title: In Vitro Assessment of Histology Verified Intracranial Atherosclerotic Disease by 1.5T Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Concentric or Eccentric?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Clinical trial studies show that plaque eccentricity (symmetry) is among the plaque features that have been associated with more frequent cerebrovascular events. Plaque eccentricity of intracranial atherosclerotic disease is unclear because of lacking of cerebral artery specimens.
  
  
  METHODS
  1.5T magnetic resonance imaging was performed in the postmortem brains to scan the cross sections of middle cerebral artery. Plaque eccentricity of histology-verified middle cerebral artery atherosclerosis was calculated on T1-weighted fat-suppressed sequence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Validated by histology, concentric atherosclerotic plaques were identified in 46 middle cerebral arteries (63.9%) on magnetic resonance imaging and eccentric plaques in 26 arteries (26.1%). Eccentric plaques showed higher maximum wall thickness and lower minimum wall thickness than concentric plaques (both P<0.001). Plaque burden and brain infarctions were similar between concentric and eccentric plaques.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intracranial atherosclerosis presents as eccentric or concentric in geometry, which may be not linked to intracranial plaque risk. Further in vivo imaging studies are needed to identify morphological features of intracranial plaques and to verify its association with brain infarctions.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Wen-Jie
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.). fionachen@cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Xiang-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Hai-Lu
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Chun-Bo
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Ka-Sing
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics (W.-J.Y., X.-Y.C., K.-S.W.) and Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology (H.-K.N.), Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China; Faculty of Basic Medicine, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China (H.-L.Z.); Department of Pathology, China-Japan Union Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University, Jilin, China (C.-B.N.); and Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, PR China (Y.X.).
authors.forename: Ho-Keung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000473:pathology*; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: high resolution magnetic resonance imaging; histology; intracranial atherosclerosis; plaque eccentricity