Marcus R. Makowski1, Gopal Varma, Christian
Jansen, Andrea J. Wiethoff, Tobias Schaeffter, Mathias Taupitz2,
Rene M. Botnar
1Kings College London, Division of
Imaging Sciences, ,
Macrophages
have been identified as a contributor to plaque instability in
atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to noninvasively assess iron oxide
uptake at different stages of plaque development in the innominate artery of
apoE-/- mice and to evaluate the effect of anti-inflammatory treatment using
T2* weighted and positive contrast susceptibility gradient mapping (SGM) MRI.
Molecular alterations in plaque composition with regard to macrophage content
could be detected using iron oxide particles in combination with T2* weighted
and SGM MRI. Anti-inflammatory treatment with statins resulted in a smaller
SGM signal and smaller signal voids on T2* weighted images.