title: Pseudo-asymmetry of cerebral blood flow in arterial spin labeling caused by unilateral fetal-type circle of Willis: Technical limitation or a way to better understanding physiological variations of cerebral perfusion and improving arterial spin labeling acquisition?
abstract: In the recently published article, "Unilateral fetal-type circle of Willis anatomy causes right-left asymmetry in cerebral blood flow with pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling: A limitation of arterial spin labeling-based cerebral blood flow measurements?", it was shown by the method of arterial spin labeling (ASL) that unilateral fetal-type circle of Willis could induce variation of blood flow in cerebellar and posterior cerebral artery territory. We believe that the reported observation, rather than being a limitation, gives several interesting cues for understanding the ASL sequence. In this commentary, we formulate some suggestions regarding the use of ASL in clinical practice, discuss the potential causes of the above-mentioned pseudo-asymmetry and consider future improvements of the ASL technique.
authors.affiliation: APHP, Neuroradiology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Law-Ye
authors.affiliation: Radiology Department, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geerts
authors.affiliation: APHP, Neuroradiology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galanaud
authors.affiliation: APHP, Neuroradiology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medecine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dormont
authors.affiliation: APHP, Neuroradiology Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France Pierre and Marie Curie Faculty of Medecine, Paris, France nadya.pyatigorskaya@aphp.fr.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pyatigorskaya
mesh_terms: D001158:Arteries; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D002941:Circle of Willis / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D020769:Posterior Cerebral Artery; D013113:Spin Labels
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels
keywords: Cerebral blood flow; artifacts; circle of Willis; posterior cerebral artery