Can MRI quantification help evaluate stroke age?

Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) mismatch has a proven ability to estimate stroke-to-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) delay. We evaluated the possibility of enhancing this estimation by quantifying MRI (DWI and FLAIR) signals, and compared this approach to the visual evaluation of DWI-FLAIR mismatch.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 194 patients presenting an ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory that had been explored with 3T MRI within 12h.

Parenchymal FLAIR hyperintensity before thrombolysis is a prognostic factor of ischemic stroke outcome at 3 Tesla.

Background: The goal of the present study was to determine whether the presence or absence of parenchymal FLAIR hyperintensity alone, before thrombolysis, might be a predictive factor of ischemic stroke outcomes after the acute phase of stroke and at 3 months.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively included 84 patients with an ischemic stroke between November 2007 and March 2012, who underwent 3T MRI, were treated by thrombolysis, and had medical follow-up at 3 months. Two readers analyzed parenchymal FLAIR visibility.

Can diffusion-weighted imaging-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery mismatch (positive diffusion-weighted imaging/negative fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) at 3 Tesla identify patients with stroke at <4.5 hours?

Background And Purpose: At 1.5 T, diffusion-weighted imaging-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (DWI-FLAIR) mismatch helps identify strokes within 4.5 hours of onset.