White matter (WM) injury is increasingly recognized as central to the impact on the
quality of life of patients with all severity levels of traumatic brain injury. It
can be the determinant of death or persistent disability. This article reviews the
characteristics of the developing brain in relation to trauma, the primary and secondary
phases of WM injury, and advanced magnetic resonance techniques in the evaluation
of brain trauma. Special emphasis is placed on non-accidental trauma and sports-related
WM injury, respectively.
Keywords
Diffuse axonal injury - non-accidental trauma - sports-related white matter injury
- diffusion tensor imaging - proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy
