Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Gunma, Japan.
Neuroradiology. 2010 Dec;52(12):1101-9. doi: 10.1007/s00234-010-0690-9. Epub 2010 Apr 10.
The normal cranial nerves (CNs) of the cavernous sinus can be clearly demonstrated using contrast-enhanced constructive interference in steady-state (CISS) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study used the method to evaluate pathological CNs III, IV, V(1), V(2), and VI in cavernous sinuses affected by inflammatory and neoplastic diseases.
MR images from 17 patients with diseases involving the cavernous sinuses and/or causing neuropathy in CNs III-VI were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into inflammatory (n=11) and neoplastic (n=6) groups. We defined CNs as abnormal when they exhibited enlargement or enhancement. CNs were evaluated using both contrast-enhanced CISS and T1-weighted MRI.
In the inflammatory group, abnormal CNs were identified by contrast-enhanced CISS MRI in 13 of 25 symptomatic CNs (52%) in eight patients, but in only two CNs (8%) in two patients by contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MRI. In the neoplastic group, both sequences of contrast-enhanced CISS and T1-weighted MRI detected abnormalities in the same three of eight symptomatic CNs (37.5%), i.e., the three CNs were all in the same patient with adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Contrast-enhanced CISS MRI is useful for detecting CN abnormalities in inflammatory pathological conditions of the cavernous sinuses.
增强型稳态三维对比干扰脉冲序列（CISS）磁共振成像（MRI）可清晰显示正常的海绵窦颅神经（CNs）。本研究采用该方法评估炎性和肿瘤性疾病累及海绵窦并引起 III、IV、V（1）、V（2）和 VI 颅神经病变的病理 CNs。
回顾性分析 17 例累及海绵窦和/或引起 III-VI 颅神经病变的患者的 MRI 图像。将患者分为炎性（n=11）和肿瘤性（n=6）两组。当 CNs 出现扩大或增强时，我们将其定义为异常。采用增强型 CISS 和 T1 加权 MRI 评估 CNs。
在炎性组，8 例患者中共有 25 条有症状的 CNs（52%）在增强型 CISS MRI 上显示异常，而在增强型 T1 加权 MRI 上仅在两条 CNs（8%）上显示异常。在肿瘤性组，增强型 CISS 和 T1 加权 MRI 均在 8 例患者中发现了 3 条有症状 CNs（37.5%）的异常，即这 3 条 CNs 均位于同一位腺样囊性癌患者中。
增强型 CISS MRI 有助于检测炎性海绵窦病变中 CNs 的异常。
