Identification and significance of cortical laminar necrosis after acute cerebral infarction / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To observe the clinical and imaging features of cortical laminar necrosis (CLN) after acute cerebral infarction, and to explore its possible mechanism.Methods:Five hundred and three patients were recruited into study with acute anterior circulation cerebral infarction confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging in People′s Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2019 to June 2020. They were divided into 24 patients with CLN (CLN group) and 479 patients without CLN (NCLN group). The general information and clinical manifestations of the patients were recorded. National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) scores and cranial magnetic resonance imaging characteristics were compared between the two groups, and the possible mechanism was discussed.Results:After acute cerebral infarction, the incidence of CLN was 4.77% (24/503). CLN group had more cognitive impairment (MoCA total score 15.17±2.67; NCLN group 18.12±2.49) and less neurological impairment (NIHSS total score 6.93±3.63; NCLN group 8.86±3.26),and there were significant differences between the two group ( t=-5.58, t=-2.75; P<0.05). In the CLN group, the proportion of perfusion-weighted imaging showing hyper-perfusion in the laminar necrosis area (increased relative cerebral blood volume) was 87.5% (21/24), while in the NCLN group, the proportion of hyper-perfusion was lower [1.25% (6/479)]. There was statistically significant difference in the perfusion between the two groups (χ2=143.06, P<0.01). In the CLN group, CT angiography or magnetic resonance angiography showed common atherosclerotic stenosis or occlusion of the large intracranial arteries. Conclusion:CLN after cerebral infarction is relatively rare in clinical practice, and its occurrence may be related to local cortical hyper-perfusion.