PET in Cerebrovascular Disease

Investigation of the interplay between the cerebral circulation and brain cellular function is fundamental to understanding both the pathophysiology and treatment of stroke. At present, PET is the only technique that provides accurate, quantitative in vivo regional measurements of both cerebral circulation and cellular metabolism in human subjects. This article reviews normal human cerebral blood flow and metabolism, and human PET studies of ischemic stroke, carotid artery disease, vascular dementia, intracerebral hemorrhage, and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and discusses how these studies have added to the understanding of the pathophysiology of human cerebrovascular disease.