Technical principles and uses in the diagnosis of neurological diseases

During the last decade, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) has been incorporated into the routine evaluation of patients with suspected cerebrovascular disease. Although digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is still the gold standard in diagnostics of intracranial vascular disease, it has been replaced by MRA in numerous clinical applications. In this paper we first provide a review of the various MRA techniques. In the second part, the diagnostic value as well as advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques are assessed for various cerebrovascular diseases, such as vessel occlusion, stenosis, dissection, cerebral aneurysms, and spinal and cerebral arteriovenous malformations.