Abstract

The appearance of local cerebral dysfunction at remote regions from the focus in the acute stage of stroke (diaschisis) is well known, but its mechanism has not been established. We have analysed serial MR images of the infarcted brain of rats to evaluate the distribution of oedema. Forty-seven Sprague-Dawley rats were anaesthetized with halothane, and the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) was permanently occluded via the intraluminal approach using a nylon 2-0 suture. At 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours after the occlusion, coronal T(2)-weighted MR images were taken and the signal intensity (SI) was computed at each region of the brain. After occlusion of the right MCA, SI increased diachronically up to 24 hours on the occluded side of the cortex (52.9+/-3.2 to 104.8+/-22.4) and striatum, which are within the perfusion territory of the MCA. SI increment was also observed at the hippocampus, alveus hippocampi and pyriform lobe, which are not within the territory of the MCA, and at some regions of the contralateral side (52.5+/-4.8 to 69.4+/-14.8 at the cortex). These changes were prominent in ischaemia-vulnerable portions, mild in the cortex, and minimal in the striatum. This contralateral side SI increment indicates remote oedema, which corresponds to diaschisis. We suggest that the mechanism of this remote contralateral oedema is the movement of extravasated protein from the lesion.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Izumi Y, Haida M, Hata T, Isozumi K, Kurita D, Shinohara Y

Institution

Department of Neurology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.

Source

Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia 9:3 2002 May pg 289-93

MeSH

Animals
Brain
Brain Edema
Cerebral Infarction
Coloring Agents
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Staining and Labeling
Tetrazolium Salts

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

12093136