CT and MRI Diagnosis of Cerebral Cavernous Hemangioma

Objective To discuss CT and MRI features of cerebral cavernous hemangioma, and to make a further understanding of the disease. Materials and Methods Fourteen patients with pathologically proved cerebral cavernous hemangioma were collected. Imaging findings, including plain CT (n=12), enhanced CT (n=10), plain MRI (n=10) and Gd DTPA enhanced MRI, were retrospectively analyzed.Results Most cerebral cavernous hemangioma was single (12/14, 85.7%) and occurred at any site in the brain. On plain CT scans, 16 lesions were detected in 12 cases, all presenting as high dense or slightly high dense shadows. Calcifications were seen in 7 lesions. On enhanced CT scans, 14 lesions were found in 10 cases, of which 9 showed no enhancement while 5 showed slight enhancement. MRI demonstrated 13 lesions in 10 cases, of which 3 displayed iso intense signal and 10 high intense signal on T 1WI, while all lesions displayed mixed signal on T 2WI. Nine lesions displayed ring like low signal, and neither perifocal edema nor space occupying effect was present in most cases.Conclusion Cerebral cavernous hemangioma carries characteristic imaging features. Both CT and MRI are of great value in the diagnosis of the disease and MRI is superior to CT in displaying the lesion. A combination of imaging findings with clinical data is necessary for making a correct diagnosis.