Noninvasive Imaging of Atherosclerotic Plaque Progression

Noninvasive Imaging of Atherosclerotic Plaque Progression: Status of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography.

The process of coronary artery disease progression is infrequently visualized. Intravascular ultrasound has been used to gain important insights but is invasive and therefore limited to high-risk patients. For low-to-moderate risk patients, noninvasive methods may be useful to quantitatively monitor plaque progression or regression and to understand and personalize atherosclerosis therapy. This...

Noninvasive assessment of atherosclerotic plaque progression in ApoE-/- mice using susceptibility gradient mapping.

BACKGROUND Macrophages have been identified as a major contributor to plaque development and destabilization in atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to noninvasively assess uptake of citrate coated very small iron oxide particles at different stages of plaque development in the brachiocephalic artery of apoE(-/-) mice. Susceptibility gradient mapping (SGM) was applied to generate positive...

Noninvasive detection of macrophage-rich atherosclerotic plaque in hyperlipidemic rabbits using "positive contrast" magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVES This study was designed to identify macrophage-rich atherosclerotic plaque noninvasively by imaging the tissue uptake of long-circulating superparamagnetic nanoparticles with a positive contrast off-resonance imaging sequence (inversion recovery with ON-resonant water suppression [IRON]). BACKGROUND The sudden rupture of macrophage-rich atherosclerotic plaques can trigger the forma...

Imaging of the Vulnerable Atherosclerotic Plaque

The vulnerable, or high-risk, atherosclerotic plaque: noninvasive MR imaging for characterization and assessment.

"Vulnerable" plaques are atherosclerotic plaques that have a high likelihood to cause thrombotic complications, such as myocardial infarction or stroke. Plaques that tend to progress rapidly are also considered to be vulnerable. Besides luminal stenosis, plaque composition and morphology are key determinants of the likelihood that a plaque will cause cardiovascular events. Noninvasive magnetic ...