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CASE REPORT article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Imaging Methods
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1554910
A case report and literature review on giant tumefactive perivascular spaces
Provisionally accepted- 1 Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
- 2 Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
- 3 Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Xuzhou Medical University, Nanjing, China
Background: Perivascular spaces (PVS) are fluid-filled cavities located in the brain that surround blood vessels. Dilated PVS (dPVS) can be discerned on MRI in healthy individuals. Extreme expansion of PVS is classified as giant tumefactive PVS (GTPVS), a rare condition with an ambiguous etiology. Although GTPVS may exert a mass effect, it should not be misidentified as a tumor or other pathological conditions.We report a rare case of GTPVS that was incidentally discovered during the examination of a scalp mass. The patient exhibited giant tumefactive dilation of PVS in the left cerebral hemisphere without any clinical symptoms. The MR imaging of this case showed a typical cluster cyst. Based on the location of the lesion, consider it belongs to Type Ⅱ GTPVS.This study reports a rare GTPVS case, establishing diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, and management strategies. While asymptomatic cases require no treatment, hydrocephalus may necessitate surgery. Literature review suggests PVS dilation reflects glymphatic dysfunction, providing new pathophysiological insights.Further studies are needed to validate these findings due to the condition's rarity.
Keywords: Giant tumefactive perivascular spaces, Perivascular spaces, Lymphatic System, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Case diagnosis
Received: 03 Jan 2025; Accepted: 21 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cheng, Pan, Ma, Liu and Mai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoli Mai, Department of Radiology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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