Cerebral blood volume assessed by MR imaging and vascular paramagnetic marker (HSA-Gd-DTPA) in experimentally induced regional cerebral ischemia

Human serum albumin-Gd-DTPA (HSA-Gd-DTPA)(160 mg/kg, given intravenously) was tested with regard to selective enhancement of the intracranial vascular space after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in cats and rats. MR imaging was performed at 21 (spin-echo sequencies of 300/l4 and 3,000/80 msec) for up to 20 hours after MCAO. MR imaging appearances were correlated with pathologic findings after intracardiac TTC. HSA labeling with 20 molecules of Gd-DTPA produced a 5 X increase in Gd-DTPA relaxivity. HSA-Gd-DTPA preferentially increased the signal intensity of brain gray matter on T1-weighted images in cats. Results obtained in the rat brain, which has almost no pure white matter and less perfusion than cat brain, were inconclusive