Use of Magnetic Resonance Venography for Characterization of Extracranial Venous System in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and in Normal Controls

Robert Zivadinov¹, Alexandra S. Lopez¹, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman², Claudiu Schirda¹, Christopher Magnano¹, Cheryl Kennedy¹, Christina Brooks¹, Justine Reuther³, Kristin Hunt¹, Michelle Andrews¹, David Hojnacki¹

Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) is a vascular condition characterized by anomalies of the primary veins outside the skull that restrict the normal outflow of blood from the brain in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Extracranial venous flow morphology in 57 MS patients and in 21 age- and sex-matched normal controls (NC), was investigated by using magnetic resonance venography (MRV) on a GE 3T scanner. 4D Time Resolved Imaging of Contrast KineticS (TRICKS) and enhanced and unenhanced 3D Time of Flight (TOF) MRI sequences were performed. No extracranial venous flow morphology MRV differences were detected between MS patients and NC.