Natural Course of Intracranial Vessel Wall Lesions in Stroke- And TIA Patients at 7.0 Tesla MRI

Anja G. van der Kolk¹, Jaco J.M. Zwanenburg¹, Manon Brundel², Geert Jan Biessels², Fredy Visser¹, ³, Peter R. Luijten¹, Jeroen Hendrikse¹

A substantial percentage of patients with cerebrovascular disease have been shown to have intracranial vessel wall lesions. It is, however, not clear whether these are stable lesions, or changing over time. To assess the natural course of these lesions, 35 ischemic stroke- or TIA-patients with an Magnetization Preparation Inversion Recovery (MPIR)-TSE scan at 7.0 Tesla within 1 week and 1 month after the ischemic event were included. The majority of patients had stable lesions, indicating a prolonged cerebral atherosclerotic process. The used MPIR-TSE vessel wall sequence at 7.0 Tesla may allow for assessment over time of (progressive) intracranial atherosclerotic plaques.