title: Characterization of atherosclerotic disease in thoracic aorta: A 3D, multicontrast vessel wall imaging study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the characteristics of plaque in the thoracic aorta using three dimensional multicontrast magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  METHODS
  Elderly subjects (≥60years) were recruited in this study. Thoracic aorta was imaged on a 3.0T MR scanner by acquiring multicontrast sequences. The plaque burden was evaluated by measuring lumen area, wall area, wall thickness, and normalized wall index. The presence or absence of plaque and intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH)/mural thrombus (MT) were identified. The characteristics of atherosclerosis among different thoracic aorta segments (AAO: ascending aorta; AOA: aortic arch, and DOA: descending aorta) were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 66 recruited subjects (mean age 72.3±6.2years, 30 males), 55 (83.3%) had plaques in the thoracic aorta. The prevalence of plaque in AAO, AOA, and DAO was 5.4%, 72.7%, and 71.2%, respectively. In addition, 21.2% of subjects were found to have lesions with IPH/MT in the thoracic aorta. The prevalence of IPH/MT in segment of AAO, AOA and DAO was 0%, 13.6%, and 12.1%, respectively. The aortic wall showed the highest NWI in DAO (34.1%±4.8%), followed by AOA (31.2%±5%), and AAO (26.8%±3.3%) (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three dimensional multicontrast MR imaging is capable of characterizing atherosclerotic plaques in the thoracic aorta. The findings of high prevalence of plaques and the presence of high risk plaques in the thoracic aorta suggest early screening for aortic vulnerable lesions in the elderly.
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China; Department of Radiology, The Second Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
authors: Changwu
authors: C
authors: Zhou
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Huiyu
authors: H
authors: Qiao
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Le
authors: L
authors: He
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China; Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors: Chun
authors: C
authors: Yuan
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Huijun
authors: H
authors: Chen
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Qiang
authors: Q
authors: Zhang
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China.
authors: Rui
authors: R
authors: Li
authors: Department of Radiology, The Second Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiology, The Second Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
authors: Fang
authors: F
authors: Du
authors: Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: cjr.licheng@vip.163.com.
authors: Cheng
authors: C
authors: Li
authors: Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China. Electronic address: xihaizhao@tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors: Xihai
authors: X
authors: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Magnetic resonance imaging; Thoracic aorta; Vessel wall; Vulnerable plaque