[Platelet scintigraphy using indium-111]

Platelet scintigraphic examination using indium-111 was performed on 12 patients with cerebral ischemia. Of these patients 5 had a history of TIA, 3 had a prolonged reversible neurologic deficit (PRIND), 3 cases were presented with a completed stroke and 1 patient suffered from a suspected venous thrombosis of the sinus sagittalis superior. In total 8 cases showed pathological platelet accumulations in the vessel clinically affected, 5 extracranially and 3 intracranially. In the other 4 cases the platelet scintigraphy was normal. The cases with TIA showed pathological platelet accumulations in the appropriate vessel, even if the angiogram was normal. On the other hand platelet scintigraphy did not show any abnormality in 2 patients with an occlusion of the carotid artery. So platelet scintigraphy might be useful in the detection of small arterial lesions producing small strokes, and which remain undetected by other diagnostic methods.