[Diagnosis of cerebrovascular disorders using stannous technetium pyrophosphate]

A total of 122 cases of various neurological diagnoses (among which 72 cerebral infarcts, 7 intracerebral hematomas and 38 intracranial tumors) had two separate brain scans, performed within 48 hours of each other after the administration of pertechnetate and technetium stannous pyrophosphate. The comparison of the resulting seans indicates that, in addition of an osseous accumulation, the pyrophosphate localizes greatly in ischemic cerebral lesions, especially those observed during the second week of evolution. It seems that the uptake of pyrophosphate reflects the area of anaerobic changes whereas the accumulation of pertechnetate depends on the disruption of the blood brain barrier. The scintigraphic diagnostic of cerebral infarctions is greatly improved.