Perfusion and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in a case of subependymoma of the lateral ventricle

Magnetic resonance brain scan in a 54-year-old man with ingravescent headache disclosed an expansive intraventricular non infiltrating process, hypointense in T1 and hyperintense in T2, without signal intensification after the injection of a paramagnetic contrast agent. The lesion was studied with diffusion and perfusion sequences. The Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and the Signal/Time Relative Intensity curves after perfusion study were analyzed. Diffusion images confirmed the solid nature of the lesion, while perfusion images displayed the vascular proliferation within the lesion. Diffusion and perfusion sequences were helpful in suggesting the neuroradiological diagnosis of subependymoma, subsequently confirmed by pathologic testing following the neurosurgical tumour resection.