Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) vascular hyperintensity (FVH) is used to assess leptomeningeal collateral circulation, but clinical outcomes of patients with FVH can be very different. The aim of the present study was to assess a FVH score and explore its relationship with clinical outcomes. Patients with acute ischemic stroke due to middle cerebral artery M1 occlusion underwent magnetic resonance imaging and were followed up at 10 days (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale) and 90 days (modified Rankin Scale) to determine short-term clinical outcomes. Effective collateral circulation indirectly improved recovery of neurological function and short-term clinical outcome by extending the size of the pial penumbra and reducing infarct lesions. FVH score showed no correlation with 90-day functional clinical outcome and was not sufficient as an independent predictor of short-term clinical outcome.
Keywords: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; acute stroke; cerebral ischemia; collateral circulation; diffusion-weighted imaging; fluid-attenuated inversion recovery; middle cerebral artery occlusion; modified Rankin Scale score; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration.