Abstract P534: Relationship Between rCBF and Pial Collateral Recruitment in Experimental Acute Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by MRI and leptomeningeal collateral recruitment in an experimental acute ischemic stroke model. Methods: This study was approved by the local IACUC. Eight mongrel canines (20-30kg) underwent endovascular middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Anesthetics were chosen not to interfere with cerebrovascular reactivity. Physiologic parameters were maintained within normal ranges. Pial collateral recruitment was angiographically assessed using a previously published 11-point scale. After the MCAO, subjects underwent DSC and DTI MRI (3T Achieva, Philips Healthcare, Best, Netherlands) in order to derive rCBF and infarct volume by diffusion restriction on mean diffusivity maps. DSC images were imported into Visage software (Visage Imaging; Richmond Australia). The region of interest was drawn on the penumbra and infarct core and corresponding contralateral side. Infarct volume was calculated by using a quantitative voxel-wise threshold by setting a threshold of 1.5 SD relative to normal values based on an ROI drawn to cover the entire contralateral normal hemisphere exclusive of the ventricles. Results: The pial collateral recruitment was strongly correlated with the rCBF on the penumbral region (r 2 = 0.7823, P-value= 0.003), and with the infarct volume measured two hours following occlusion (r 2 = 0.933376, P value= 0.00009.). There was a poor correlation between the pial collateral recruitment and the rCBF ratio on the core region (R 2 =0.4447, p-value= 0.07.) Conclusion: Preliminary data from this study suggests rCBF from the penumbral regions in experimental MCAO has a closer association with pial collateral recruitment relative to rCBF in the core infarct zone. This information has the potential to affect the interpretation of angiographic studies in acute ischemic stroke and underscores the importance of assessing regional differences in rCBF.