Study of relationship between scattered or single lesion on diffusion-weighted imaging and arterial stenosis in acute cerebral infarction / 中华神经科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the relationship between scattered or single lesion of acute cerebral infarction in middle cerebral artery territory on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and stenosis of middle cerebral artery (MCA) or internal carotid artery (ICA). Methods With exclusion of cardioembolism, 73 consecutive patients with acute cerebral infarction of the unilateral MCA territory on DWI were analyzed. All patients got magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and angiography (MRA) within 24 hours after onset, and 7 patients also had digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The patients were classified into single lesion group or scattered lesions group according to the DWI findings. The incidence of stenosis or occlusion of ipsolateral MCA, intracranial and extracranial ICA were compared between the two groups. Results 42 patients had scattered lesions and 31 patients had single lesion. The scattered-lesions group had a high incidence of ipsilateral extracranial ICA or MCA occlusion or severe stenosis ( 25.6%versus 0, x2 = 10.6, P = 0.001 ) and a high incidence of ipsilateral intracranial ICA or MCA moderate or mild stenosis (31.0% versus 9.7% ,x2 =4.717, P =0.03 ). A positive correlation was found between the scattered lesions and severe or multifocal stenosis of ipsilateral ICA and MCA ( OR 13.7, 95% CI 3.6 to 52.5). There was a low incidence of absence of extra- and intracranial stenosis on MRA or DSA in the scattered-lesions group ( 11.9% versus 32.3%, x2= 4.526, P = 0.033 ). A negative correlation was found between the scattered lesions and absence of large-artery stenosis ( OR 0.284, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.94).Conclusions ( 1 ) Patients with acute cerebral infarction and scattered lesions on DWI were more likely to suffer from stenosis or occlusion of ICA or MCA, especially over the extracranial ICA. (2) Patients with single lesion were less likely to have severe or multiple stenosis of MCA and ICA, indicating the relevance of small-vessel pathogenesis.