Michael Jerosch-Herold1, YiuCho Chung2,
Ravi Teja Seethamraju3, Otavio R. Coelho-Filho4,
Marcelo Fernando Di Carli, Peter Libby, Raymond Y. Kwong
1Radiology, Brigham & Women's
Hospital, Boston, MA, United States; 2MRI, Siemens Medical
Systems, Columbus, OH, United States; 3Siemens Medical Systems,
Boston, MA, United States; 4Brigham & Women's Hospital, United
States
The
transfer rate (Ktrans) of gadolinium contrast into the extracellular space is
a validated marker of carotid plaque neo-vascularization and inflammation.
T2-weighted imaging is a complementary marker of inflammation in vessel wall
and plaque. The association between Ktrans and increased SI on T2 images of
carotid plaque was investigated in this study by high resolution, 3D dynamic
T1w gradient echo imaging, and a 3D T2w TSE method (T2-SPACE). Ktrans and
T2-signal hyper-enhancement were found to be strongly associated markers of
neo-vascularization and inflammation, respectively.