MRI of Central Nervous System (CNS) Vasculitis

Vasculitis is inflammation of blood vessel walls, which produces dysfunction in both the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS). In CNS, cerebral ischemia is the major cause for neurological manifestations. Vasculitis affecting the CNS alone is referred to as primary angiitis of the CNS. The pathogenesis of vasculitis includes different immunological mechanisms. Diagnosis of CNS vasculitis depends on a combination of clinical, radiographic and pathologic features, but the gold standard is confirmation of vasculitis in a biopsy specimen. However, before conducting biopsies, imaging study, especially MRI, is essential for diagnosis of CNS vasculitis. In this review, a wide spectrum of MRI features of CNS vasculitis are presented and discussed.