M. Bilgen et al., Spatial and temporal evolution of hemorrhage in the hyperacute phase of experimental spinal cord injury: In vivo magnetic resonance imaging, MAGN RES M, 43(4), 2000, pp. 594-600
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology ,Nuclear Medicine & Imaging","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
To follow the spatial and temporal evolution of hemorrhage, in vivo MRI stu
dies of experimental spinal cord injury (SCI) were performed on 17 rats in
the very acute phase (hyperacute), starting as early as 9 min and continued
up to 400 min posttrauma. Axial MR images were processed slice by slice ov
er a 21 mm length around the epicenter of the injury. The data were analyze
d statistically and fitted to an empirically derived function to characteri
ze the spatial and temporal evolution of hemorrhage. The results indicated
that 1) the initial hemorrhage in the very early phase of the injury area c
overed 12.5% of the total cord area and subsequently increased with a time
constant of 700 min, 2) a major portion of the hemorrhage was concentrated
spatially within the 4 mm distance from the epicenter, 3) the volume of hem
orrhage normalized to its initial value increased linearly at a rate of app
roximately 0.0015 min(-1), and 4) edema was observed at the gray- and white
-matter junction as early as 12 min postinjury, In general, edema appeared
to be focal and scattered in this phase of the injury, which made its quant
ification unreliable on MRI. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.