Vessel Wall MRI to Differentiate Between Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome and Central Nervous System Vasculitis Preliminary Results

Background and Purpose-Prospective differentiation between reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome and central nervous system vasculitis can be challenging. We hypothesized that high-resolution vessel wall MRI would demonstrate arterial wall enhancement in central nervous system vasculitis but not in reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. Methods-We identified all patients with multifocal segmental narrowing of large intracranial arteries who had high-resolution vessel wall MRI and follow-up angiography at our institute over a 4-year period and performed a detailed chart review. Results-Three patients lacked arterial wall enhancement, and these all had reversal of arterial narrowing within 3 months. Four patients demonstrated arterial wall enhancement, and these had persistent or progressive arterial narrowing at a median follow-up of 17 months (range, 6-36 months) with final diagnoses of central nervous system vasculitis (3) and cocaine vasculopathy (1). Conclusions-Preliminary results suggest that high-resolution contrast-enhanced vessel wall MRI may enable differentiation between reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome and central nervous system vasculitis. (Stroke. 2012;43:860-862.)