Non-Invasive and Temporally Resolved Measurement of Ischaemic Tissue Damage in Acute Stroke Using Quantitative 23Na Magnetic Resonance Microscopy at 7 T

Abstract

The aim of this study was to define a quantifiable parameter which would allow for the classification of still-viable penumbra and irreversibly damaged (ischaemic core) tissue after Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) in a rat stroke model. Differences in Tissue Sodium Concentration (TSC) levels [1] and the rate of TSC increase over time [2] have previously been reported in animal models of ischemic stroke, with the expressed aim of trying to differentiate between penumbra and ischaemic core. In the current study, quantitative 23Na Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (qNa-MRM) was used to measure the time course of TSC with high spatio-temporal resolution, in order to investigate regional variations in TSC behavior in the acute phase in a rodent stroke model.