Specific changes in human brain following reperfusion after cardiac arrest.

Abstract

The most characteristic findings on high-field MR images were symmetrical lesions in the bilateral basal ganglia, thalami, and/or substantia nigra with specific changes suggestive of minor hemorrhages that were not evident on CT scans. We speculate that these minor hemorrhages result from diapedesis of red blood cells in these regions during the reperfusion period through the endothelium disrupted by ischemia-reperfusion insult.