VENOUS ANGIOMAS - PLAIN AND CONTRAST-ENHANCED MRI AND MR-ANGIOGRAPHY

We studied 17 patients with Venous angiomas, 4 of whom had associated cavernous angiomas. All underwent MRI with spin-echo T1- and T2-weight ed images and T1-weighted images after Gd-DTPA; MR angiography (MRA) w as also performed with 3D and 2D time-of-flight technique; 5 patients underwent conventional angiography. Contrast-enhanced MRI demonstrated all the lesions, showing the peripheral medullary veins, the collecto r and the type of drainage. Both 3D and 2D MRA provided diagnostic inf ormation identical to that obtained after infusion of Gd-DTPA. Contras t-enhanced were T1-weighted images and MRA superior in all the cases t o images without gadolinium. The possible association with cavernous a ngiomas (24% in our study) indicates T2-weighted imaging.