A study of diaschisis in CVD using MR-CT

The presence of diaschisis in the non-infarct cerebral areas in a cerebro-vascular disorder (CVD) has been reported using PET and cerebral-blood flowmetry. We are not aware, however, of any report studying this diaschisis by means of the method of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this connection, we studied brain MRI in 38 patients with cerebral infarctions. The T1 relaxation time was estimated in the white and grey matters of the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes and the thalamus, including the cerebral white matter of both the infarct and non-infarct sides. In the major-stroke group, significant increases (all P < 0.05) in the T1 relaxation time were observed in the thalamus of the infarct side, as well as in the thalamus and the white matter of the occipital lobe on the non-infarct side. In the minor-stroke group, significant increases (all P < 0.05) of the T1 relaxation time were also observed in all areas except the frontal-lobe white matter of the infarct and non-infarct sides. We have thus proved the presence of diaschisis through the method of MRI by evaluating the T1 relaxation time. An analysis of the time profile of the T1 relaxation time in each area demonstrated that the T1 relaxation time tended to show its greatest value between 2 weeks and 2 months and thereafter gradually decreased, reaching the normal range 2 months later in the white matter of both the infarct and non-infarct sides. The T1 relaxation time in the thalamus of the infarct side, however, decreased between 2 weeks and 2 months and then increased again. Therefore, we were able to show different time profiles of the diaschisis in various areas of the brain through the analysis of the T1 relaxation time in MRI. (author)