[Dipyridamole test in the early detection of cerebrovascular disorders?]

The diagnosis of transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is mainly based on the clinical symptoms presented by the patient. Professionals in nuclear medicine have made a successful attempt to detect TIA by single photon emission tomography (SPECT) imaging. Improved sensitivity of the examination using stress test (e.g. acetazolamide) is well known in the literature. The dipyridamole stress test combined with SPECT imaging was regularly performed in patients (n = 100) with ischaemic heart disease. After injecting dipyridamole intravenously it found various forms of transient neurological deficits in 23% of the patients with considerably higher incidence reported previously in the literature (1.22/10,000). The so called "TIA positive" patients were examined further using the combination of dipyridamole stress test and brain SPECT imaging. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between transient neurological symptoms provoked by DPD test and the change in regional cerebral blood flow indicated by brain SPECT imaging. It is emphasized, that perfusion abnormalities revealed by brain SPECT were topographically consistent with the neurological deficits. In this article the attention was drawn to advantages of this test which may be suitable to provoke TIA safely. Combined with brain SPECT it may have an important role in the neurologic diagnostic procedures and in the prevention of stroke.