title: Improved contrast of enhancing brain lesions on postgadolinium, T1-weighted spin-echo images with use of magnetization transfer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prove that the contrast of enhancing brain lesions on post-gadolinium T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) images can be statistically significantly improved with magnetization-transfer (MT) indirect saturation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The contrast-to-noise ratios (C/Ns) of 201 enhancing brain lesions in 110 patients were compared on conventional and MT T1-weighted SE images obtained at 1.5 T after injection of 0.05-0.10 mmol/kg gadopentetate dimeglumine or gadodiamide.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MT T1-weighted SE images showed a 37% reduction in signal intensity of background white matter and thereby provided a 108% improvement in the C/N of enhancing brain lesions over the conventional T1-weighted SE images (P < .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The C/Ns obtained with single-dose gadolinium and the MT T1-weighted SE technique were twice those obtained with the conventional technique and are at least equivalent to reported values obtained with triple-dose gadolinium and conventional T1-weighted SE images.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Metro-Health Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44109-1998.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Finelli
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Hurst
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Gullapali
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bellon
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D004338:Drug Combinations; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008536:Meglumine; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D004338:Drug Combinations; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D008536:Meglumine; D004369:Pentetic Acid; C064925:gadodiamide; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA