Clinical value of black-blood high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging for intracranial atherosclerotic plaques

Abstract

Abstract. The present study evaluated the value of black-blood high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HRMRI) for the visualization of intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) plaques. A total of 110 patients with cerebral artery or vertebrobasilar stenosis, vessel occlusion or a significantly weakened signal in black-blood magnetic resonance angiography (MRA; three-dimensional time-of-flight) were examined. Black-blood MRA was used to observe whether plaques were present in the abnormal vascular walls. Among the 110 patients with cerebral infarction, 16 cases presented with no significant abnormality of the lumen and walls, while plaques were observed in 94 cases. The plaques were categorized according to their signal characteristics, which resulted in the identification of four cases of type I and II plaques, 15 cases of type III, 26 cases of type IV and V, 23 cases of type VI, 11 cases of type VII, 14 cases of type VIII and one case of a mixed plaque. In summary, 3.0 T black-blood HRMRI was demonstrated to objectively exhibit characteristics of various types of ICAS plaques. Therefore, this imaging technique may be applied as a key method for the clinical non-invasive determination of ICAS plaques.

Relationship Between Hypertension and Basilar Atherosclerosis in Chinese Han Population: A High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

“…HR-MRI has an outstanding effect in differentiating atherosclerotic plaque, vasculitis, reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, and arterial dissection ( 3 – 8 ). Compared with other traditional lumen imaging techniques, HR-MRI has been found to be more accurate in determining the extent of atherosclerotic lesions ( 23 , 24 ). Klein et al ( 25 ) studied 41 patients with pontine infarction and found that HR-MRI was superior to TOF MRA in detecting basilar atherosclerotic lesions.…”

Prognostic value of high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating carotid atherosclerotic plaque in patients with ischemic stroke

“…[ 27 ] By examining 94 cases of abnormal plaque occurrence among 110 patients indicated that the incidence of IS in patients with unstable plaque was significantly higher than patients with stable plaque occurrence. [ 28 ]…”

Strong Contrast Stagnation of Unilateral Vertebral Artery on Three-Dimensional Black Blood-Enhanced MRI Predicts Acute Medulla Infarction

“…Three-dimensional (3D) black-blood (BB) contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suppresses the signal of flowing blood and enhances static tissue from the vessel wall [ 6 , 7 ]. Therefore, since 3D BB contrast-enhanced MRI can distinguish the arterial wall from the lumen, intravascular lesions such as atherosclerosis and thromboembolic occlusions can be identified better than other modalities used in neurovascular imaging [ 8 , 9 ]. Since vessel wall lesions are the major cause of cerebral infarction, 3D BB contrast-enhanced MRI may overcome the diagnostic delay of DWI and be helpful in the early detection of stroke [ 9 ].…”