Measurement of cerebrovascular changes in cats after transient ischemia using dynamic magnetic resonance imaging

Hemodynamic changes associated with acute ischemia cannot be measured with conventional nuclear magnetic resonance imaging. In this study, we used dynamic susceptibility-contrast magnetic resonance imaging to measure the changes in vascular transit time and relative cerebral blood volume in a feline occlusion-reperfusion model.

Dynamic susceptibility-contrast measurements were obtained before and during 10 minutes of global cerebral ischemia and for up to 3 hours after the onset of reperfusion. A cerebral blood flow index was calculated from the vascular transit time and relative cerebral blood volume measurements. Functional maps were constructed to demonstrate the regional hemodynamic differences resulting from the induced ischemia.

During the early phase after reperfusion, both the relative cerebral blood volume and blood flow index rose sharply, followed by a fall to near-basal levels at 45 minutes (1 x control and 1.3 x control, respectively). Thereafter, the volume rose slowly, whereas the flow index continued to drop. At 3 hours, cerebral blood volume had reached 1.6 times its control value, whereas the flow index had returned to its base value.

The hemodynamic behavior we observed in our model reflects the independent responses of the cerebral blood volume and flow index to ischemic insult. Measurements acquired by our method were consistent with the temporal behavior reported in previous radionuclide studies. Susceptibility-contrast nuclear magnetic resonance tomographic imaging proved to be valuable in detecting and quantifying both immediate and subsequent changes in the hemodynamic state of the ischemic and hyperemic feline brain.