IMR Press / JIN / Volume 21 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2106157
Open Access Original Research
Assessment of Morphological Features and Imaging Characteristics of Patients with Intracranial Artery Dissection: A High-Resolution MRI Study
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1 Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 330006 Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
2 Department of Ultrasound, Jiangxi Cancer Hospital, 330029 Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
3 Class 211, Innovation Experiment, Nanchang University, 330031 Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
*Correspondence: xianjun-zeng@126.com (Xianjun Zeng)
Academic Editor: Giovanni Grasso
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2022, 21(6), 157; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2106157
Submitted: 27 January 2022 | Revised: 28 April 2022 | Accepted: 29 April 2022 | Published: 20 September 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Intracranial artery dissection (IAD) is a pathological dissection of the arterial wall. .However, the morphological features and imaging characteristics of patients with intracranial artery dissection (IAD) remain poorly understood. Methods: The study reports on 70 IAD patients (30 culprit and 40 non-culprit). All participants underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) scans. The morphological features and imaging characteristics of artery dissection were carefully investigated. Demographics and clinical characteristics of culprit and non-culprit patients were also collected. Apparent differences between the two groups, which could be used as biomarkers for ischemic event caused by the culprit dissection, were identified by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: The IAD patients studied could be classified into five different types on the basis of morphological features: classical dissection (n = 31), fusiform aneurysm (n = 2), long dissected aneurysm (n = 9), dolichoectatic dissecting aneurysm (n = 6), and saccular aneurysm (n = 22). The direct sites of artery dissection (double lumen and intimal flap) can be seen in most IAD patients on HR-MRI. Additionally, the presence of hypertension, double lumen and intimal flap were associated with culprit lesions and might be considered biomarkers for the ischemic event caused by the culprit dissection. Conclusions: Analysis showed that HR-MRI allowed easy visualization of abnormal morphology of artery dissection lesions. This was of great significance for the diagnosis of IAD and gave a better understanding of its pathophysiological mechanism.

Keywords
intracranial artery dissection
high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging
ischemic event
Funding
150246/Science and Technology Research Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education
20192ACBL20040/Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province
Figures
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