Predictive Value of Hyperintense Acute Reperfusion Marker in Transient Ischemic Attacks: Stroke Recurrence and TOAST...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Radiology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a stroke precursor with high recurrence risk.
• Blood-brain barrier disruption is implicated in TIA.
• Hyperintense Acute Reperfusion Marker (HARM) is a potential imaging biomarker for TIA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the predictive value of HARM for stroke recurrence in TIA patients.
• To assess the association between HARM and stroke etiology (TOAST subtype).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 715 TIA patients.
• Analysis of imaging findings, including diffusion-weighted imaging.
• Logistic regression to assess HARM's predictive value and associations.

Main Results:

• HARM-positive patients had significantly higher 3-month (20.9%) and 1-year (30.2%) stroke recurrence rates (OR=5.3 and 5.8, respectively).
• HARM was significantly associated with cardioembolic stroke.
• HARM demonstrated superior predictive value compared to other imaging markers (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• HARM is a promising imaging biomarker for predicting stroke recurrence after TIA.
• HARM may help identify stroke etiology, particularly cardioembolic events.
• Integrating HARM into clinical practice can improve TIA patient diagnosis and prognosis.