Molecular MRI of Thrombus in a Rat Ischemic Stroke Model

Ritika Uppal¹, Ilknur Ay¹, Guangping Dai¹, Young Ro Kim¹, Gregory Sorensen¹, Peter Caravan¹

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The identification of the culprit thrombotic lesion, micro-emboli and the source of the embolus are all critical to patient management. We used a fibrin-targeted Gd based contrast agent (EP-2104R) and MRI to characterize a rat thrombo-embolic stroke model. EP-2104R readily identified thrombi in all animals with high contrast to noise, while animals administered GdDTPA showed no thrombus enhancement. These findings correlated with ex vivo tissue measurements of Gd.