Hirabuki N, Fujita N, Fujii K, Hashimoto T, Kozuka T
Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 1994 Feb;15(2):277-81.
To delineate the appearance of normal Virchow-Robin spaces on routine spin-echo images and demonstrate the lenticulostriate arteries within them with a flow-sensitive fast low-angle shot (FLASH) pulse sequence.
Seventy subjects, free of cerebrovascular diseases and other neurologic disorders, ranging in age from 1 to 75 years, were examined. On a 1.5-T MR system, axial spin-echo images of 5 mm thickness were obtained in all subjects. In 45 of 70 subjects axial two-dimensional FLASH images of 3 mm thickness were continuously imaged.
On T1- and spin density-weighted images Virchow-Robin spaces were detected as small foci of cerebrospinal fluid intensity around the anterior commissure in all subjects (100%), and in the basal ganglia at the level of the foramen of Monro in 40 (57%). T2-weighted images equally showed Virchow-Robin spaces around the anterior commissure but were less sensitive than T1- and spin-density weighted images at the level of the foramen of Monro (14%). Virchow-Robin spaces identified on T2-weighted images should be isointense with cerebrospinal fluid. However, one or two spaces in 11 younger subjects were hypointense relative to adjacent brain tissue. On FLASH images most Virchow-Robin spaces identified on spin-echo images were delineated as high-intensity foci, corresponding to lenticulostriate arteries.
Normal Virchow-Robin spaces along the lenticulostriate arteries are frequently detected on spin-echo images. Their appearance, affected by the flow of associated lenticulostriate arteries, varies from hyper- to hypointensity to brain tissue on T2-weighted images. The two-dimensional FLASH sequence can demonstrate the flow of the arteries, thereby helping confirm that these are truly Virchow-Robin spaces.
描绘正常的维尔肖-罗宾间隙在常规自旋回波图像上的表现，并使用血流敏感的快速低角度激发（FLASH）脉冲序列显示其中的豆纹动脉。
对70名年龄在1至75岁之间、无脑血管疾病及其他神经系统疾病的受试者进行检查。在1.5-T磁共振系统上，所有受试者均获取了5毫米厚的轴向自旋回波图像。70名受试者中的45名连续成像了3毫米厚的轴向二维FLASH图像。
在T1加权和自旋密度加权图像上，所有受试者（100%）在前连合周围均检测到维尔肖-罗宾间隙为脑脊液信号强度的小病灶，在40名（57%）受试者的孟氏孔水平基底节区也检测到。T2加权图像同样显示了前连合周围的维尔肖-罗宾间隙，但在孟氏孔水平不如T1加权和自旋密度加权图像敏感（14%）。在T2加权图像上识别出的维尔肖-罗宾间隙应与脑脊液等信号。然而，11名较年轻受试者中有一两个间隙相对于相邻脑组织呈低信号。在FLASH图像上，自旋回波图像上识别出的大多数维尔肖-罗宾间隙被描绘为高强度病灶，对应于豆纹动脉。
沿豆纹动脉的正常维尔肖-罗宾间隙在自旋回波图像上经常被检测到。其表现受相关豆纹动脉血流影响，在T2加权图像上相对于脑组织可从高信号变为低信号。二维FLASH序列可显示动脉血流，从而有助于确认这些确实是维尔肖-罗宾间隙。
