Hongyu An1, Andria L. Ford2, Katie Vo3, Jin-Moo Lee2, William J. Powers4, Weili Lin1
1Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; 2Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; 3Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA; 4Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Sequential perfusion imaging was performed to examine the temporal characteristics of early reperfusion in relation to baseline clinical variables. Our results demonstrate the dynamic nature of cerebral perfusion during acute ischemia with the development of reperfusion and new hypoperfusion volumes concurrently. Improvement of NIHSS strongly correlated with net decrease in hypoperfused tissue. No correlation between the volume of reperfused tissue and the onset-to-tPA treatment time if tPA was given within the three-hour therapeutic window. Additionally, large hypoperfused volumes were not accompanied by large volumes of reperfusion, suggesting that large strokes may be less receptive to the benefits of tPA.