PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Joga Chaganti
AU  - Hannah Woodford
AU  - Susan Tomlinson
AU  - Sophie Dunkerton
AU  - Bruce Brew
TI  - Black blood imaging of intracranial vessel walls
AID  - 10.1136/practneurol-2020-002806
DP  - 2020 Dec 29
TA  - Practical Neurology
PG  - practneurol-2020-002806
4099  - http://pn.bmj.com/content/early/2021/01/07/practneurol-2020-002806.short
4100  - http://pn.bmj.com/content/early/2021/01/07/practneurol-2020-002806.full
AB  - Traditional vascular imaging focuses on non-invasive cross-sectional imaging to assess luminal morphology; however, the vessel wall itself may be specifically involved in many diseases. Newer pulse sequences, and particularly black blood MRI of intracranial vessels, have brought a paradigm shift in understanding the pathophysiology of many vasculopathies. Black blood MRI of intracranial vessel walls can help in a range of pathologies with differing pathophysiology, including intracranial atherosclerosis, aneurysms, vasculitis and vasculopathy, moyamoya disease, dissection and vertebrobasilar hypoplasia. This review highlights how vessel wall imaging can contribute to the clinical diagnosis and management of patients with intracranial vascular pathology.