Measurement of cerebral blood flow and volume

Contrast-enhanced MRI with Gd-DTPA has been applied to the evaluation of several compounds in man, some focusing on the hemodynamic effects of the drugs on cerebral blood volumes. Kolbtisch and others compared the anesthetic agents nitrous oxide and sevofhirane, noting them to produce compound-specific patterns of diffuse increases in cerebral blood volume (Kolbitsch et al., 2001). Intravenous cocaine, on the other hand, was observed to produce dose-dependent vasoconstriction of cerebral blood vessels (Kaufman et ul., 1998). 

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Grandin CB, Duprez TP, Smith AM, Mataigne F, Peeters A, Oppenheim C, Cosnard G. Usefulness of magnetic resonance-derived quantitative measurements of cerebral blood flow and volume in prediction of infarct growth in hyperacute stroke. Stroke. 2001 32 1147-1153. 

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