Diffusion MRI in patients with early ischemic brain stroke

Objectives: To determine the frequency of ischemic brain lesions by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in patients with early ischemic stroke (within 24 hrs.) having normal computerized tomography brain. Patients and method: This was a cross sectional study conducted at Department of Radiology Allied Hospital, Faisalabad from August 2011 to June 2012. A total of 96 patients with early ischemic brain infarct were included in this study. All patients were examined with spiral CT scanner and immediately thereafter with 1.5 Tesla whole body MR imager, (DWI and ADC images). Results: Mean age of the patients was 57.3±9.7 year. Distribution of patients by gender shows 76 patients (79.2%) were male while remaining 20 patients (20.8%) were female. Out of 96 patients with normal CT scan, brain lesions were detected in 32 patients. 49 ischemic brain lesions on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging were detected. Out of these 49 ischemic brain lesions, 25(51%) lesions were in parietal region, 12(24.5%) lesions were in frontal region, 7(14.3%) lesions were in occipital region while 5(10.2%) lesions were in temporal region. Conclusion: Diffusion-weighted imaging is a valuable tool, for both expert and novice radiologists, in the early diagnosis of ischemic stroke. Key words: Ischemic stroke, Diffusion-weighted MRI, ADC