Beside crucial role in the diagnosis of the morphological and hemodynamic changes of the cerebral vasculature, during last years, novel neurosonological methods (transcranial brain parenchyma sonography-TCS, temporal arteries ultrasonography, echosonography of the optic nerve and retrobulbar vessels) find their important place in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, temporal arteritis, as well as optic nerve and ocular vessels changes.
TCS is a highly sensitive non-invasive ultrasound method for detection of early and highly specific echogenic changes in basal ganglia of patients suffering from some neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s-, Huntington’s- and Wilson’s disease, secondary parkinsonian syndromes, spinocerebellar ataxias, some forms of dystonia. Changes of the brainstem raphe echogenicity have been shown to be highly prevalent in patients with unipolar- as well depression associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases. That why TCS is valuable neuroimaging method for early and differential diagnosis and follow-up of patients with neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.
Ultrasonography of the temporal arteries revealed in 70-90% of patients with a clinical suspicion of temporal arteritis, specific sonographic changes: a) circumferent hypoechogenic wall thickening-halo, b) segmental stenosis or occlusion of temporal arteries and c) lack of temporal arteries compressibility.
Noninvasive echosonography of the optic nerves could easily reveal changes of the intracranial pressure (intracranial hypo- or hypertension) while duplex sonography could easily detect central retinal artery or vein occulsion.