Author:

Keywords:

Adult, Aged, Angiography, Digital Subtraction, Blood-Brain Barrier, Cerebral Angiography, Cerebral Arteries, Cerebral Veins, Contrast Media, Female, Gadolinium DTPA, Humans, Image Enhancement, Magnetic Resonance Angiography, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasm Circulating Cells, Organometallic Compounds, Pentetic Acid, Supratentorial Neoplasms, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Clinical Neurology, Neuroimaging, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, Neurosciences & Neurology, CEREBRAL BLOOD VESSELS, MR, MAGNETIC RESONANCE, VASCULAR STUDIES, MAGNETIC RESONANCE, CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT, BRAIN, NEOPLASM, MR, FLIGHT MR ANGIOGRAPHY, CAROTID-ARTERY STENOSIS, THIN SLAB ACQUISITION, TRANSFER CONTRAST, GRADIENT-ECHO, BRAIN, DIAGNOSIS, ANEURYSMS, OCCLUSION, DISEASE, Neoplastic Cells, Circulating, 1103 Clinical Sciences, 1109 Neurosciences, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging, 3202 Clinical sciences, 3209 Neurosciences

Abstract:

We compared magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (IADSA) in the study of brain tumours and assessed the utility of gadolinium-enhanced MRA. We studied 17 patients with supratentorial brain tumors. The entire brain was imaged with multiple overlapping thin volume acquisitions. After IV injection of gadolinium-DTPA, a single thick-slab MRA acquisition was performed. Standard three-dimensional (3D-TOF) acquisitions (in six patients) and 3D-TOF with magnetization transfer prepulse and tilted optimisation nonsaturing radiofrequency excitation pulses (in 11 patients) were used. Displacement of the anterior cerebral artery, main stem and insular branches of the middle cerebral artery was seen well on unenhanced and contrast-enhanced MRA. Displacement of the lenticulostriate and anterior choroidal arteries was seen only once, after Gadolinium. Tumour encasement of the middle cerebral artery was demonstrated in one patient. Tumour vessels were seen in 2 of 8 cases before and 3 of 8 after gadolinium; Tumour hypervascularity was seen only after gadolinium, in 3 of 8 cases. Study of the veins was possible only on gadolinium-enhanced MRA. Displacement of the venous angle was seen in 4 of 7 patients in the frontal, and in all of 8 patients on the lateral projections. Early venous drainage was not seen. Patency of the dural venous sinuses was demonstrated in all patients, but in one neoplastic occlusion of a cortical vein was recognized.