Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42100815›Full record

ReviewStroke2026

Redefining the Cerebral Ischemic Core-Penumbra-Oligemia Continuum.

Umberto Pensato, Johanna M Ospel, Aravind Ganesh, Nishita Singh, Mohammed Almekhlafi, Gabriel Broocks, Giorgio Busto, Enrico Fainardi, Diego Gutierrez Vasquez, Tyler Henry and 14 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Stroke, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Umberto PensatoNeuro Center, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy (U.P.).ORCID 0000-0002-4042-4735
Johanna M OspelDepartment of Radiology (J.M.O.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-0029-6764
Aravind GaneshDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences (A.G., M.A., M.D.H., B.K.M., A.M.D.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5520-2070
Nishita SinghDepartment of Internal Medicine (Neurology Division), Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Canada (N.S.).ORCID 0000-0003-3647-0904
Mohammed AlmekhlafiDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences (A.G., M.A., M.D.H., B.K.M., A.M.D.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-9550-8197
Gabriel BroocksDepartment of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany (G. Broocks).ORCID 0000-0002-7575-9850
Giorgio BustoNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Radiology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy (G. Busto, E.F.).ORCID 0000-0002-7007-6030
Enrico FainardiNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Radiology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy (G. Busto, E.F.).ORCID 0000-0003-0477-724X
Diego Gutierrez VasquezDepartment of Neurology, School of Medicine, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago (D.G.V.).ORCID 0009-0008-7007-5995
Tyler HenryDepartment of Neurology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (T.H.).
Maarten G LansbergDepartment of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA (M.G.L., G.W.A.).ORCID 0000-0002-3545-6927
Felix NgDepartment of Medicine and Neurology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (F.N., B.C.V.C.).ORCID 0000-0001-6973-8677
Thanh N NguyenDepartment of Neurology, Radiology, Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, MA (T.N.N.).ORCID 0000-0002-2810-1685
Jean-Marc OlivotAcute Stroke Unit, Hôpital Pierre-Paul Riquet, CHU Toulousepital Pierre-Paul Riquet, CHU Toulouse, France (J.-M.O.).ORCID 0000-0003-2027-2276
Mark W ParsonsNeurology Department, John Hunter and Liverpool Hospitals, Ingham Institute of Applied Medical Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (M.W.P.).ORCID 0000-0001-8874-2487
Vignan YogendrakumarDivision of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (V. Yogendrakumar).ORCID 0000-0001-8814-6853
Andrea ZiniDepartment of Neurology and Stroke Center, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Maggiore Hospital, Italy (A.Z.).ORCID 0000-0003-1486-4507
Beom Joon KimDepartment of Neurology, Cerebrovascular Disease Center Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea (B.J.K.).ORCID 0000-0002-2719-3012
Vivek YedavalliDivision of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore, MD (V. Yedavalli).ORCID 0000-0002-2450-4014
Gregory W AlbersDepartment of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA (M.G.L., G.W.A.).ORCID 0000-0003-0263-4632
Bruce C V CampbellDepartment of Medicine and Neurology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia (F.N., B.C.V.C.).ORCID 0000-0003-3632-9433
Michael D HillDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences (A.G., M.A., M.D.H., B.K.M., A.M.D.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6269-1543
Bijoy K MenonDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences (A.G., M.A., M.D.H., B.K.M., A.M.D.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-3466-496X
Andrew M DemchukDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences (A.G., M.A., M.D.H., B.K.M., A.M.D.), University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-4930-7789

Funding

Stanford University Regional Coordinating Stroke Center for the NIH Stroke Trials NetworkU24NS107220 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MAARTEN G LANSBERG · 2018 to 2026
$2.8M
NINDS NIH HHS U24 NS107220
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During acute ischemic stroke, cerebral tissue undergoes different stages of ischemic damage and evolves towards irreversible injury at a varying pace depending on local perfusion and metabolic factors. This complex ischemic pathological process represents a dynamic continuum that has been historically conceptualized as a binary ischemic core-penumbra model. Although this simplification has proven useful for explaining the evolution of tissue damage in acute stroke, important nuances with clinical implications might be underappreciated. In this review, we critically appraise the pathophysiology and conventional clinical concepts adopted to explain infarct evolution in the early phases of ischemic stroke. We discuss recent mounting evidence that challenges the traditional compartmentalization of the ischemic core, penumbra, and oligemia, calling for more nuanced pathophysiological tissue concepts. For example, clinical benefits and the harmful hemorrhagic transformation associated with reperfusion therapies are observed across a spectrum of core volumes, challenging the deterministic assumptions of the core-penumbra hypothesis. Automated image processing systems reinforce this simplification of stroke pathophysiology, leading to misinterpretation of the range of truth in human imaging. We propose a modified definition of the core-penumbra-oligemia continuum that includes 6 levels of ischemic progression and their corresponding clinical implications: (1) benign oligemia, (2) vulnerable oligemia, (3) durable penumbra, (4) critical penumbra, (5) nonleaky core, and (6) leaky core. This more granular classification could better reflect the continuum of pathological ischemic changes and vulnerability. The proposed 6 levels can provide a framework for future neuroimaging efforts to better understand tissue fate and infarct evolution in ischemic stroke, ultimately informing treatment decision-making and refining targeting for new therapeutic approaches.

Indexed as

Brain IschemiaIschemic StrokeStrokeAnimalsDisease ProgressionHumansinfarctionperfusionreperfusionstrokethrombectomy

Identifiers

PMID42100815
PMCPMC13296640

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.