VOXEL BASED MORPHOMETRY ANALYSIS OF CHANGES OF GRAY MATTER IN THE CONTRALATERAL HEMISPHERE OF ISCHEMIC STROKE PATIENTS

• Grant number: 13/23506-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2014
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Radiology
• Principal Investigator: Li Li Min
• Grantee: Renan Caetano Braga Pimenta
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Stroke is the third leading cause of death worldwide and the first leading cause of long term disability. Great effort has been devoted to the understanding of post stroke recovery and strategies to improve it. Increasing interest has been given to the role of the contralateral hemisphere during recovery. This study aims to describe the structural changes in the gray matter of the contralateral hemisphere in patients with ischemic stroke and its temporal pattern . Patients aged above 18 years and with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke confirmed by imaging will be selected. Clinical data will be collected through review of the medical charts. Changes in the contralateral hemisphere will be analyzed with the use of high-field magnetic resonance imaging using voxel based morphometry ( VBM ) analysis . VBM is a technique that allows the evaluation and comparison of whole brain volume and concentration of gray and white matter of different groups of individuals through an automated post -processing of MR images. For the analysis, T1 (3D) gradient echo weighted images acquired on the sagittal plane and with 1mm of thickness (flip angle = 35º, TR = 7,1 ms, TE = 3,2 ms, matrix = 240 x 240, FOV = 24 x 24 cm) were were already collected and will be processed and analyzed. For comparison, MRI from controls available from the local Laboratory Of Neuroimaging (HC-UNICAMP), matched for age and sex, will be selected.