Volume of Infarction and Blood Flow in Cerebral Embolism

The value of measuring asymmetry of cerebral perfusion semiquantitatively by single- photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) correlated with measuring the volume of infarction on computed tomography (CT) was evaluated in cerebral embolism. Eighteen patients with acute cerebral embolism (mean age: sixty-nine years) were evaluated. Ten were diagnosed as having middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, 3 as having MCA branch occlusion, and 4 as having unilateral and 1 as having bilateral internal carotid occlusion. The infarct volume was measured, summing up the area of infarction on CT, at 8.5 days, mean time after onset. Outcomes of the patients were clas sified into three groups: good, fair, or dead, judged by the consequences one month after onset. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 9 of 10 surviving patients at one month, mean time after onset, by 123Iodine N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (IMP) SPECT. Semiquantitative rCBF index of asymmetry (AI) was evaluated from four regions of brain...