Abstract #3458

An inverse association between microvasculature and intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerotic carotid lesions: an MR imaging study

Geneviève Crombag^1,2, Raf van Hoof¹, Floris Schreuder³, Martine Truijman⁴, Sylvia Heeneman⁵, Paul Nederkoorn⁶, Werner Mess^2,7, Robert van Oostenbrugge^2,4, Jan-Willem Daemen⁸, Mat Daemen⁹, Joachim Wildberger^1,2, and Eline Kooi^1,2

¹Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht, Netherlands, ³Department of Neurology & Donders Institute for Brain Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ⁴Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁵Pathology, Maastricht University Medical Center, MAastricht, Netherlands, ⁶Neurology, Amsterdam Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, ⁷Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁸Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁹Pathology, Amsterdam Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The presence of intraplaque haemorrhage (IPH) has been related to plaque rupture, plaque progression, and predicts cerebrovascular events. However, the mechanisms leading to IPH are not fully understood. The dominant view is that IPH is caused by leakage of erythrocytes from immature microvessels. 101 patients underwent MRI of the symptomatic carotid plaque for detection of IPH and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for assessment of plaque microvasculature. A decreased vessel wall Ktrans was found for IPH positive patients. No difference in adventitial Ktrans was found in patients with and without IPH. Not only leaky plaque microvessels, but additional factors may contribute to IPH development.

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