CNS vasculitis and vasculopathy: efficacy and usefulness of diffusion-weighted echoplanar MR imaging.
This pictorial essay illustrates the usefulness of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) on various vasculitis or vasculopathies, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Behçet's disease, Churg-Strauss disease, primary angitis of the central nervous system (PACNS), giant cell arteritis, infectious vasculitis, sickle cell disease, drug-induced vasculopathy and hypertensive vasculopathy. DWI proves to detect small and active ischemic changes not visible on conventional MRI, and it clearly discriminates cytotoxic from vasogenic edema in patients with cerebral vasculitis or vasculopathy. DWI seems useful in assessing the treatment and patient outcome.
Moritani
Toshio
T
Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 648, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. moritani2001@yahoo.com
Hiwatashi
Akio
A
Shrier
David A
DA
Wang
Henry Z
HZ
Numaguchi
Yuji
Y
Westesson
Per-Lennart A
PL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000175:diagnosis; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000175:diagnosis; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000175:diagnosis; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015267:Churg-Strauss Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020293:Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000175:diagnosis*