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(Stroke. 2004;35:2099.)
© 2004 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Are There Time-Dependent Differences in Diffusion and Perfusion Within the First 6 Hours After Stroke Onset?

Jens Fiehler, MD; Thomas Kucinski, MD; Karina Knudsen, MSt; Michael Rosenkranz, MD; Götz Thomalla, MD; Cornelius Weiller, MD; Joachim Röther, MD Hermann Zeumer, MD

From the Departments of Neuroradiology (J.F., T.K., K.K., H.Z.) and Neurology (M.R., G.T., C.W., J.R.), University Hospital Eppendorf, University of Hamburg, Germany.

Correspondence to Dr Jens Fiehler, Department of Neuroradiology, Universitätsklinikum Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail fiehler{at}uke.uni-hamburg.de

Background and Purpose— Stroke heterogeneity in computed tomography-based studies has been attributed as main cause for missing efficacy of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) therapy within 3 to 6 hours. We investigated early time-dependent differences in acute stroke pathophysiology by multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods— Stroke MRI of 112 acute ischemic stroke patients within <6 hours were dichotomized into a <3-hour group (n=52) and a 3- to 6-hour group (n=60). Infarct volume was determined on days 5 to 8. Lesion volumes were determined for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC_man) and the subregion with ADC values <550x10^–9 mm/s² (ADC <550), and for the time-to-peak (TTP) delay of 2 to 4 seconds, 4 to 6 seconds, 6 to 8 seconds, and >8 seconds. A subsample analysis was performed for occlusions of the middle carotid artery (MCA) trunk (n=36) and MCA branches (n=30), and for all patients treated by intravenous tPA (n=70).

Results— ADC and TTP lesion volumes were not different within <3 hours compared with volumes at 3 to 6 hours. In patients receiving intravenous tPA (n=70), there were no significant differences in ADC_man, TTP >2 seconds, and infarct volume (days 5 to 8) between the 2 groups. There was a greater proportion of ADC <550/ADC_man, which was most pronounced in patients with MCA trunk occlusions after 3 to 6 hours and a larger mismatch in the <3-hour group compared with that of the 3- to 6-hour group. In MCA branch occlusions, there was a less severe TTP delay after 3 to 6 hours. However, all differences missed the significance level (P=0.05) after correction for multiple testing.

Conclusions— We observed no significant time-dependent differences within 6 hours after stroke onset in degree and volume of diffusion and perfusion impairment. An exclusion from intravenous tPA solely based on a rigid 3-hour time window seems unjustified in MRI-confirmed ischemic stroke.

Key Words: ischemia • magnetic resonance imaging • magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion-weighted • stroke, acute • thrombolysis

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