MAGNETIC-RESONANCE ANGIOGRAPHY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CHILDHOOD MOYAMOYA DISEASE - FIRST CHOICE FOR NEUROVASCULAR SCRUTINY

We performed magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in 12 children with a suspected or angiographically proven moyamoya disease. MRA was perfo rmed by the three-dimensional, time-of-flight technique and, successfu lly depicted the primary abnormalities in the distal carotid arteries in 10 out of of the 12 patients. In the other two patients, poor visua lization of the intracranial vasculature strongly suggested the presen ce of the disease. On MRA, moyamoya vessels were visible in eight pati ents. The presence of anastomoses was also confirmed by MRA in seven o f the 10 patients who had undergone encephalo-duro-arterio-synangiosis . Our findings suggest that MRA may be the tool of choice for selectin g patients to undergo conventional angiography. However, establishing a definite diagnosis still requires some improvements in the delineati on of the fine vasculature.