[Intracranial calcifications on MRI].

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to show that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for intracranial calcifications previously demonstrated at computed tomography (CT) are variable and unspecific.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

We present a study of 21 patients with calcified intracranial lesions of different etiologies detected at CT. We analyze the MRI signal characteristics in these lesions in T1- and T2-weighted sequences, taking the cerebral cortex as a reference.

RESULTS

The MRI signal of the calcified intracranial lesion was variable. Nevertheless, the most frequent appearance on T1-weighted sequences was areas isointense with the cerebral cortex. The most frequent appearance on T2-weighted sequences was foci of hypointensity.

CONCLUSIONS

Intracranial calcifications show variable MRI signal characteristics and have an unspecific appearance, making them difficult to characterize. MRI cannot reliably rule out or determine the presence of calcifications. CT study of intracranial lesions enables calcified lesions to be identified and characterized; therefore, CT is the technique of choice for the study of calcified lesions.