I wonder if any research has been done with stroke survivors and their recovery considering their ct/brain scans? I had to have a CT scan every six months (I have a shunt on my head). I think that it would be interesting to compare the scans to the actual physical and cognitive recovery of a patient. Is it visible when the brain recovers?
Hi Michael,
I had a stroke 3 1/3 years ago. I believe I worked hard, a LOT of rehab of my aphasia, and dealing with anxiety etc. Like you, I have thought about my rehab and if it recovered some parts of my damaged brain.
But, it looks the same as three years-ago. The good news is that neuroplasticity does work, but it just takes time.
Marcus
Thank you Marcus. Yes, time seems to be a common theme. Good luck!
Hi Michael,
There has been some research into using MRI and CT brain images as "biomarkers" to measure stroke recovery. Because every stroke is different, researchers hope that imaging will help in determining how quickly someone is likely to recover, and what sort of rehabilitation will suit them best.
Currently the Centre of Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery is working on a project just like you've suggested. They are doing scans and measuring clinical outcomes in 3000 stroke survivors at a series of points in their recovery.
The picture below shows three images from a patient who's made a good recovery, taken from shortly after their stroke to three months later. You can see where the damaged area, indicated by the green lines, has shrunk over time.
You can read more about their research at:
https://strokerecovery.org.au/cre/imaging/
https://strokerecovery.org.au/cre/building-an-imaging-database/
Hi Chis,
Thank you for that link.
I haven't had an MRI or CT for two years so maybe it is time to ask my neurologist for one.
But, one questions: these scans are 2D so they only show one part of the stroke. These MRI and CT need to be in 3D.
There are two shots of my brain a year ago. I always thought this damaged area was quite small, but after asking my neurologist to show the most damaged area in the scan, I saw it was actually large. My stroke was three and a half years ago, so this scan shows I still have a lot way to go with my recovery.
Excellent post and questions.
Hi Marcus,
To the best of my knowledge, 3D brain images are constructed from a series of 2D slices. I presume in this project a series of scans like that on each brain. But the example picture just shows one slice, for easy comparison of the changes.
This is just one particularly clear example though, chosen by the researchers to illustrate what they're doing. There are many different ways of looking at the brain, and everyone's recovery will probably look different. Which sounds like a good reason for doing this project, to get data from many different brains.
Cheers,
Chris
Really good info.Thank you.
It looks as if it all comes down to F.A.S.T. Before that, it is about prevention. lifestyle, regular health checks and family history?
I also think that our modern lifestyle/stress is not helping. What are we all chasing anyway? There is a really good book called 'To have or to be", by Erich Fromm
Cheers
