Skip to main content
Advertisement

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Publication Preview--Ahead of Print
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
  • For Authors
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editors
    • American Society of Neuroradiology
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Podcasts
    • Subscribe on iTunes
    • Subscribe on Stitcher
  • More
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
  • Other Publications
    • ajnr

User menu

  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Journal of Neuroradiology
American Journal of Neuroradiology

American Journal of Neuroradiology

  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Log in

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Publication Preview--Ahead of Print
    • Past Issue Archive
    • Case of the Week Archive
    • Classic Case Archive
    • Case of the Month Archive
  • For Authors
  • About Us
    • About AJNR
    • Editors
    • American Society of Neuroradiology
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Podcasts
    • Subscribe on iTunes
    • Subscribe on Stitcher
  • More
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
    • Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • Feedback
  • Follow AJNR on Twitter
  • Visit AJNR on Facebook
  • Follow AJNR on Instagram
  • Join AJNR on LinkedIn
  • RSS Feeds
LetterLetter

When is an Atypical DVA an AVM?

A. Mamourian and R. Wallace
American Journal of Neuroradiology February 2009, 30 (2) e24; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A1310
A. Mamourian
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
R. Wallace
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site

We read with great interest a recent letter in the American Journal of Neuroradiology by Fushimi et al.1 They report a developmental venous anomaly (DVA) with unusual imaging findings on 3T susceptibility-weighted imaging, and they suggest that it may reflect a “relatively higher flow in the DVA…”. We wish to suggest that increased flow in a DVA would be considered an atypical feature and may, in fact, reflect that this lesion represents a mixed vascular malformation with some imaging features of both a DVA and an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Im et al2 reported in the June issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery 15 cases of “Venous Predominant Parenchymal Arteriovenous Malformations.” The editorial in the same issue highlights the difficulty in identifying these unusual AVMs without angiography. It seems to us that this technique of susceptibility-weighted imaging at high field has the potential to differentiate a DVA from a venous predominant parenchymal arteriovenous malformation, but there is limited experience with this imaging technique in a clinical setting at this point. We believe it would be of considerable interest and importance to the patient reported by Fushimi et al1 to perform angiography because treatment may be warranted if there is evidence of AV shunting.

We would like to draw attention to this entity that is not widely appreciated in the neuroradiology community and encourage investigations into noninvasive techniques that might differentiate these similar-appearing vascular lesions.

References

  1. Fushimi Y, Miki Y, Togashi K, et al. A developmental venous anomaly presenting atypical findings on susceptibility-weighted imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2008;29:E56 .
  2. Im SH, Han MH, Kwon BJ, et al. Venous-predominant parenchymal arteriovenous malformation: a rare subtype with venous drainage pattern mimicking developmental venous anomaly. J Neurosurg 2008;108:1142–47
  • Copyright © American Society of Neuroradiology
Advertisement

News and Updates

  • Lucien Levy Best Research Article Award
  • Thanks to our 2021 Distinguished Reviewers
  • Press Releases

Resources

  • Evidence-Based Medicine Level Guide
  • How to Participate in a Tweet Chat
  • AJNR Podcast Archive
  • Ideas for Publicizing Your Research
  • Librarian Resources
  • Terms and Conditions

Opportunities

  • Share Your Art in Perspectives
  • Get Peer Review Credit from Publons
  • Moderate a Tweet Chat

American Society of Neuroradiology

  • Neurographics
  • ASNR Annual Meeting
  • Fellowship Portal
  • Position Statements

© 2022 by the American Society of Neuroradiology | Print ISSN: 0195-6108 Online ISSN: 1936-959X

Powered by HighWire