Gadolinium-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Presumed Lacunar Infarcts

To determine the clinical usefulness of gadolinium-DPTA-enhanced MRI in identifying recent small, deep infarcts we prospectively studied 91 patients with first-ever stroke and presenting with a lacunar syndrome. In 78 patients (85.7%), plain MRI revealed possibly appropriate infarcts, classified as deep (n = 69), internal borderzone (n = 1), and cortical (n = 8 patients). Enhancement was seen in 38 (80.9%) of 47 patients with only one possibly relevant deep lesion on plain MRI, and in 14 (63.6%) out of 22 patients with multiple lesions. MRI with gadolinium-DPTA facilitates identification of the relevant lesion in patients with presumed lacunar infarcts.