[Magnetic resonance angiography of the arteries supplying the brain].

In a prospective study involving 52 patients, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was compared with arterial digital subtraction angiography (IA-DSA). MRA was performed within three days of the IA-DSA. It was carried out without knowledge of the findings on IA-DSA. Of 38 stenoses of the carotid arteries or their branches, demonstrated by IA-DSA, 33 could be seen on MRA; in four cases the stenosis was outside the imaging area of the coil. Sixteen out of 17 carotid occlusions were diagnosed by MRA. There was one false positive. In the vertebral artery territory, eleven out of 13 stenoses and three out of four occlusions were diagnosed by MRA. In evaluating the degree of stenosis, there was agreement in only 16 out of 33 cases. MRA over-estimated the severity of stenoses in 15 cases and under-estimated it in two. MRA is a new non-invasive method in the diagnosis of cerebro-vascular disease which must be evaluated by further studies.