Fig. 2

Blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability (PS) in the non-infarcted ipsilateral basal ganglia and thalamus. rBBB-PS was significantly higher in the lacunar/subcortical group compared to the cortical group at 7 days and 3 months after stroke (*, P < 0.01 at 7 days and P < 0.05 at 3 months). The largest difference between the two groups occurred at day 7, with about 2.5-fold higher value in the lacunar/subcortical group than the cortical group. In the lacunar/subcortical group, rBBB-PS remained stable between admission and 24 h but significantly increased from 24 h to 7 days post stroke (P < 0.05), and then significantly declined at 3 months (P < 0.05). No significant intra-group differences in BBB-PS over time were seen in the cortical group