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 aorta and its branches without significant stenosis may be the only morphologic change of TA. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging appears to be useful in the diagnosis 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 vessels even in chronic stage, which may indicate the activity of TA at the tissue level. MR angiography allows us noninvasive assessment of the vascular tree and it may replace conventional angiography.