Value of Vessel Wall Magnetic Resonance Imaging in The Diagnosis and Management of Cerebrovascular diseases

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a major cause of ischemic stroke. Patients with intracranial atherosclerosis have high recurrent stroke rates. Vasculitis, pre mature atherosclerosis and moya-moya disease are known causes for cerebrovascular stroke in young, it is essential to determine the underlying cause of ischemic stroke, identifying the cause of stroke has a great impact on the subsequent management in those patients. Conventional angiography is commonly used to identify stenotic plaques and to detect the luminal stenosis, however, these methods do not provide information about the underlying pathological processes, which most often involve the vessel wall. Vessel wall changes such as vessel wall thickening, enhancement, or the presence of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques without luminal stenosis might be of importance for a better understanding of ischemic stroke. MR vessel wall imaging can demonstrate intracranial atherosclerosis and able to detect intracranial atherosclerotic plaque activity.