title: Venous cavernoma at 8 Tesla MRI.
abstract: Cavernous angiomas or cavernomas are vascular malformations, which may be associated with risk of bleeding episodes. We present a case report comparing high resolution 8 Tesla gradient echo (GE) imaging with routine fast spin echo (FSE) at 1.5 Tesla in a patient with venous cavernoma. A 55-year-old male with a history of hemorrhagic stroke was studied using high-resolution 8 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, which revealed venous cavernoma (9 x 8.6 mm) in the left parietal region and visualized adjacent microvascular supply. Signal loss was prominent in the cavernoma region compared to surrounding brain tissue, and signal intensity declined by factor 7.3 +/- 2.4 (679 +/- 62%) on GE images at 8 Tesla. Cavernoma was not apparent on routine T(2)-weighted FSE images at 1.5 Tesla MRI. This case report indicates that GE images at 8 Tesla can be useful for evaluation of vascular pathologies and microvasculature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine/Gerontology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. vnovak@caregroup.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Abhineet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chowdhary
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abduljalil
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chakeres
mesh_terms: D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000209:etiology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020786:Hemangioma, Cavernous, Central Nervous System / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged