Black Blood MRI in Suspected Large Artery Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System
- 28 August 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Neuroimaging
- Vol. 23 (3), 379-383
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6569.2012.00743.x
Abstract
Single case reports suggest that black blood MRI (T1-weighted fat and blood suppressed sequences with and without contrast injection; BB-MRI) may visualize intracranial vessel wall contrast enhancement (CE) in primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS). In this single-center observational pilot study we prospectively investigated the value of BB-MRI in the diagnosis of large artery PACNS. Patients with suspected large artery PACNS received a standardized diagnostic program including BB-MRI. Vessel wall CE was graded (grade 0-2) by two experienced readers blinded to clinical data and correlated to the final diagnosis. Four of 12 included patients received a final diagnosis of PACNS. All of them showed moderate (grade 1) to strong (grade 2) vessel wall CE at the sites of stenosis. A moderate (grade 1) vessel wall CE grade was also observed in 6 of the remaining 8 patients in whom alternative diagnoses were made: arteriosclerotic disease (n = 4), intracranial dissection (n = 1), and Moyamoya disease (n = 1). Our pilot study demonstrates that vessel wall CE is a frequent finding in PACNS and its mimics. Larger trials will be necessary to evaluate the utility of BB-MRI in the diagnostic workup of PACNS.Keywords
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