Ruth L. O'Gorman1, Laszlo K. Sztriha2, Gareth J. Barker3, Steven CR Williams3, Lalit Kalra2
1University Children's Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland; 2Clinical Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom; 3Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
Peri-infarct tissue appears to play a crucial role in recovery following a stroke. This study investigated the concentrations of the major neuro-metabolites in peri-infarct tissue at 3 and 15 weeks after stroke onset, in relation to motor outcome. MR spectra were acquired from 6 stroke patients and 7 controls in the peri-infarct thalamus, the contralesional thalamus, and the anterior cingulate cortex. NAA in the ipsilesional thalamus was significantly lower in the patients than the controls, and decreased between 3 and 15 weeks after stroke onset. NAA in the ipsilesional thalamus at baseline significantly correlated with the final motor outcome scores.