Lipid-rich atherosclerotic plaques detected by gadofluorine-enhanced in vivo magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

MRI of specific components in atherosclerotic plaque may provide information on plaque stability and its potential to rupture. We evaluated gadofluorine in atherosclerotic rabbits using a new MR sequence that allows plaque detection within 1 hour after injection and assessed enhancement in lipid-rich and non-lipid-rich plaques.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

Twelve rabbits with aortic plaque and 6 controls underwent MRI before and up to 24 hours after gadofluorine injection (50 micromol/kg). Two T1-weighted, segmented gradient-echo sequences (TFL) were compared to enhance vessel wall delineation after injection: (1) an inversion-recovery prepulse (IR-TFL) or (2) a combination of inversion-recovery and diffusion-based flow suppression prepulses (IR-DIFF-TFL). With the use of IR-TFL at 1 hour after injection, the vessel wall was not delineated because of poor flow suppression; at 24 hours after injection, the enhancement was 37% (P<0.01). IR-DIFF-TFL showed significant enhancement after versus before contrast (1 hour: 164% [P<0.005]; 24 hours: 207% [P<0.001]). At 1 hour and 24 hours after injection, the contrast-to-noise ratio was higher with the use of IR-DIFF-TFL than with IR-TFL (1 hour: 13.0+/-7.7 versus -19.8+/-10.3 [P<0.001]; 24 hours: 15.2+/-5.9 versus 11.4+/-8.9, respectively [P=0.052]). There was no enhancement in the vessel wall after gadofluorine injection in the control group. A strong correlation was found (r2=0.87; P<0.001) between the lipid-rich areas in histological sections and signal intensity in corresponding MR images. This suggests a high affinity of gadofluorine for lipid-rich plaques.

CONCLUSIONS:

Gadofluorine-enhanced MRI improves atherosclerotic plaque detection. The IR-DIFF-TFL method allows early detection of atherosclerotic plaque within 1 hour after gadofluorine injection.

• Authors: Marc Sirol, Vitalii V Itskovich, Venkatesh Mani, Juan Gilberto S Aguinaldo, John T Fallon, Bernd Misselwitz, Hanns-Joachim Weinmann, Valentin Fuster, Jean-François Toussaint, Zahi A Fayad
• Journal: Circulation (Circulation) Vol. 109 Issue 23 Pg. 2890-6 (Jun 15 2004) ISSN: 1524-4539 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 15184290 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Evaluation Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• Contrast Media
• Lipids
• Organometallic Compounds
• gadofluorine

Topics

• Animals
• Aorta, Abdominal (injuries, metabolism, pathology)
• Aortic Diseases (metabolism, pathology)
• Arteriosclerosis (metabolism, pathology)
• Catheterization (adverse effects)
• Contrast Media
• Diet, Atherogenic
• Fibrosis
• Lipids (analysis)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (methods)
• Organometallic Compounds
• Rabbits