Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary event, which portends a higher risk of a disabling stroke following the TIA. However, the evaluation and management of TIA vary worldwide and is controversial.

Dr. Mohamed Al-Khaled from University of Lübeck in Germany addressed this issue.

With the development of brain imaging, particularly diffusion weighted imaging-magnetic resonance imaging (DWI-MRI), the diagnosis of TIA changed from time-based definition to a tissue-based one.

DWI-MRI became a mandatory tool in the TIA workup.

The DWI-MRI provides not only the evidence to distinguish between TIA and acute ischemic stroke, furthermore it predicts TIA patients who are at higher risk of disabling stroke, which can be prevented by an immediate evaluation and treatment of TIA.

These findings are published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 3, 2014).

Article: " Magnetic resonance imaging in patients with transient ischemic attack " by Mohamed Al-Khaled (Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany)

Al-Khaled M. Magnetic resonance imaging in patients with transient ischemic attack. Neural Regen Res. 2014;9(3):234-235.