography in pediatric brain tumor patients. Childs Nerv Syst 26, 1639–1645 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1189-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1189-8

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