Magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis of Takayasu arteritis

Conventional angiography has been used for diagnosis of Takayasu arteritis (TA). In early stage of TA, subtle inflammatory wall thickening of the aort a and its branches without significant stenosis may be the wry morphologic change of TA. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging appears to be useful in the d iagnosis of early stage TA by visualizing concentric wall thickening of the vessels. T2-weighted images may show bright signal of edema in and around the inflamed vessel. Contrast media-enhanced MR shows enhanced wall of vess els even in chronic stage, which may indicate the activity of TA at the tis sue level. MR angiography allows us noninvasive assessment of the vascular tree and it may replace conventional angiography. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.