Silent Brain Infarction: a Quiet Predictor of Future Stroke
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Precision and Future Medicine 2018;2(4):167-174 REVIEW https://doi.org/10.23838/pfm.2018.00086 ARTICLE pISSN: 2508-7940 · eISSN: 2508-7959 Silent brain infarction: a quiet predictor of future stroke 1,2 Oh Young Bang 1 Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea 2 Translational and Stem Cell Research Laboratory on Stroke, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Received: July 16, 2018 Revised: July 27, 2018 Accepted: August 1, 2018 ABSTRACT A silent brain infarct (SBI) is defined as imaging or neuropathological evidence of brain Corresponding author: Oh Young Bang infarction without a history of acute neurological dysfunction attributable to the lesion. Department of Neurology, The number of patients with SBIs is estimated as several-fold higher than the number Samsung Medical Center, with clinical stroke. In addition, SBIs have important clinical implications. The presence Sungkyunkwan University of SBIs more than doubles the risk of subsequent stroke and dementia. Although most School of Medicine, 81 Irwon- SBIs are lacunes, for which hypertensive small vessel disease is thought to be the main ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06351, cause, some of them could be embolic in origin. The pathological mechanisms of SBIs Korea and most effective strategies for prevention of future stroke may differ depending on Tel: +82-2-3410-3599 the cause of the SBI. The literature reviewed and cases presented herein underscore the E-mail: need for application of appropriate workups and therapeutic strategies in patients with [email protected] SBIs. In this review, the definition, causes, and clinical impact of SBIs are discussed, to- gether with the questions that remain open and recent advances (e.g., machine learn- ing techniques) in the study of SBIs. Keywords: Brain ischemia; Etiology; Silent brain infarction; Stroke; Stroke subtype INTRODUCTION: DO I HAVE A SILENT STROKE? Nowadays, the role of imaging in stroke diagnosis is increasing and magnetic resonance imag- ing (MRI) is becoming more widely available. Three healthy-appearing women in their 60s visit- ed an outpatient clinic with brain MRI scans taken as part of a health checkup. All of them were concerned about abnormal findings on their MRIs, and asked whether they had brain infarcts. The first woman (case A), with no vascular risk factors such as hypertension or diabetes, had a fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) scan showing small spots in the white matter. How- ever, no signal changes were observed in T1- and T2-weighted images, and she was reassured that the MRI findings were unidentified bright objects (UBOs), indicating nonspecific white This is an Open Access article matter changes (Fig. 1A). The second woman (case B), who had hypertension, showed leuko- distributed under the terms of the araiosis in the periventricular white matter and deep brain areas, which are often seen in the Creative Commons Attribution normal elderly but are also seen in association with vascular risk factors or in the context of Non-Commercial License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/ cognitive impairment (Fig. 1B) [1]. The third woman (case C) showed silent brain infarctions by-nc/4.0/). (SBIs) in deep brain areas on FLAIR (Fig. 1C). Unlike UBO, these SBIs appeared hyperintense on Copyright © 2018 Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine 167 Silent brain infarct: an update T2- and hypointense on T1-weighted images. The magnetic Patients may have silent but acute brain infarcts that can be resonance (MR) angiography showed normal findings, sug- embolic in origin. A 62-year-old apparently healthy woman gesting that SBI was caused by microangiopathy. (case D) with a history of migraine headache underwent Case A Case B Case C A B C Fig. 1. Subclinical brain lesions: (A) unidentified bright objects, (B) leukoaraiosis, and (C) silent brain infarct. Case D Case E A B Fig. 2. Silent acute and chronic brain infarcts caused by (A) paradoxical and (B) aortogenic embolism. See details on the text. FLAIR, fluid- attenuated inversion recovery; DWI, diffusion-weighted imaging; CTA, computed tomographic angiogram; TCD, transcranial Doppler. 