Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon cause of stroke with diverse etiologies and varied clinical presentations. Because of variability in clinical presentation and neuroimaging, CVT remains a diagnostic challenge. Recently, some studies have highlighted the value of T2*-weighted gradient-echo MRI (T2*WI) in the diagnosis of CVT. We report the case of a 79-year-old woman with CVT due to a hypercoagulable state associated with cancer. On the initial T2-weighted image (T2WI), there was a diffuse high-intensity lesion in the right thalamus, extending into the posterior limb of the internal capsule and midbrain. T2*WI showed diminished signal and enlargement of the right basilar vein and the vein of Galen. Even though there is a wide range of differential diagnoses in unilateral thalamic lesions, and a single thalamus lesion is a rare entity of CVT, based on T2*WI findings we could make an early diagnosis and perform treatment. Our case report suggests that T2*WI could detect thrombosed veins and be a useful method of early diagnosis in CVT.
Cerebral venous thrombosis as a diagnostic challenge: Clinical and radiological correlation based on the retrospective analysis of own cases