Background and purpose

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in fractional anisotropy (FA), as measured by diffusion tensor imaging, of white matter (WM) infarction and hypoperfusion in patients with acute ischemic stroke using a quantitative voxel-based analysis.

Methods

In this prospective study, diffusion tensor imaging and dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion sequences were acquired in 21 patients with acute ischemic stroke who presented within 6 hours of symptom onset. The coregistered FA, apparent diffusion coefficient, and dynamic susceptibility contrast time to maximum (Tmax) maps were used for voxel-based quantification using a region of interest approach in the ipsilateral affected side and in the homologous contralateral WM. The regions of WM infarction versus hypoperfusion were segmented using a threshold method. Data were analyzed by regression and ANOVA.

Results

There was an overall significant mean difference (P<0.001) for the apparent diffusion coefficient, Tmax, and FA values between the normal, hypoperfused, and infarcted WM. The mean±SD of FA was significantly higher (P<0.001) in hypoperfused WM (0.397±0.019) and lower (P<0.001) in infarcted WM (0.313±0.037) when compared with normal WM (0.360±0.020). Regression tree analysis of hypoperfused WM showed the largest mean FA difference at Tmax above versus below 5.4 s with a mean difference of 0.033 (P=0.0096).

Conclusions

Diffusion tensor imaging-FA was decreased in regions of WM infarction and increased in hypoperfused WM in patients with hyperacute acute ischemic stroke. The significantly increased FA values in the hypoperfused WM with Tmax≥5.4 s are suggestive of early ischemic microstructural changes.

Background and purpose

A number of therapies in development for patients with central nervous system injury aim to reduce disability by improving function of surviving brain elements rather than by salvaging tissue. The current study tested the hypothesis that, after adjusting for a number of clinical assessments, a measure of brain function at baseline would improve prediction of behavioral gains after treatment.

Methods

Twenty-four patients with chronic stroke underwent baseline clinical and functional MRI assessments, received 6 weeks of rehabilitation therapy with or without investigational motor cortex stimulation, and then had repeat assessments. Thirteen baseline clinical/radiological measures were evaluated for ability to predict subsequent trial-related gains.

Results

Across all patients, bivariate analyses found that greater trial-related functional gains were predicted by (1) smaller infarct volume, (2) greater baseline clinical status, and (3) lower degree of activation in stroke-affected motor cortex on baseline functional MRI. When these 3 variables were further assessed using multivariate linear regression modeling, only lower motor cortex activation and greater clinical status at baseline remained significant predictors. Note that lower baseline motor cortex activation was also associated with larger increases in motor cortex activation after treatment.

Conclusions

Lower motor cortex activity at baseline predicted greater behavioral gains after therapy, even after controlling for a number of clinical assessments. The boosts in cortical activity that paralleled behavioral gains suggest that in some patients, low baseline cortical activity represents underuse of surviving cortical resources. A measure of brain function might be important for optimal clinical decision-making in the context of a restorative intervention.