Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

The 45th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Neurology

Neurosonological examinations

Kazuyuki Nagatsuka, M.D.

Cerebrovascular division, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center

Neurosonological examinations play an important role in the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease. The target used to be limited to the extracranial carotid artery but is now extended to the intracranial arteries. Carotid artery ultrasound can evaluate not only the degree of stenosis but also the vulnerability of plaque. Transcranial Doppler can detect the micro-embolus in the intracranial artery. Transesophagial echocardiography and crural-vein ultrasound are indispensable to detect embolic source. Transesophagial echocardiography is able to detect thrombus, tumor and vegitation in the heart, patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atheroma of aorta. Because PFO is found rather commonly in healthy subjects, the detection of deep vain thrombosis (DVT) is essential for the diagnosis of paradoxical embolism. In stroke patients with PFO, RI venography can rarely detect DVT, while crural-vein ultrasound commonly detect DVT in small vein. The demand of neurosonological examinations is considered to increase more and more because of their non-invasiveness and convenience.

(CLINICA NEUROL, 44: 918|920, 2004)
key words: ultrasonography of carotid artery, transcranial Doppler, transcranial color flow image, transesophagial echocardiography, deep vein thrombosis

(Received: 12-May-04)