Diagnosis of intracranial atherosclerosis.

Importance Of The Field: Intracranial atherosclerosis is quickly becoming the most common stroke mechanism worldwide. Accurate diagnosis is important in making treatment decisions.

Areas Covered In The Review: In this article the clinical and radiographic diagnosis of intracranial atherosclerosis is reviewed. An overview is provided of widely available invasive and non-invasive methods for the detection of intracranial atherosclerosis, including transcranial Doppler, magnetic resonance and computed tomography angiography, as well as conventional angiography.

What The Reader Will Gain: The reader will become familiar with the advantages and limitations of various imaging modalities used in the diagnosis of intracranial atherosclerosis.

Take Home Message: Non-invasive imaging modalities have a high negative predictive value in detecting intracranial atherosclerosis. The gold standard for confirmation of the diagnosis remains catheter angiography.