Lenticulostriate arterial lumina are normal in cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy: a high-field in vivo MRI study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary small vessel disease. Although postmortem studies have demonstrated mural thickening in leptomeningeal arteries and lenticulostriate perforating arteries, it is unclear whether this also leads to luminal narrowing. High-field MRI scanners enable in vivo imaging of the lumen of the lenticulostriate arteries. The aim of this study is to examine the luminal diameters of lenticulostriate arteries in living patients with CADASIL and to investigate whether luminal narrowing is correlated with the number of lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia. METHODS: Twenty-two NOTCH3 mutation carriers and 11 healthy control subjects were examined using high-resolution 3-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography imaging on a 7-T MRI scanner. Scans were analyzed for the presence of focal stenotic segments. The total number, length, and total cross-sectional area of lenticulostriate arteries were measured and compared between mutation carriers and control subjects. These measurements were correlated with age, disease duration, and number of lacunar infarcts in the basal ganglia. RESULTS: No stenotic segments were observed. No differences between mutation carriers and control subjects were found in total number of end branches (mutation carriers: mean, 14.6; control subjects: mean, 12.8), length of the lenticulostriate system, or total cross-sectional area of lenticulostriate artery lumina. Measurements of lenticulostriate artery lumina were not associated with lacunar infarct load in the basal ganglia area or with basal ganglia hyperintensities. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiographic on 7 T showed no differences in luminal diameters of lenticulostriate arteries between patients with CADASIL and control subjects.