Cerebral white matter lesions may be partially reversible in patients with carotid artery stenosis
1Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi Hirokoji Agaru, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto, Japan. kyamada@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp
Abstract:
Contrary to the common belief that age-related WMLs (also known as leukoaraiosis) are a progressive condition, a case of partial reversal of WMLs shortly after carotid artery stenting is described. A 75-year-old man presented with frequent TIAs, which were attributed to right ICA stenosis. He subsequently underwent successful carotid artery stenting. Follow-up MR imaging a week after the procedure showed improvement of WMLs in the right cerebral hemisphere. Pixel-by-pixel image analysis showed that the reversed WMLs tended to have higher lambda1 and lower signal intensity on b = 0 images compared with nonreversed lesions, but by only approximately 10%.
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