New imaging method may predict risk of post-treatment brain bleeding after stroke

Friday, June 17, 2016

NIH scientists develop technique that provides new insight into stroke.

In a study of stroke patients, investigators confirmed through MRI brain scans that there was an association between the extent of disruption to the brain’s protective blood-brain barrier and the severity of bleeding following invasive stroke therapy. The results of the National Institutes of Health-funded study were published in Neurology.

This image combines pre- and post-treatment scans from the same patient. Analysis of the two scans revealed that the area and size of post-treatment bleeding corresponded to blood-brain barrier disruption (shown in green, yellow and red) prior to therapy. Dr. Leigh, NINDS.