{"doi":"10.3174/ajnr.a8320","title":"Efficacy Assessment of Cerebral Perfusion Augmentation through Functional Connectivity in an Acute Canine Stroke Model","abstract":"<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> <h3>BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:</h3> Ischemic stroke disrupts functional connectivity within the brain9s resting-state networks (RSNs), impacting recovery. This study evaluates the effects of NEH (Norepinephrine and Hydralazine), a cerebral perfusion augmentation therapy, on RSN integrity in a hyper-acute canine stroke model. <h3>MATERIALS AND METHODS:</h3> Fifteen adult purpose-bred mongrel canines, divided into treatment and control (natural history) groups, underwent endovascular induction of acute middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Post-occlusion, the treatment group received intra-arterial Norepinephrine (0.1-1.52 μg/kg/min, adjusted for 25-45 mmHg above baseline mean arterial pressure) and Hydralazine (20mg). Resting-state fMRI data were acquired with a 3.0 T scanner using a BOLD-sensitive EPI sequence (TR/TE=1400 ms/20ms, 2.5 mm slices, 300 temporal positions). Preprocessing included motion correction, spatial smoothing (2.5 mm FWHM), and high-pass filtering (0.01 Hz cutoff). Functional connectivity within RSNs were analyzed through group-level independent component analysis (ICA) and weighted whole-brain ROI-to-ROI connectome, pre-and post-MCAO. <h3>RESULTS:</h3> NEH therapy significantly maintained connectivity post-MCAO in the Higher-order Visual and Parietal RSNs, as evidenced by thresholded statistical mapping (TFCE p-corr &gt; 0.95). However, this preservation was network-dependent, with no significant changes in the Primary Visual and Sensorimotor networks. <h3>CONCLUSIONS:</h3> NEH demonstrates potential as a proof-of-concept therapy for maintaining RSN functional connectivity following ischemic stroke, emphasizing the therapeutic promise of perfusion augmentation. These insights reinforce the role of functional connectivity as a measurable endpoint for stroke intervention efficacy, suggesting clinical translatability for patients with insufficient collateral circulation. <h3>ABBREVIATIONS:</h3> NEH＝ Norepinephrine and Hydralazine; RSN＝ Resting-State Network; ICA = Independent Component Analysis; rsfMRI = resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; MCAO = Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion; TFCE = Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement","journal":"American Journal of Neuroradiology","year":2024,"id":470920,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":2,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.7993,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":525819,"name":"Mira Liu","orcid":"0000-0002-8729-9302","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1080637,"name":"Sagada Peñano","orcid":"0000-0002-2990-6899","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":490290,"name":"Timothy J. Carroll","orcid":"0000-0003-2113-6284","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":277008,"name":"Sean Foxley","orcid":"0000-0002-5408-7100","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":490291,"name":"Gregory A. Christoforidis","orcid":"0000-0003-3800-0340","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1305219,"name":"Chisondi S. Warioba","orcid":"0000-0002-4266-2673","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":33,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:05:40.740958Z","pmid":"38684318","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}