Intracranial Atherosclerosis: Correlation Between In-vivo 3T High Resolution MRI and Pathology

Overview

Journal Atherosclerosis

Publisher Elsevier

Specialty Cardiology & Vascular Diseases

Date 2014 Dec 3

PMID 25463074

Citations 37

Authors

Tanya N Turan

Zoran Rumboldt

Ann-Charlotte Granholm

Laura Columbo

Cynthia T Welsh

Maria F Lopes-Virella

M Vittoria Spampinato

Truman R Brown

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: High-resolution MRI (HRMRI) is a promising tool for studying intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) in-vivo, but its use to understand the pathophysiology of ICAD has been limited by a lack of correlation between MRI signal characteristics and pathology in intracranial arteries.

Description Of Case: A patient with symptomatic left cavernous carotid stenosis underwent 3T HRMRI and died 4 days later. In-vivo HRMRI and postmortem histopathology images were compared. MRI signal characteristics consistent with atherosclerotic plaque composed of lipid and loose matrix, fibrous tissue, and calcium were correlated with pathology findings. Intraplaque hemorrhage was not present on HRMRI or pathology.

Conclusions: This report demonstrates correlation between atherosclerotic plaque components visualized on 3T HRMRI images obtained in-vivo and pathological specimens of a symptomatic ICAD plaque, providing an important step in developing HRMRI as an in-vivo research tool to understand ICAD pathology.

Citing Articles

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Radiomics and artificial neural networks modelling for identification of high-risk carotid plaques.

Gui C, Cao C, Zhang X, Zhang J, Ni G, Ming D Front Cardiovasc Med. 2023; 10:1173769.

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Intracranial plaque with large lipid core is associated with embolic stroke of undetermined source.

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Recurrent stroke risk in intracranial atherosclerotic disease.

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Fote G, Raefsky S, Mock K, Chaudhari A, Shafie M, Yu W Front Neurol. 2022; 13:900579.

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