[Xenon-enhanced CT CBF measurements in intracranial vascular malformations].

In the management of intracranial vascular malformations, it is important to know the regional cerebral blood flow in its surrounding structure. However, CT scan with contrast medium and angiography have only a limited ability to estimate the rCBF. In this study, stable xenon-computerized tomography scanning by means of the end-tidal gas-sampling method was performed in eleven patients with intracranial vascular malformations. Seven of the patients had arteriovenous malformations, three had venous angiomas and one had aneurysm of the vein of Galen. In two patients with large arteriovenous malformations, in two with "larger" venous angioma and in one with aneurysm of the vein of Galen, rCBF values were significantly reduced, particularly adjacent to the malformations. In contrast, there were no areas showing reduced rCBF in cases where the malformations were small. This indicates development of ischemia correlates with the size of malformations. From the xenon-enhanced CT scan and angiographic findings, the presence of steal phenomenon with venous congestion might be a cause of rCBF reduction in those cases where ischemia exists.