Brief Reports Restricted Diffusion in Spinal Cord Infarction Demonstrated by Magnetic Resonance Line Scan Diffusion Imaging

Background and Purpose—We report on the use of line scan diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of spinal cord infarctions. Methods—Data on 19 patients with clinical findings consistent with spinal cord infarctions and abnormal findings on line scan diffusion imaging were reviewed. The Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) measurements for the normal spinal cord and for the areas of abnormality were calculated from trace ADC maps. Results—Restricted diffusion was found in all 19 patients. Absolute ADC values in the ischemic area ranged between 395.4 and 575.8106 mm2/s, with ADC ratios ranging between 39.4 % and 57.4%. Conclusions—Line scan diffusion imaging is technically feasible and appears to be a reliable method to diagnose spinal cord infarction in the acute setting. (Stroke. 2012;43:532-535.) Key Words: spinal cord infarct MRI diffusion Magnetic resonance imaging may be normal for hours toa few days after spinal cord infarction (SCI). Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has proven to be the most sensitive diagnostic tool in acute cerebral ischemia and has become a promising technique in the evaluation of acute spinal cord syndromes.1,2 We report our experience with the utilization of magnetic resonance (MR) line scan diffusion imaging (LSDI) for the evaluation of SCI