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Updated: Jul 4, 2026
Assessing Cortical Cerebral Microinfarcts on High Resolution MR Images
Published on: November 20, 2015
Direct comparison of histology of microbleeds with postmortem MR images: a case report
Shinsui Tatsumi1, Miho Shinohara, Toru Yamamoto
1Department of Neurology, Osaka Saiseikai Nakatsu Hospital, Osaka, Japan. shinsuit@nakatsu.saiseikai.or.jp
Background:
Although the clinical significance of so-called microbleeds (MBs) in gradient-echo MR images (GRE-MRI) has been extensively researched, the histopathological evaluation is notably insufficient.
Methods:
Postmortem GRE-MRI was obtained of water-immersed formalin-fixed tissue blocks from a 97-year-old hypertensive woman with 9 antemortem MBs. Histologic slides were compared with those of MRI.
Results:
Microscopic examination revealed clusters of hemosiderin-laden macrophages in 8 MBs and arteriolar pseudocalcification in 1 MB in the left pallidum. Hypertensive microangiopathies were found in 5 lesions. The sizes of the lesions with hemosiderin deposits were roughly comparable with the MBs of GRE-MRI.
Conclusions:
All of the MBs but for 1 exception were proved to be hemosiderin deposits and frequently associated with hypertensive microangiopathy.
