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Focal hyperemia in Wernicke’s encephalopathy: a preliminary arterial spin labeling MRI study

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Abstract

Although a perturbed cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been reported in patients with Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE), its clinical meaning is still elusive. A retrospective analysis of 10 patients (male, 6; mean age, 57.7 years) with WE between October 2012 and May 2018 was performed. Brain imaging was performed using fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), and contrasted enhanced T1-weighted imaging. All patients had symmetric high signal intensity lesions in the vulnerable areas on FLAIR or DWI with focal hyperintensity on ASL-PWI (100% sensitivity). CBFlesion was variable (from 70 mL/100 g/min to 190.0 mL/100 g/min). CBFlesion/CBFwhite matter was elevated, ranging from 2.5 to 5.5. Focal hyperintensity on ASL in the vulnerable areas can be a diagnostic clue for WE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Daehak-ro 101, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03086, South Korea

    Sang-Bae Ko & Tae Jung Kim

  2. Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Daehak-ro 101, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03086, South Korea

    Chul-Ho Sohn

Authors
  1. Sang-Bae Ko
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  2. Tae Jung Kim
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  3. Chul-Ho Sohn
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Correspondence to Sang-Bae Ko.

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Ko, SB., Kim, T.J. & Sohn, CH. Focal hyperemia in Wernicke’s encephalopathy: a preliminary arterial spin labeling MRI study. Neuroradiology 62, 105–108 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-019-02298-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-019-02298-7

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