Scientists with the National Institutes of Health used brain scans to identify an association between the extent of disruption incurred by the brain's blood-brain barrier and the intensity of bleeding after invasive stroke therapy, according to recent study of stroke patients published in Neurology.
The blood-brain barrier is a layer of protectorate cells that shield the brain from harmful molecules. After a stroke, the barrier is disrupted and becomes permeable.
For the study, researchers collected brain scans from more than 100 patients within 12 hours of stroke onset before undergoing endovascular therapy. By using a new method of image processing, the research group was able to obtain detailed measurements on brain-barrier disruption. Researchers were then able to determine that thorough disruption of the barrier was linked with the occurrence of parenchymal hematoma — a form of brain bleeding that can incite death and major disability.
Richard Leigh, MD, a scientist at NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and one of the study's authors, said, "The biggest impact of this research is that information from MRI scans routinely collected at a number of research hospitals and stroke centers can inform treating physicians on the risk of bleeding."
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