Performance of a new quantitative method for assessing dural ectasia in patients with FBN1 mutations and clinical features of Marfan syndrome.

INTRODUCTION

This study presents a comparison of established methods for measuring dural ectasia with a new quantitative method of assessing this clinical feature.

METHODS

Seventeen patients with an identified mutation in FBN1 were examined for dural ectasia. The results were compared with 17 age- and sex-matched controls. Our images were also evaluated using the two methods of quantifying dural ectasia, namely those of Ahn et al. and of Oosterhof et al.

RESULTS

With our method, 80% MFS1 patients and 7% controls fulfilled the criterion for dural ectasia. Using the method of Oosterhof et al., dural ectasia was found in 88% patients with MFS1 and in 47% controls. Using the method of Ahn et al. 76% patients with Marfan syndrome and 29% controls showed dural ectasia.

CONCLUSION

We present a novel quantitative method of evaluating MRT images for dural ectasia, which, in our own patient cohort, performed better than those previously described.