title: Molecular Imaging of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.
abstract: Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) represent a vascular disease with severe complications. AAAs are currently the overall 10th leading cause of death in western countries and their incidence is rising. Although different diagnostic techniques are currently available in clinical practice, including ultrasound (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT), imaging-based prediction of life-threatening complications such as aneurysm-rupture remains challenging. Molecular imaging provides a novel diagnostic approach for in vivo visualization of biological processes and pathological alterations at a cellular and molecular level. Its overall aim is to improve our understanding of disease pathogenesis and to facilitate novel diagnostic pathways. This review outlines recent preclinical and clinical developments in molecular MRI, positron emission tomography (PET), and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for imaging of AAAs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brangsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reimann
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Collettini
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buchert
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK; Wellcome Trust and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Medical Engineering Centre, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, UK; British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Excellence, King's College London, London SE5 9NU, UK; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, London SE1 9RT, UK.
authors.forename: René M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Botnar
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK. Electronic address: marcus.makowski@charite.de.
authors.forename: Marcus R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Makowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
keywords: abdominal aortic aneurysm; magnetic resonance imaging; molecular imaging; positron emission tomography; single-photon emission computed tomography