Abstract：ObjectiveTo explore the characteristics of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in moyamoya disease. MethodsThe clinical and imaging data of 25 patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) from October 2014 to March 2019 in the Department of Pediatric, Neurology and Neurosurgery in Fengxian People′s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. These patients underwent conventional 1.5 T MR with axial T1WI, T2WI, FLAIR, DWI, sagittal T2WI and 3D-TOF MRA. During the course of disease, all patients underwent CT plain scan, 15 patients underwent CT angiography (CTA) and 12 patients underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA). ResultsMRI plain scan showed that the bilateral internal carotid artery ends, middle cerebral artery and anterior cerebral artery were thinned and the flow void was poor. The flow void signal of moyamoya vessels appeared on both sides of the skull base midline, which showed the best on axial T2WI. Point or strip-like high signal (ivy sign) distributed along the pia mater in both sides of the cerebral hemisphere on FLAIR images, mostly in the frontal and parietal lobes. Brush-like hyperintense signal (brush sign） on T2WI and FLAIR images could be seen in the radiation crown and semioval in 21 patients.Flow void of the basal ganglia could be seen on T2WI in 20 patients. Twenty-five patients with cerebral infarction (6 cases with fresh infarction) and 9 cases with old hemorrhage were diagnosed by MRI. MRA clearly showed different degrees of stenosis or occlusion in the end of bilateral internal carotid artery, anteriormiddle cerebral artery and the abnormal vascular network at the skull base and high signal intensity areas of the bilateral basal ganglia on TOF source images. ConclusionMRI and MRA can show the characteristic vascular stenosis of moyamoya disease, its collateral circulation signs and the adverse results of stroke caused by moyamoya disease, which are worthy of application.
