Characterization of experimental ischemia with high-speed contrast-enhanced MR imaging

This paper establishes whether the nonionic T2-shortening contrast agents, Dy-DTPA-BMA and Gd-DTPA-BMA, facilitate characterization of tissue perfusion deficits in a cerebral occlusion-reperfusion cat model. A 2-T GE SCI with shielded gradients was used. T2- and spin-echo diffusion-weighted images (b values to 1,500 sec/mm2) were acquired together with sequential (effective TR = 1 sec) echo-planar contrast material-enhanced gradient-echo-planar images [64 x 65, 65-msec acquisition time]. Within 30 minutes after unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in the cat, diffusion-weighted images exhibited hyperintensity in the ipsilateral basal ganglia and parietal cortex