Introduction
Ipsilateral thalamic diaschisis (ITD) refers to reduced metabolism and blood flow in the ipsilateral thalamic to a cerebral lesion. We performed single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients with cortical infarction to identify regions independently related to ITD, controlling for possible confounding effects.
Methods
Patients with unilateral cortical infarction (n=113; 75 male, 38 female; mean age±SD, 66±13 years) underwent SPECT of the brain with N-isopropyl-p-[123I] iodoamphetamine (123I-IMP). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured autoradiographically. Asymmetry indices (AI) were calculated based on ratios representing symmetric rCBF in the thalamus and 16 cerebral regions. ITD was defined as AIthalamus exceeding 0.1. AI for 16 cortical regions were considered as both dichotomous and continuous variables for analysis concerning ITD occurrence using backward logistic regression.
Results
Considering dichotomized variables, hypoperfusion of inferior frontal (OR=6.24; 95% CI, 2.187 to 17.800), anterior cingulate (OR=3.91; 95% CI, 1.017 to 15.031), and postcentral (OR=6.372; 95% CI, 2.226 to 17.979) regions independently influenced ITD. Considering continuous variables, hypoperfusion of posterior midfrontal (OR=1.047; 95% CI, 1.012 to 1.082) regions, anterior cingulate (OR=1.046; 95% CI, 1.003 to 1.092), and postcentral (OR=1.042; 95% CI, 1.019 to 1.066) regions independently independently influenced ITD.