title: Using High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Estimate Distensibility of the Middle Cerebral Artery.
abstract: Although cerebral arterial stiffness may be an important marker for cerebrovascular health, there is not yet a measurement that accurately reflects the distensibility of major intracranial arteries. Herein, we aim to noninvasively measure distension of the human middle cerebral artery (MCA).
  
  
  
  Ten healthy volunteers (age: 30.3 ± 10.8 years) underwent ultra-high-field (7-tesla) MRI scanning. Time-of-flight angiography and phase-contrast flow imaging were used to locate the M1 segment of the MCA and to determine the occurrence of systole and diastole. High-resolution cross-sectional cardiac triggered T2-weighted images of the M1 segment of the MCA were acquired in systole and diastole.
  
  
  
  The average distension of the MCA area from diastole to systole was 2.58% (range: 0.08%-6.48%). There was no significant correlation between MCA distension and the pulsatility index, calculated from the phase-contrast flow velocity profiles.
  
  
  
  These results lead to the first noninvasive image-based estimation of distensibility of the MCA (approx. 5.8 × 10-4 mm Hg-1) and demonstrate that ultra-high-field MRI could be a promising tool for investigating distensibility of intracranial arteries in relation to cerebrovascular pathology.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Esther A H
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Warnert
authors.forename: Jasper
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verbree
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: Matthias J P
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: van Osch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D011673:Pulsatile Flow