MRI Mismatch may Identify Stroke Patients within Critical Treatment Window

A number of MRI techniques have been 

considered as a means for identifying 

elapsed time from stroke onset. (MRI 

angiogram courtesy of Wikipedia.)

A mismatch in the images produced by two different MRI techniques of patients experiencing a stroke are likely to indicate that patients are candidates for intravenous thrombolysis, a new study shows.

The study, led by Dr. Götz Thomalla, of the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, adds to the growing evidence that diffusion-weighted (DWI) MRI and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI may be useful for identifying patients who are within the 4.5 hour window when thrombolytic therapy is beneficial. The study is online ahead of print publication in October, The Lancet Neurology. (Link to published site)