168 http://pfmjournal.org Oh Young Bang brain MRI for her chronic headaches. MRI showed silent small patients in selected series [2,3]. Patients with acute stroke or cortical infarcts on FLAIR imaging and also multiple silent but coronary artery disease show a high prevalence of SBI [2,3]. acute small cortical infarcts on diffusion-weighted imaging The sizes of SBIs are variable, but they are usually smaller (DWI) (Fig. 2A). Coronary computed tomographic angiogram than clinical stroke infarcts. Beside the size, other factors (CTA) showed a contrast agent jet from the left atrium to the may also determine the presence or absence of clinical right atrium toward the inferior vena cava, suggesting that symptoms at the time of brain infarct, including location of her chronic and acute SBI was caused by paradoxical embo- the infarct within the primary motor, sensory, or language lism (arrow in left lower image, Fig. 2A). Agitated saline tran- areas of the brain, the severity of ischemic injury, and the scranial Duplex monitoring diagnosed paradoxical embolism presence of preexisting brain injury. For example, cortical le- based on the intracranial detection of intravenously injected sions in posterior border zones may be asymptomatic, microemboli (right lower image, Fig. 2A). A 72-year-old man whereas smaller cortical lesions in the hand knob area of the (case E) with a history of hypertension and current smoking motor cortex could cause severe hand weakness. Likewise, a underwent brain MRI for progressive visual disturbance. MRI small new SBI could be symptomatic if patients had preexist- showed multiple chronic infarcts in bilateral cortical border ing leukoaraiosis or stroke. zones on FLAIR and acute small cortical infarcts on DWI (Fig. The MRI diagnostic criteria for SBI remain to be settled. A re- 2B). Coronary CTA showed protruding ulcerative plaques on view of MRI diagnostic criteria for SBI found substantial vari- the aortic arch (arrow in lower image, Fig. 2B). Antiplatelet ability among 45 studies of this issue [4]. According to that re- agents and a high-intensity statin were started to prevent view, the majority used a size threshold of ≥ 3 mm, with ex- aortoembolism. cellent reliability. SBIs should be differentiated from white The cases presented above demonstrate that not all brain matter hyperintensities or leukoaraiosis, which are often con- lesions are SBIs (case A and B), and that the causes of SBIs sidered to be secondary to ischemia, but may also reflect could be lacunar (case C) or embolic (cases D and E). non-ischemic pathology, including edema, inflammation, de- myelination, and gliosis [2]. Proposed criteria for SBI include DEFINITION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SBI the presence of three types of lesions on MRI: (1) a focus demonstrating restricted diffusion (DWI-positive), (2) a cavi- SBI is defined as imaging or neuropathological evidence of tary lesion, or (3) T2 hyperintense/T1 hypointense lesions [5]. brain infarction without a history of acute neurological dys- Unlike SBIs, white matter hyperintensities show isointensity function attributable to the lesion [2]. MRI-defined SBIs are on T1-weighted images. Recent American Stroke/Heart Asso- detected in 20% of healthy elderly people and up to 50% of ciation guidelines suggest minimum MRI acquisition stan- At surface Documented by history taking and Clinical stroke neurological examination 1. Recurrence of stroke mostly by Documented by Subclinical stroke the same mechanism of SBIs neuropsychological testing Below surface Documented by conventional 2. Accumulation of SBIs Silent brain infarct neuroimages (FLAIR, T1, T2 changes) 3. Decline of microcirculation Documented by advanced neuroimaging techniques Subtle brain injury (Changes in DTI, FLAIR value (normal appearing WM) [texture analysis], and dynamic a) Reversible contrast-enhanced FLAIR) Fig. 3. Schematic overview of silent to clinically apparent cerebral infarcts. SBI, silent brain infarct; WM, white matter; FLAIR, fluid- a) attenuated inversion recovery; DTI, diffusion tensor image. To demonstrate the blood-brain barrier disruption. https://doi.org/10.23838/pfm.2018.00086 169 Silent brain infarct: an update dards for the diagnosis of SBIs [6]. However, recent neuro- cerebellar areas, suggesting that SBIs of small vessel disease pathological studies and serial MRI studies showed that SBIs origin contribute more to the development of dementia than could underlie the development of leukoaraiosis and white SBIs of embolic origin. matter hyperintensity, suggesting that clear differentiation of Careful examination for covert symptoms and subtle but white matter changes from SBI may not be possible [7-9]. Fig. clinically detectable neurological abnormalities is needed in 3 shows the overview of silent to clinical apparent cerebral in- patients presumed to have SBIs. Although SBIs, by definition, farcts. Clinical stroke is only the emerging part of the iceberg. lack clinically overt symptoms, they are associated with sub- SBI and more recently introduced the normal appearing tle deficits in brain functions that commonly go unnoticed. white matter are the hidden part of the iceberg. The normal Whether SBIs are truly asymptomatic is still a subject of de- appearing white matter is associated with subtle, reversible bate [21]. Elderly individuals and their family often are not brain injury