what is a diffuse axonal injury?

ln november 2007 my son hadthe back of his head hit onto the playground tarmac during playtime, he complained he could not see properly and that he had a headache.  we took him to the hospital who admitted him.  he was not able to see clearly using his left eye for weeks after and he had a continued headache at the front of his head , he said food smelt wrong and things did not taste the same, he had difficulity with conversations as he would get stuck finding words. he has had various tests done and we have been told from the hospital consultant that he has got a diffuse axonal injury. what is this?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Diffuse axonal injury is different from direct head trauma. In diffuse axonal injury, the nerve cells get damaged due to sliding on each other, as the brain moves back and forth in the skull. The long tail like parts (axons) of the nerve cells are stretched to the extent that they are damaged due to some chemical changes occurring after a few days. That's the difference between a direct trauma and diffuse axonal injury.

An MRI with and without contrast has to be done. The symptoms of your son suggest that more than one areas of his brain are affected.

Please keep in mind, the MRI may also miss the axonal injury.

Regards