Ivo Adriaan Carol Willem Tiebosch1, Annette van der Toorn1, Ren Zwartbol1, Mark Jacobus Rosalie Joseph Bouts1, Ona Wu2, Rick Michiel Dijkhuizen1
1Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Athinoula A. Martinos center for biomedical imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
Thrombolytic treatment after acute ischemic stroke increases risk of hemorrhagic transformation (HT), however, the pathological basis thereof is largely unresolved. We applied multiparametric MRI to assess the temporal profile of pathophysiological processes associated with HT after embolic stroke in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Selective regions within the ischemic lesion displayed HT after 7 days. These regions were characterized by significantly reduced perfusion, increased blood-brain barrier leakage and prolonged T2 within 24 h after stroke. This indicates that multiparametric MRI may provide a powerful tool to assess risk of HT after stroke in treated as well as non-treated subjects.