Radiation diagnostics of cerebral cavernous malformations

Abstract

Cerebral cavernous malformations are a fairly common vascular pathology at the moment, with the number of detected cases increasing dramatically in recent years. This is because modern neuroimaging methods such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been introduced into clinical practice and are widely available. Prior to the advent of CT and MRI technologies, it was extremely difficult to diagnose this pathology, and the diagnosis was usually made intraoperatively or based on autopsy data. Further, the literature review is devoted to the radiological diagnosis of cerebral cavernous malformations (CM). The role of neuroimaging methods in the diagnosis of cavernous malformations, as well as the use of MRI for CM visualization, was analyzed. The advantages of MRI over other neuroimaging methods for this pathology have been demonstrated. Pulse sequences of MRI and signaling characteristics of various foci were characterized, depending on the morphological substrate. The significance of the susceptibility-weighted imaging sequence was also evaluated for the detection of multifocal lesions in cases of familial CM. The study of the main pulse sequences of MRI for visualization of CM will improve the protocol algorithm for the timely diagnosis of this pathology and the selection of therapeutic approach.

Keywords

• radiation diagnostics
• cavernous malformations
• cavernous angiomas
• hemangiomas
• hidden vascular malformations