Changes in Imaging and Cognition in Juvenile Rats After Whole-Brain Irradiation.

Purpose: In pediatric cancer survivors treated with whole-brain irradiation (WBI), long-term cognitive deficits and morbidity develop that are poorly understood and for which there is no treatment. We describe similar cognitive defects in juvenile WBI rats and correlate them with alterations in diffusion tensor imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) during brain development.

Methods And Materials: Juvenile Fischer rats received clinically relevant fractionated doses of WBI or a high-dose exposure.