Magnetic resonance imaging of experimental brain edema in cats

The authors observed the natural course of experimental brain edema in vivo using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. To detect and qualify the edematous lesion, they obtained images by the spin echo technique (repetition time, 2100 ms; echo time, 80 ms). These showed the maximal brain edema on the 1st to 3rd days after the operation, as evidenced by a pixel density study and a finding of mass effect. On MR images enhanced with manganese, the inversion recovery technique (repetition time, 2100 ms; inversion time, 500 ms) demonstrated the edematous lesion as a high signal intensity area with good spatial resolution. Moreover, the follow-up inversion recovery images with manganese suggested that there was a system for absorption of edema fluid between blood vessels and the edematous lesion. The authors think that MR imaging is an important technique for observation of the dynamics of experimental brain edema.