Traumatic occlusion of the internal carotid artery in a healthy young male: effects on the regional cerebral blood flow.

The effects of acute right internal carotid artery occlusion in a previously healthy young male, was studied over a period of 10 months, with angiography, TransCranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) and SPECT-rCBF. A clinically observed inability to meet increased metabolic demand in the right hemisphere was concommitant to a decreased Pulsatility Index (PI) in the right middle cerebral artery (MCA). Autoregulation studies showed almost dilatation of the resistance vessels in the right middle cerebral artery territory, at rest. A decreased blood flow velocity, in the right middle cerebral artery 7 months after the accident, suggesting a decreased rCBF, could not be confirmed by SPECT-rCBF studies. This finding strongly cautions against interpretation of chronical blood flow velocity changes in terms of changes in regional blood flow. The present study shows the benefits in the combined use of angiography, SPECT-rCBF, and TCD.