Internal carotid artery occlusion assessed at pulsed arterial spin-labeling perfusion MR imaging at multiple delay...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Radiology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion can lead to reduced cerebral blood flow (CBF), impacting brain function.
• Accurate quantification of CBF is crucial for assessing the severity of cerebrovascular disease.
• Pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a non-invasive MRI technique for measuring CBF.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI with multiple inversion times for quantifying cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion.
• To compare CBF values in patients with ICA occlusion to healthy control subjects.

Main Methods:

• ASL MRI was performed at six inversion times in 9 patients with ICA occlusion and 11 controls.
• Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was calculated from ASL signal intensities across multiple inversion times.
• Statistical comparisons were made between ipsilateral and contralateral hemispheres in patients, and between patients and controls.

Main Results:

• Mean gray matter CBF was significantly decreased in the hemisphere ipsilateral to ICA occlusion compared to the contralateral hemisphere (P < .05).
• Patients with ICA occlusion showed significantly lower gray matter CBF compared to control subjects (P < .05).
• ASL at multiple inversion times successfully compensated for blood transit delays.

Conclusions:

• Pulsed ASL MRI with multiple inversion times is a viable method for quantifying CBF in the presence of ICA occlusion.
• This technique can accurately detect reduced CBF in affected brain regions, aiding in the assessment of cerebrovascular disease.
• ASL provides a non-invasive means to evaluate hemodynamic changes associated with ICA occlusion.