Dutch Team Documents Cerebral Microbleeds
Research findings posted in the journal Radiology indicate that accelerated 3D T2-weighted gradient-recalled-echo (GRE) MR can effectively detect the presence of cerebral microbleeds. Detection of such is clinically relevant due to the increased risk of hemorrhagic transformation following ischemic stroke and recurrence of spontaneous intracerebral bleeding.
The Dutch team completed a prospective trial to assess both 2D and 3D T2-weighted GRE MR studies for the detection of cerebral microbleeds. 200 different patients underwent MR studies; both 2D and 3D. Imaging was completed with a 1.5 Tesla MR system from GE Healthcare which included an 8-channel head coil. The average age of those patients was 79.2 years.
Two reviewers examined images that were procured, studies were randomly assigned for review by one or the other reviewer. Reviewers were blinded to all clinical information and the imaging sequence. All studies with a potential microbleed were also examined by an experienced neuroradiologist.
Both MRI modalities were able to detect the cerebral microbleeds. However, the 3D T2-weighted GRE sequence imaging was able to detect a significantly higher rate of bleeds than 2D studies. 3D studies detected an average of 2.5 bleeds compared to 1.0 with 2D exams. Moreover, all microbleeds noted with 2D MRI were also found with 3D imaging.
An accurate assessment of the number of microbleeds is clinically important. Stroke patients with a small number of bleeds may be effectively treated with thrombolysis. However, patients with more microbleeds may require a different treatment approach.
July 14, 2008 Related topics: Diagnostic