Know your tools—concordance of different methods for measuring brain volume change after ischemic stroke

Abstract

Introduction: Longitudinal brain volume changes have been investigated in a number of cerebral disorders as a surrogate marker of clinical outcome. In stroke, unique methodological challenges are posed by dynamic structural changes occurring after onset, particularly those relating to the infarct lesion. We aimed to evaluate agreement between different analysis methods for the measurement of post-stroke brain volume change, and to explore technical challenges inherent to these methods. Methods: Fifteen patients with anterior circulation stroke underwent magnetic resonance imaging within 1 week of onset and at 1 and 3 months. Whole-brain as well as grey- and white-matter volume were estimated..