N Jane Taylor1, Vicky J. Goh1, J
James Stirling1, Ian Simcock1, Matthew Orton2,
David J. Collins2, Ralph Strecker3, Leon Menezes4,
Raymond Endozo4, Justin J. Cross5, Richard Harvey6,
Carl W. Kotze6, Syed W. Yusuf6, Ashley Groves4
1Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, Mount
Vernon Hospital, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 2RN, United Kingdom; 2CRUK-EPSRC
Cancer Imaging Centre, Institute of Cancer Research & Royal Marsden
Hospital, Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5PT, United Kingdom; 3Healthcare
Sector, Siemens AG, 91052 Erlangen, Germany; 4University College
Hospital, London, United Kingdom; 5Addenbrookes Hospital,
Cambridge, United Kingdom; 6Brighton and Sussex University
Hospitals, Brighton, Sussex, United Kingdom
Accurate
identification of vulnerable carotid plaque influences patient treatment.
Diffusion weighted imaging at 3T may potentially contribute to the
identification of active plaques. This feasibility study in 14 patients with
symptomatic disease assesses the correlation between plaque apparent
diffusion coefficient (ADC) and imaging/histopathological features of
vulnerability (thin cap, lipid core, haemorrhage, angiogenesis (CD105 or
VEGF) & inflammation (CD68). Mean
(SD) plaque ADC was 1.30 X10-3(0.29) mm2/s. There was no difference in ADC
between patients with and without MRI features of plaque vulnerability. There
was a positive trend between ADC & CD105/VEGF, markers of angiogenesis
meriting further investigation.