MR-ANGIOGRAPHY IN NEUROLOGIC DISEASE

Magnetic resonance (MR) angiography has rapidly evolved over the past few years to become a technique that is commonly used in clinical prac tice as part of the diagnostic work-up of patients with suspected neur ologic disease. In this review, the author provides a brief overview o f the relevant biophysical principles and some fundamentals of flow im aging by using MR as a baseline for understanding and implementing MR angiography in these patients. A historical perspective is given as a way of emphasizing the need for a healthy degree of skepticism rather than enthusiasm alone when reading MR angiographic literature. The rat ionale and clinical needs for MR angiography are summarized. The avail able data from blinded reader studies are summarized for two major cli nical entities in which MR angiography is often used in neurologic pra ctice: atherosclerotic disease of the extracranial carotid bifurcation and int acranial aneurysms. Recent refinements and technical innovati ons are also noted.