Secondary degeneration after ischemic stroke has been demonstrated by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. We report a 77-year-old man with striatal infarction followed by multifocal degeneration that developed in a stepwise manner at the ipsilateral substantia nigra and thalamus on diffusion-weighted images obtained at 4 weeks, 6 weeks and 20 weeks after onset. We also review the underlying pathophysiology and its clinical meanings.
Aged ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Infarction ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Stroke ; Substantia Nigra ; Thalamus