[Hemodynamic study of obstructive lesions of the internal carotid artery: value of coupled measurement of regional cerebral blood flow and volume].

: A study of 130 patients having presented either a transient ischemic attack or a completed stroke, or admitted for an asymptomatic carotid stenosis, allowed the following investigations: CT-scan, doppler, angiography, measurement of the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by the study of 133Xe clearance (Novocerebrograph (R)), and measurement of the regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) made by gamma emission tomography after autotransfusion of 99m Tc-labeled erythrocytes with an Elscint Apex 415 ECT (R) camera. Our aim was to look in which case a rCBF and/or a rCBV interhemispheric asymmetry was observed, by comparing the previous hemodynamic parameters with clinical, CT-scan and angiographic data. Although a rCBF and/or a rCBV asymmetry appeared more often among patients presenting with infarction than among those of the asymptomatic category, this does not seem specific for any clinical grade. The same statement applies to the comparison between hemodynamic parameters and CT data. The arterial lesions were classified in 4 groups: no stenosis (12 cases), uni or bilateral moderate carotid stenosis (40 cases), unilateral severe carotid stenosis or occlusion (65 cases), bilateral carotid severe stenosis or occlusion (13 cases). We observed a rCBF asymmetry among some patients in the 4 groups, although this was more frequent among the two latter groups. Nevertheless no case of a rCBV asymmetry was observed in the 2 first groups. Such an asymmetry was present in 31 percent of the patients belonging to the two latter groups. In patients of the third group the asymmetry was always due to a relative increase of rCBV beyond the carotid lesion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)