Pervasive White Matter Fiber Degeneration in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Background and Purpose - We examined if ischemic stroke is associated with white matter degeneration predominantly confined to the ipsi-lesional tracts or with widespread bilateral axonal loss independent of lesion laterality. Methods - We applied a novel fixel-based analysis, sensitive to fiber tract-specific differences within a voxel, to assess axonal loss in stroke (N=104, 32 women) compared to control participants (N=40, 15 women) across the whole brain. We studied microstructural differences in fiber density and macrostructural (morphological) changes in fiber cross-section. Results - In participants with stroke, we observed significantly lower fiber density and cross-section in areas ..