Helen Erica D'Arceuil1,
Alex de Crespigny2, Michael E. Moseley3, Francis
Blankenberg4, Maarten Lansberg5
1Diagnostic
Radiology, Stanford, Stanford, CA, United States; 2Genentech Inc,
South San Francisco, CA, United States; 3Diagnostic Radiology,
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; 4Pediatric
Radiology, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Palo Alto, CA, United States; 5Neurology
and Neurological Sciences, Stanford Stroke Center, Stanford Hospital and
Clinics, Stanford, CA, United States
We estimated the vessel density parameter Q from changes in R2 and R2* relaxation rates before/after injection of ferumoxytol in 5 healthy subjects. Changes in R2 were highly correlated with changes in R2*. Q in normal gray matter was about 0.58, comparable to that previously reported in rodent brain, using MION contrast agents. This approach using a contrast agent at steady-state permits high resolution imaging of vascular parameters and may prove useful for assessment of angiogenesis, for example during vascular targeted therapy in oncology or regenerative therapy in stroke.