Abstract #3276

Acute Normalization of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Values May Not Reflect Tissue Recovery in Acute Stroke Patients

Hongyu An¹, Andria L. Ford², Katie Vo³, William J. Powers⁴, Jin-Moo Lee², 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

Temporal behavior of ADC lesions during hyperacute ischemia and the final fate of these lesions were examined in the presence or absence of reperfusion. ADC increased significantly after reperfusion, while it decreased slightly if reperfusion did not occur. Reversal of ADC abnormality within 3 to 6 hours after stroke does not necessarily reflect a recovery of ischemic tissue. Furthermore, a time lag was observed between the changes of perfusion and the changes of diffusion (both normalization and worsening).