Correlations between cervical spinal cord magnetic resonance diffusion tensor and diffusion kurtosis imaging metrics and motor performance in patients with chronic ischemic brain lesions of the corticospinal tract.

A reduction of anisotropy and microstructural complexity in the affected lateral WM bundle of the cervical spinal cord was observed in patients with previous ischemic stroke involving the CST. The correlations between these metrics and motor performance were statistically significant.