[Relationship between extent of brain hypoperfused area and functional outcome in patients with a small subcortical infarction: evaluation with X-ray CT, 123I-IMP cerebral perfusion SPECT and cerebral angiography].

We performed 123I-IMP single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 43 patients who had a small infarction (less than 2 cm) in subcortical area and who were less than 1 month after onset of stroke. Hypoperfused area of brain was qualitatively assessed and was compared with functional outcome at 6-month after the stroke and the cerebral angiogram. Functional outcome was poorer in patients who had wider hypoperfused area in brain (chi 2 = 29.3; p less than 0.001). The extent of brain hypoperfused area showed a positive correlation with the degree of stenosis in the extracranial and/or intracranial arteries (r = 0.61; p less than 0.01). In patients who had no angiographic abnormality, the extent and the location of the hypoperfused area were equivalent to that of the low density area in CT. Thus 123I-IMP SPECT in patients with a small infarction may discriminate lacunar infarction from embolic or hemodynamic infarction, which was caused by vascular lesions of major cerebral arteries, in subcortical area. Our study suggests that functional outcome is better in lacunar infarction than embolic or hemodynamic infarction in subcortical area.