Subcortical lesions after transient thread occlusion in the rat: T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging findings without corresponding sensorimotor deficits
✍ Scribed by Susanne Wegener; Ralph Weber; Pedro Ramos-Cabrer; Ulla Uhlenkueken; Dirk Wiedermann; Korinna Kandal; Arno Villringer; Mathias Hoehn
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 368 KB
- Volume
- 21
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1053-1807
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate infarct evolution and functional consequences of exclusive subcortical or cortico‐subcortical strokes, transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was conducted in Wistar rats.
Materials and Methods
MCAO was induced in male Wistar rats (260–300 g) for 60 minutes. Lesion volumes and absolute T~2~ times on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were assessed 1 and 14 days after MCAO using a 4.7‐T MRI animal scanner in conjunction with functional testing (adhesive tape removal, cylinder test, and ledged beam walking).
Results
Functional test scores were not distinguishable between sham‐operated animals (N = 5) and those with exclusive caudoputaminal infarct (N = 8; group cp), but showed significant deficits in animals with cortico‐subcortical infarction (N = 10; group cp+). The cp group had lower absolute T~2~ times and a more pronounced reduction in T~2~ lesion volume over time than the subcortical component in the cp+ group. There was no correlation of T~2~ lesion size or absolute T~2~ times and functional impairment in either group.
Conclusion
When judged from functional tests alone, subcortical ischemic lesions may not be diagnosed reliably. Furthermore, T~2~‐weighted (T~2~‐w) MRI does not well anticipate functional deficits in primarily striatal lesions. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2005;21:340–346. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.