Significance of Virchow-Robin Spaces on MRI

In a study by Groeschel S et al in Neuroradiology 2006 Aug 5; [Epub ahead of print] entitled Virchow-Robin spaces on magnetic resonance images: normative data, their dilatation, and a review of the literature.

"Virchow-Robin spaces (VRS) are perivascular spaces in the brain and can be visualized on magnetic resonance images (MRI). Authors evaluated the VRS in 125 healthy subjects (age range 1-30 years) using high-resolution 3D images, and in 36 patients (age range 2-16 years) with normal MRI, using routine clinical sequences. VRS were visible in all high-resolution images of the 125 healthy subjects. Two of them revealed dilated VRS, giving a prevalence of 1.6%. VRS could be visualized in 29 (80%) of the 36 paediatric clinical scans; none was dilated.From the results of this study and the literature on the nature and pathology of VRS, authors conclude that VRS on MR images of healthy individuals are normal findings, even if they are dilated. A judgement on whether dilated VRS in an individual patient is a normal variant or part of a disease process can be made by taking into account the appearance of the adjacent tissue on MRI and the clinical context."