Screening of Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms in Patients with Headache by Magnetic Resonance Angiography

Abstract

The frequency of unruptured cerebral aneurysms detected by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was analyzed retrospectively in 341 consecutive patients with headache at Yamagata Prefecture Kahoku Hospital between January 1992 and December 1994.
There were 162 males and 179 females, aged from 11 to 87 years old (mean, 50.4 years old). None of the patients had intracranial lesion. MRA detected unruptured cerebral aneurysm in 18 patients (5.3%), 6 males and 12 females, aged from 42 to 79 years old (mean, 60.1 years old). Five patients were between 40 and 49 years old, 3 were between 50 and 59 years old, 6 were between 60 and 69 years old, and 4 were between 70 and 79 years old. None was less than 40 years old or more than 80 years old. The frequency of unruptured cerebral aneurysms was reported to be 4.7-7.1% by routine“brain dock”examinations and IA-DSA, and the meanage was over 5 years older than that of patients with headache. The frequency of unruptured cerebral aneurysms is 7.9% in the 228 patients with headache, excluding those aged less than 40 years or more than 80 years.
Patients with headache tend to be younger than those undergoing routine“brain dock”examinations, suggesting that unruptured cerebral aneurysm is more frequent in patients with headache.