title: Measuring permeability in acute ischemic stroke.
abstract: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a functional concept to describe unique features of intracranial blood vessels that prevent many substances in the systemic circulation from entering the brain. In the setting of acute ischemic stroke, loss of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity is believed to be a precursor to hemorrhagic transformation. CT and MR imaging may evaluate BBB integrity by detecting leakage of intravenously administered contrast media into the extravascular space. In its simplest form, BBB integrity is assessed qualitatively, by determining the presence or absence of contrast enhancement on structural images of the brain. When dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI or CT is combined with a suitable pharmacokinetic model, one can quantify and spatially map BBB integrity throughout the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, 150 College Street, Room 125, Toronto, ON M5S 3E2, Canada. andrea.kassner@utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kassner
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Mandell
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mikulis
mesh_terms: D002199:Capillary Permeability; D002533:Cerebral Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055420:Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods*