Preliminary Experience in Evaluation of Disease Severity and Activity of Takayasu Arteritis with Whole-Body MRA and Vessel Wall Imaging

Jiang Lin¹, Dan li², Fu-hua Yan², Jiang-hua Wang²

Takayasu Arteritis is a systemic disorder which mainly involves medium- and large-sized arteries. As it progresses, many kinds of luminal pathology may appear, such as stenosis, occlusion and aneurysm. However, at an early stage, the vessel lumen often remains unchanged while inflammation or thickening of the vessel wall may already exist. Furthermore when the disease is active, the mural tissue may be avidly enhanced. Early diagnosis and comprehensive assessment of its severity and activity are required which may influence treatment procedure and outcome. In this study we explored the potential of Whole-body MRA for comprehensive diagnosis of Takayasu Arteritis with postcontast vessel wall imaging.