Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis* : state-of-the-art imaging

Abstract

Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST) constitutes a rare but important cause of stroke. It occurs in all age groups, but affects predominately young and middle-aged females. Three subtypes of CVST can be differentiated: sinus thrombosis (ST), deep cerebral venous thrombosis (DCVT), and cortical vein thrombosis (CVT). Both DCVT and CVT can present either in isolated forms or - more often - in combination with an ST. The symptoms of CVST are highly variable, thus, diagnosis is often made with a considerable delay.This review first presents a short summary of the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical signs, and prognosis of CVST. Then, the authors focus on the neuroradiologic diagnosis of this disease, and give an overview of the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and CT angiography (CTA) for CVST.