Relationship Between Changes in the Temporal Dynamics of the Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent Signal and Hypoperfusion in Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background And Purpose: Changes in the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal provide a noninvasive measure of blood flow, but a detailed comparison with established perfusion parameters in acute stroke is lacking. We investigated the relationship between BOLD signal temporal delay and dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) in stroke patients.

Methods: In 30 patients with acute (<24 hours) ischemic stroke, we performed Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression between DSC-MRI parameters (time to maximum [Tmax], mean transit time, cerebral blood flow, and cerebral blood volume) and BOLD-based parameters (BOLD delay and coefficient of BOLD variation). Prediction of severe hypoperfusion (Tmax >6 seconds) was assessed using receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Results: Correlation was highest between Tmax and BOLD delay (venous sinus reference; time shift range 7; median =0.60; interquartile range=0.49-0.71). Coefficient of BOLD variation correlated with cerebral blood volume (median = 0.37; interquartile range=0.24-0.51). Mean for predicting BOLD delay by DSC-MRI was 0.54 (SD=0.2) and for predicting coefficient of BOLD variation was 0.37 (SD=0.17). BOLD delay (whole-brain reference, time shift range 3) had an area under the curve of 0.76 for predicting severe hypoperfusion (sensitivity=69.2%; specificity=80%), whereas BOLD delay (venous sinus reference, time shift range 3) had an area under the curve of 0.76 (sensitivity=67.3%; specificity=83.5%).

Conclusions: BOLD delay is related to macrovascular delay and microvascular hypoperfusion, can identify severely hypoperfused tissue in acute stroke, and is a promising alternative to gadolinium contrast agent-based perfusion assessment in acute stroke.

Clinical Trial Registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00715533 and NCT02077582.