Magnetic resonance imaging of pontine capillary telangectasia

Abstract

Capillary telangectasia (CTS) is a vascular malformation, characterized by multiple thin-walled vascular channels, interposed between normal brain parenchyma. It has been hypothesized that CTS is an acquired lesion caused by other underlying venous anomalies but this theory is still debated. The clinical symptoms of CTS are described to be rather mild. In most cases CTS is not detectable by computed tomography and among imaging techniques, nowadays magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents the standard of reference in diagnosing this pathology. Usually, by analyzing the different signal characteristics it is possible to perform a differential diagnosis between CTS and the other pathologies that may affect the pons and the use of diffusion-weighted and Gradient-echo sequences increase the MRI specificity.