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Eighteen patients with 19 lesions underwent a total of 30 negative spinal angiograms. The lesions included 9 epidural arteriovenous fistulas, 8 dural arteriovenous fistulas, and 2 perimedullary arteriovenous fistulas. Seventeen patients underwent endovascular (11) or surgical (6) treatment, with a delay ranging between 1 week and 32 months; the Aminoff-Logue score improved in 76.5%. Causes of the inadequate results included: 1) lesion angiographically documented but not identified (55.6%); 2) region of interest not documented (29.6%); or 3) level investigated but injection technically inadequate (14.8%). All the angiograms falsely reported as normal were caused by correctible, operator-dependent factors.

Fifty-three intracranial arterial specimens with atherosclerotic plaques from 20 cadavers were imaged by 3T MR with T1, T2, and proton-density–weighted FSE and STIR sequences. The signal characteristics and areas of fibrous cap, lipid core, calcification, fibrous tissue, and healthy vessel wall were recorded on MR images and compared with histology. The signal intensity of the lipid core was significantly lower than that of the fibrous cap on T2-weighted, proton-density, and STIR sequences and was comparable on T1-weighted sequences. Optimal contrast between the lipid core and fibrous cap was found on T2-weighted images. Ex vivo 3T MR imaging can accurately identify and quantitatively assess intracranial atherosclerotic plaque components, providing a direct reference for in vivo intracranial plaque imaging.