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Regional cerebral blood flow asymmetries in a group of 189 normal subjects at rest

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Summary

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) asymmetries were studied in 189 subjects (96 males and 93 females) at rest with the133Xenon inhalation method using a fixed detector system. rCBF asymmetries in the resting condition were very small, nevertheless a significant (p<0.001) effect for their topographical distribution was present, reflecting higher rCBF in the right fronto-temporal and left parieto-occipital regions. rCBF asymmetries were not correlated with age, and there were no significant differences between males and females. Asymmetries are therefore useful from a statistical point of view in detecting rCBF abnormalities in the resting condition: they are more stable than absolute values in normal subjects and no matching according to age or sex is required when statistical comparisons are performed.

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Dedicated to Professor Carlo Loeb (Genoa, Italy) on the occasion of his retirement.

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Rodriguez, G., Coppola, R., De Carli, F. et al. Regional cerebral blood flow asymmetries in a group of 189 normal subjects at rest. Brain Topogr 4, 57–63 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01129666

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