title: Intracranial arterial wall enhancement using gadolinium-enhanced 3D black-blood T1-weighted imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the enhancement of the intracranial arterial walls with gadolinium-enhanced, black-blood three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging (Gd-3DBB) by using an improved motion-sensitized driven-equilibrium (iMSDE)-prepared volumetric isotropic turbo spin-echo acquisition (VISTA).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 115 patients underwent FLAIR, 3D-TOF-MRA and Gd-3DBB with a 1.5-T scanner. The degree and distribution of the arterial wall enhancement on Gd-3DBB was assessed. The association of the degree of wall enhancement with brain infarction/ischemic lesions on FLAIR, luminal changes on 3D-TOF-MRA, and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) was investigated by univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strong enhancement of the arterial walls was observed in 77 vertebral arteries (33.5%), 4 basilar arteries (3.5%), 31 supraclinoid internal carotid arteries (ICAs) (13.5%) and 8 middle cerebral arteries (3.5%). In addition, 221 intrapetrous ICAs (96.1%) showed strong enhancement. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate analyses showed that the patient age was independently associated with the strong wall enhancement of the arteries for both the posterior (OR, 1.088; 95% CI, 1.034-1.146) and the anterior circulation (OR, 1.098, 95% CI 1.029-1.172). In addition, the presence of the supratentorial brain infarctions was independently associated with the strong wall enhancement in the anterior circulation excluding the intrapetrous ICAs (OR, 4.097; 95% CI, 1.483-11.319).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the arterial wall enhancement on the Gd-3DBB probably reflects normal aging, the enhancement in the anterior circulation might be related to brain infarctions. On the other hand, the intrapetrous ICA enhancement is considered a nonspecific finding and should not be mistaken for arterial pathologies such as atherosclerosis or arteritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: k-takano@fukuoka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hida
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwabara
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kengo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimitsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D002537:Intracranial Arteriosclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium
keywords: Black-blood imaging; Brain infarction; Intracranial atherosclerosis; MR angiography; Magnetic resonance imaging