[Fractional anisotropy and somatosensory evoked potentials in the postcentral gyrus subcortex after acute infarction of the posterior limb of the internal capsule].

To investigate the relationship between fractional anisotropy (FA) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) in the postcentral gyrus subcortex in patients with acute infarction of the posterior limb of the internal capsule.Thirty-one patients with acute infarction of the posterior limb of the internal capsule underwent diffusion tensor imaging to obtain the FA values of the subcortical region of the postcentral gyrus with manual placement of the regions of interest (ROI). SEP and the sensory functions of the patients were examined and graded.In each SEP grade group, the FA values of the subcortical region of the postcentral gyrus were significantly decreased on the diseased side compared to those of the normal side (P<0.05). The FA values of the diseased side differed significantly between patients with different SEP grades (P<0.05), and increased SEP abnormalities were associated with lowered FA values. The sensory function of the patients was positively correlated to the grade of SEP (r=0.520, P<0.05).For patients with acute infarction of the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the changes of FA in the postcentral gyrus subcortex on the diseased side are correlated and complementary to SEP in evaluating the prognosis.