Young Ro Kim1, Xiang Fan2,
Guangping Dai1, Jeong Kon Kim3, Bruce R. Rosen1,
xiaoying Wang2
1Radiology, Martinos Center for
Biomedical Imaging / Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United
States; 2Radiology, Neuroprotection Research laboratory /
Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States; 3Radiology,
Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, Republic of
Tissue
plasminogen activator (tPA) has been frequently used for treating acute
ischemic stroke based on re-canalization, reopening of occluded vessels for
the reinstitution of regional blood perfusion. Despite the promising clinical
outcomes, exogenous tPA may worsen the ischemia-induced blood brain-barrier
disruption, elevate risks of intracranial hemorrhage, and in part
consequently reduces the therapeutic time window. Therefore, it is critically
important to understand the overall effects of tPA treatment on
cerebrohemodynamics. In this study, we investigated the vasoreactivity in
response to intravenously administered tPA and to systemic hypercapnia before
and after tPA using a permanent focal stroke rat model.