Effect of median-nerve electrical stimulation on BOLD activity in acute ischemic stroke patients

Objective

To investigate blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activation during somatosensory electrical stimulation of the median nerve in acute stroke patients and to determine its correlation with ischemic damage and clinical recovery over time.

Methods

Fourteen acute stroke patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during contralesional median-nerve electrical stimulation 12-48 h after stroke. Findings were then validated by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and motor evoked potential by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Results

Poor clinical recovery at three months was noted in four patients with no activation in the early days after stroke, whereas good clinical recovery was observed in eight patients with a normal activation pattern in the primary sensory motor area in the acute phase. In two patients BOLD activation correlated weakly with clinical recovery. Findings from TMS and DTI partially correlated with clinical recovery and functional scores.

Conclusions

Clinically relevant insights into the “functional reserve” of stroke patients gained with peripheral nerve stimulation during fMRI may carry prognostic value already in the acute period of a cerebrovascular accident.

Significance

BOLD activation maps could provide insights into the functional organization of the residual systems and could contribute to medical decision making in neurological and rehabilitative treatment.