Spatial assessment of the dynamics of lactate formation in focal ischemic rat brain

Early identification of the potentially salvageable penumbra is critical fo r the determination of therapeutic intervention strategies in acute focal c erebral ischemia. This study differentiates the ischemic penumbra from the core on the basis of the dynamics of lactate formation. This was tested in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia by infusion of [1-C-13]glucose, usin g lactate-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging techniques. The a uthors detected essentially no enrichment of lactate with C-13-label from t he infused C-13-glucose in the ischemic core. However, in borderzone areas, C-13 was incorporated into lactate, which could point toward compromised bu t potentially viable tissue. The authors' findings suggest that this combin ation of C-13-glucose infusion with the proposed magnetic resonance methods may aid in differentiating the penumbra from the con in cerebral ischemia.