• PhanBinh An PBADepartment of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98103-8771, USA. bapp@u.washington.edu, Baocheng Chu, William S Kerwin, Dongxiang Xu, Chun Yuan, Thomas Hatsukami, and Xue-Qiao Zhao.
• Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98103-8771, USA. bapp@u.washington.edu
• J Magn Reson Imaging. 2006 Apr 1; 23 (4): 481-5.

PurposeTo investigate whether gadolinium (Gd)-based contrast enhancement (CE) affects high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements of carotid arterial wall volume.Materials And MethodsThe common carotid artery (CCA), bifurcation, and internal carotid artery (ICA) of 50 consecutive patients were imaged using 1.5T MRI. T1-weighted (T1W) images were obtained before and after Gd administration. Pre- and post-CE measurements were compared among different arterial locations of the CCA, bifurcation, and ICA, and among different atherosclerotic lesion types.ResultsIn comparison to pre-CE T1W images, post-CE images showed an increase in the apparent wall volume measurement of 28.2% (108.7 mm3 vs. 84.7 mm3, P < 0.001). The post-CE measurement increases in wall volume for the CCA, bifurcation, and ICA were 26.7%, 29.2%, and 28.0%, respectively.ConclusionGd CE causes a significant increase in the apparent volume of the carotid wall throughout multiple carotid artery locations, which may be associated with improved visibility or neovascularization.2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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