Hyperintense Acute Reperfusion Marker on FLAIR in a Patient with Transient Ischemic Attack

The hyperintense acute reperfusion marker (HARM) has initially been described in acute ischemic stroke. The phenomenon is caused by blood-brain barrier disruption following acute reperfusion and consecutive delayed gadolinium enhancement in the subarachnoid space on fluid attenuated inversion recove...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alex Förster, Holger Wenz, Christoph Groden
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Radiology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9829823
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Summary:The hyperintense acute reperfusion marker (HARM) has initially been described in acute ischemic stroke. The phenomenon is caused by blood-brain barrier disruption following acute reperfusion and consecutive delayed gadolinium enhancement in the subarachnoid space on fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. Here we report the case of an 80-year-old man who presented with transient paresis and sensory loss in the right arm. Initial routine stroke MRI including diffusion- and perfusion-weighted imaging demonstrated no acute pathology. Follow-up MRI after three hours demonstrated subarachnoid gadolinium enhancement in the left middle cerebral artery territory consistent with HARM that completely resolved on follow-up MRI three days later. This case illustrates that even in transient ischemic attack patients disturbances of the blood-brain barrier may be present which significantly exceed the extent of acute ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging. Inclusion of FLAIR images with delayed acquisition after intravenous contrast agent application in MRI stroke protocols might facilitate the diagnosis of a recent acute ischemic stroke.
ISSN:2090-6862
2090-6870