title: Influence of acquired obesity on coronary vessel wall late gadolinium enhancement in discordant monozygote twins.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BMI on late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) of the coronary artery wall in identical monozygous twins discordant for BMI. Coronary LGE represents a useful parameter for the detection and quantification of atherosclerotic coronary vessel wall disease.
  
  
  
  Thirteen monozygote female twin pairs (n = 26) with significantly different BMIs (>1.6 kg/m2) were recruited out of >10,000 twin pairs (TwinsUK Registry). A coronary 3D-T2prep-TFE MR angiogram and 3D-IR-TFE vessel wall scan were performed prior to and following the administration of 0.2 mmol/kg of Gd-DTPA on a 1.5 T MR scanner. The number of enhancing coronary segments and contrast to noise ratios (CNRs) of the coronary wall were quantified.
  
  
  
  An increase in BMI was associated with an increased number of enhancing coronary segments (5.3 ± 1.5 vs. 3.5 ± 1.6, p < 0.0001) and increased coronary wall enhancement (6.1 ± 1.1 vs. 4.8 ± 0.9, p = 0.0027) compared to matched twins with lower BMI.
  
  
  
  This study in monozygous twins indicates that acquired factors predisposing to obesity, including lifestyle and environmental factors, result in increased LGE of the coronary arteries, potentially reflecting an increase in coronary atherosclerosis in this female study population.
  
  
  
  • BMI-discordant twins allow the investigation of the influence of lifestyle factors independent from genetic confounders. • Only thirteen obesity-discordant twins were identified underlining the strong genetic component of BMI. • In female twins, a BMI increase is associated with increased coronary late gadolinium enhancement. • Increased late gadolinium enhancement in the coronary vessel wall potentially reflects increased atherosclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.|Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre, London, UK.|BHF Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London, UK.|NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK.|Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcus R
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7719-8236
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Makowski
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.
authors.forename: Christian H P
authors.initials: CHP
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Heart Center Munich-Bogenhausen, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Ullrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ebersberger
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.|Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre, London, UK.|BHF Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London, UK.|NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schaeffter
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.|Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre, London, UK.|BHF Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London, UK.|NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Razavi
authors.affiliation: Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King's College London, London, UK.|National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St. Thomas' Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mangino
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Heart Center Munich-Bogenhausen, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Spector
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK.|Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre, London, UK.|BHF Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London, UK.|NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rene M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Botnar
authors.affiliation: Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK. gerald.greil@kcl.ac.uk.|Wellcome Trust and EPSRC Medical Engineering Centre, London, UK. gerald.greil@kcl.ac.uk.|BHF Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London, UK. gerald.greil@kcl.ac.uk.|NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London, UK. gerald.greil@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Gerald F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Greil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000494:pharmacology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA
keywords: 3D-IR-TFE; Coronary; MRI; Twin; Vessel wall scan