OBJECTIVE

To explore the feasibility of computed tomography perfusion imaging (CTP) for evaluating hemodynamics in hemorrhagic moyamoya disease (MMD).

METHODS

The retrospective analysis included 25 patients with hemorrhagic MMD who underwent brain CTP examination. Two experienced radiologists manually delineated regions of interest (ROIs) in the bilateral frontal lobe, temporal lobe, brain tissue adjacent to the hemorrhagic foci, and brainstem as a control region. The perfusion values for all ROIs were extracted, including cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), mean transit time (MTT), and time to peak (TTP). Subsequently, the differences in perfusion values for different brain tissues were compared between the hemorrhagic side and the nonhemorrhagic side. For patients who underwent revascularization surgery, differences in perfusion values from before to after surgery were determined in brain tissues on the ipsilateral side.

RESULTS

CBF in the area around the hematoma and the lateral temporal lobe on the hemorrhage hemisphere was lower than that on the contralateral side, whereas TTP and MTT were higher. Among the 14 patients who underwent revascularization, CBF and CBV in the postoperative temporal lobes were higher than the preoperative values, whereas TTP and MTT were lower. CBF and CBV in the frontal lobe were higher after the operation.

CONCLUSIONS

Hemorrhagic MMD results in cerebral ischemia, and CTP could be used to localize such ischemic brain tissue and objectively evaluate the changes in cerebral hemodynamics with revascularization.