Asymptomatic choroid plexus cysts in the lateral ventricles: an incidental finding on diffusion-weighted MRI

We assessed the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the detection of choroid plexus cysts. We reviewed more than 1000 patients who had undergone MRI in a 1-year period. We reviewed echo-planar DWI with b=1000 s/mm(2), acquired at 1.0 tesla, for any difference in signal intensity which might indicate choroid plexus cysts. On conventional images, all cystic lesions were isointense with cerebrospinal fluid, and 72 cysts could not be identified. On DWI, 90 rounded high-signal foci were detected in 58 patients; 64 cysts were bilateral. Focal ventricular expansion due to large cysts was observed in nine cases. DWI were found to show choroid plexus cysts undetected within the cerebrospinal fluid on conventional images.