ATHEROSCLEROSIS OF THE CAROTID-ARTERY - EVALUATION BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE ANGIOGRAPHY

Carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques (APs) can lead to brain ischemi a, an event shown to correlate with both the degree of stenosis and th e composition of the AP. Currently, accurate estimates of stenosis can be obtained by either x-ray angiography or three-dimensional time-of- flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Our purpose was to determine whether three-dimensional TOF MRA images could also provide information on plaque location, morphology, and composition. Seven pre -endarterectomy patients underwent three-dimensional TOF MRA. After en darterectomy, plaque histology was evaluated, Three-dimensional TOF MR A images contained sufficient soft tissue contrast to differentiate th e plaques from the surrounding tissues in all cases. Estimation of pla que morphology had 80% correlation with histology, finally, intraplaqu e hemorrhage and calcification were depicted as regions of moderately high and very low intensity, respectively, These preliminary results s uggest that three-dimensional TOF MRA may be useful in studying the de velopment and progression of carotid atherosclerosis.