DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF CEREBRAL PERFUSION BLOOD FLOW IN THE EARLY POST-STROKE PERIOD ACCORDING TO NON-CONTRAST MRI DATA

Highlights

The non-contrast perfusion MR sequence pCASL (pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling) is a technique that allows specialist to quantify and trace the changes in cerebral blood flow in the early post-stroke period. At the same time, there is a change in perfusion indices not only in the ischemic stroke area, but also in visually intact areas of the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres of the brain, which indicates the involvement of the blood supply area and the brain as a whole in the pathological process. The obtained data on the dynamics in perfusion, verified by the results of cognitive tests, open up the prospect of a comprehensive study of stroke as a complex brain disease with the possibility of predictive assessment of rehabilitation.

Aim. To assess the dynamics of microcirculatory changes in the brain in the early post-stroke period by non-contrast perfusion MRI.

Methods. The study included 42 patients with acute ischemic stroke. The patients were examined by 3T MRI using the following sequences: DWI-EPI, 3D FLAIR-SPIR, T2-TSE, T1W 3D-TFE, and pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) on 1–3 days, 7–10 days and 3 months later after the manifestation of acute ischemic stroke. The cerebral blood flow (CBF) was obtained in 4 supratentorial regions of the brain: in the ischemic stroke and contralateral areas, as well as in a visually intact area of the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres (mL/100g/min).

Results. In the ischemic stroke area, CBF increased from 19.86±5.69 (mean+Std) to 27.57±4.86 by first to the second examination, which was associated with the infusion therapy, local inflammatory response and compensatory reperfusion. By the 3^rd examination CBF decreased to 14.48±3.66 (Student t-test, p<0.05), which reflects cystic and atrophic transformation of the affected area. In visually intact white matter of the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres, CBF increased from hypoperfused to normoperfused from the first to the third examination. There was a significant decrease (p<0.001) in tissue blood flow (by 54% for the 1^st, 38% for the 2^nd, 67% for the 3^rd examination) in the ischemia area relative to intact parts of the brain.

Conclusion. The pCASL allowed us to assess CBF in the post-stroke period in the ischemic area and in visually intact area, nevertheless, it requires additional pre- and postprocessing of data to obtain quantitative values. At the same time, we observed changes in perfusion in the ischemic stroke area, and in the visually intact areas of the ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres of the brain, indicating the involvement of the cerebral blood flow and brain as a whole in the pathological process.

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