Connectomic Alterations Following Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Middle Cerebral Artery Territory: A Pilot Study of Prognostic Value and Structural Disruption
Northwell Health
Summary
This study seeks to use safe, powerful, non-invasive computing tools, including machine learning and advanced neuroimaging analysis, to better understand how stroke affects the brain's network of connections. Using structural MRI, including diffusion-weighted imaging, this study will generate a detailed map of brain pathways to evaluate how strokes in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory disrupt the brain's structural networks. In the future, this approach may help physicians better predict recovery, monitor neuroplasticity, and guide rehabilitation decisions after stroke.
Description
Stroke is one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide, with motor, cognitive, and functional impairments that often persist for months or years after the initial event. A central challenge in post-stroke care is the ability to predict individual recovery trajectories, which remain highly variable even among patients with similar clinical presentations. Traditional prognostic tools such as the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) offer population-level trends but are limited in their capacity to reflect the nuanced, network-level…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Age \> 18 years; * Diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke with confirmed occlusion of the M1 or more distal MCA territory. * Received reperfusion therapy via mechanical thrombectomy or IV thrombolytics(Tenecteplase, or Alteplase). * Presence of a motor deficit on initial clinical exam (e.g., NIHSS \> 0) and on immediate post-intervention exam. * Patients or health-care proxy must be able to provide informed consent. * Must be able to undergo sequential MRI at Lenox Hill Hospital, including resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) for, respectively, functional, a…
Interventions
- OtherMRI with connectomic sequencing
Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion MRI (dMRI) sequences
Location
- Lenox Hill HospitalNew York, New York