Are cerebral cavernomas truly non-enhancing lesion on MR imaging and thereby distinguishable from arterio-venous malformations? Correlation with histopathological findings

Introduction Cerebral cavernomas are by definition "occult angiographic lesions" and it is through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that the diagnosis of cavernoma has become clearly evident. The typical MR features of cerebral cavernoma are a well-delineated nodule including central hyperintense foci surrounded by a characteristic hypointense rim of hemosiderin due to repeated bleeding on T2*-weighted images. There should be no contrast enhancement [1]. The aim of this study was to determine whether cerebral cavernomas are truly non enhancing lesions on MR imaging, if they are thereby distinguishable from arterio-venous malformations (AVM) and to evaluate the incidence of their association with developmental venous anomalies (DVA).