Susceptibility or chemical shift artifacts in intracranial lipomas mimicking hemorrhage – Case series with review of the literature

Abstract

Intracranial lipomas are rare congenital malformations which are present in choroid plexus or subarachnoid locations along the corpus callosum and cisterns. Most of them are identified incidentally during neuroimaging studies done for other indications. Sometimes, they may be associated with other anomalies such as agenesis of corpus callosum and vascular malformations. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they may be associated with chemical shift artifact (CSA) due to their lipid content and can mimic other more serious intracranial lesions. This effect seen in gradient echo MRI sequences can also be used to confirm the presence of these lesions. We report the imaging findings of six patients with intracranial lipomas that showed this chemical shift artifact with a review of the literature.