Overview of image diagnosis of moyamoya disease

Abstract

As mentioned in the Introduction, when the original concept of moyamoya disease is reviewed, digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is still the most reliable diagnostic modality. However, as mentioned in the following sections, as far as the depiction of the steno-occlusive change of the Willis ring is concerned, other modalities such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and 3-dimensional computed tomography angiography (3D-CTA) with best quality is quite compatible with DSA. However, the depiction of the moyamoya vessels and the collateral circulation is not always clear in MRA and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, 3D-CTA essen tially depicts the morphological aspect of vasculature that is not necessarily identical to the true circulation of the blood flow. In addition, the collateral circulation such as (1) basal moyamoya, and (2) transdural anastomosis of the meningeal artery including the vault moyamoya and ethmoidal moyamoya is not well demonstrated in other modalities (Figs.1 and 2). © 2010 Springer-Verlag Tokyo.