PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yamada, Naoaki
AU  - Imakita, Satoshi
AU  - Sakuma, Toshiharu
TI  - Value of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in Recent Cerebral Infarctions: A Correlative Study with Contrast-Enhanced T1-Weighted Imaging
DP  - 1999 Feb 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 193--198
VI  - 20
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/20/2/193.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/20/2/193.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.1999 Feb 01; 20
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The clinical usefulness and the time course of diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in acute and subacute cerebral infarction have not yet been established, although it is known that contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spin-echo imaging can detect a subacute infarct. Our aim was to study which imaging technique is useful in detecting recent infarcts, and whether an increase in ADC or a decrease in signal intensity on diffusion-weighted images is correlated with enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images.METHODS: Forty-one infarctions with a duration of 9 hours to 27 days were studied in 29 patients. The ADC and signal intensity on diffusion-weighted images were compared with the contrast-enhancement ratio (CER) on T1-weighted spin-echo images (CER = signal intensity after contrast injection/signal intensity before contrast injection).RESULTS: ADC was linearly correlated with CER, and signal intensity on diffusion-weighted images was inversely correlated with CER. The correlation between ADC and age of the infarct in the subacute phase was weak.CONCLUSION: Diffusion-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted spin-echo images complement each other in detecting subacute infarcts. Neovascularization and disruption of the blood-brain barrier in infarcts can be important in increasing ADC in subacute infarcts.