Observation of post-MCAO cortical inflammatory edema in rats by 7.0 Tesla MRI.

This study aimed to investigate inflammatory edema after cerebral ischemia through 7.0T MRI and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). All SD rats were randomly divided into sham operated group and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-1 day, -3 day and -7 day groups. MRI scan of the brain was performed on a 7.0 Tesla MRI scanner. The volume of positive signals in the ischemic side was detected by using a T2 weighted spinecho multislice sequence; the changes in the height of water-peak were measured with point resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) sequences; cortical edema was detected by using wet-dry weight method; the degrees of nerve injury were evaluated by Bederson neurological score system; double-labeling immunofluorescence technique was used to explore the molecular mechanisms of post-ischemia cerebral edema. The results showed that high T2WI signals were observed in MCAO-1 day, -3 day and -7 day groups, and the water-peak height and water-peak area of MCAO groups were higher than those of sham operated group (P<0.05). Neurological score results were consistent with the degree of brain edema, and a large number of microglia accumulated in the ischemic cortex. Our results suggested that non-invasive MRI technology with the advantage of high spatial resolution and tissue resolution can comprehensively and dynamically observe inflammatory edema after cerebral ischemia from a three-dimensional space, and contribute to evaluation and treatments in clinic.