title: Circle of Willis abnormalities in children with neurofibromatosis type 1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to assess anatomical variants and abnormalities in cerebral arteries on magnetic resonance angiography in 67 children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 67 children aged 9 months to 18 years (mean 6.6 years). Control group comprised 90 children aged 2-18 years (mean: 11.8 years). All patients were examined at 1.5T scanner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found cerebral arteriopathy (moyamoya disease) in one child (1.5%) in the study group. No aneurysms were found. Twenty-nine NF1 children (43.3%) had arterial anatomical variants. In 13 of them, more than one variant was diagnosed (44.8% of group with variants, 19.4% of study group). In control group, 19 children (21.1%) had variants, including four children with more than one variant (21% of group with variants, 4.4% of control group). Arterial variants were more common in NF1 patients compared with control group (p=0.026, binomial test for two proportions). Percentage of multiple variants was higher in study group than in control group, but this difference was not significant. Variants were more frequent on left side than on the right one (significant difference in control group; p=0.022, McNemara test). In study group, the number of left-sided anomalies (25) was similar to that of right-sided ones (22). There was no correlation between gender and variants, unidentified bright objects and variants or between optic gliomas and variants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Occurrence of arterial variants in NF1 patients was twofold higher than in control group. Multiple variants were more frequent in the study group although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Features of cerebral arteriopathy were found in one child with NF1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: m.figatowska@mp.pl.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bekiesińska-Figatowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Brągoszewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duczkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romaniuk-Doroszewska
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Szkudlińska-Pawlak
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duczkowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mądzik
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kowalska
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Mother and Child, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pęczkowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002941:Circle of Willis / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007223:Infant; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009456:Neurofibromatosis 1 / Q000473:pathology*; D020339:Optic Nerve Glioma / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Arterial variants; Arteriopathy; Brain; Magnetic resonance angiography; Neurofibromatosis type 1