Plaques of Nonstenotic Basilar Arteries with Isolated Pontine Infarction on Three-dimensional High Isotropic Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>There are few studies for evaluating plaque characteristics of nonstenotic basilar arteries (BA). Our aim was to determine entire BA plaques with a three-dimensional volumetric isotropic turbo spin-echo acquisition (VISTA) and investigate the differences between the patients with and without isolated pontine infarction (IPI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four consecutive symptomatic patients with nonstenotic BA on time of flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF MRA) were enrolled from China-Japan Friendship Hospital between January 2014 and December 2014. BA was classified as "normal" or "irregular" based on TOF MRA, and "normal wall", "slight wall-thickening", and "plaque" based on three-dimensional VISTA images. Outcomes from MRA and VISTA were compared. Patients were categorized as IPI and non-IPI groups based on the diffusion-weighted imaging. Clinical and plaque characteristics were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1024 image slices including 311 (30.37%) plaque slices, 427 (41.70%) slight wall-thickening slices, and 286 (27.93%) normal wall slices for the entire BA from 23 patients were finally included for analysis. VISTA images detected plaques in all the 9 (100%) irregular MRA patients and 7 of 14 (50%) normal MRA patients. IPI was found in 11 (47.83%) patients. Compared to non-IPI group, the IPI group had a higher percentage of plaque slices (P = 0.001) and lower percentage of normal wall slices (P = 0.014) than non-IPI group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Three-dimensional VISTA images enable detection of BA plaques not visualized by MRA. BA plaques could be found in both the IPI and non-IPI group. However, IPI group showed plaques more extensively in BA than the non-IPI group.</p>

Wall Imaging for Unilateral Intracranial Vertebral Artery Hypoplasia with Three-dimensional High-isotropic Resolution Magnetic Resonance Images / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>There are few studies for evaluating wall characteristics of intracranial vertebral artery hypoplasia (VAH). The aim of this study was to determine wall characteristics of VAH with three-dimensional volumetric isotropic turbo spin echo acquisition (3D VISTA) images and differentiate between acquired atherosclerotic stenosis and VAH.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty patients with suspicious VAH by luminograms were retrospectively enrolled between January 2014 and February 2015. The patients were classified as "acquired atherosclerotic stenosis" or "VAH" based on 3D VISTA images. The wall characteristics of VAH were assessed to determine the presence of atherosclerotic lesions, and the patients were classified into two subgroups (VAH with atherosclerosis and VAH with normal wall). Wall characteristics of basilar arteries and vertebral arteries were also assessed. The clinical and wall characteristics were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Five of 30 patients with suspicious VAH were finally diagnosed as acquired atherosclerotic stenosis by 3D VISTA images. 25 patients were finally diagnosed as VAH including 16 (64.00%) patients with atherosclerosis and 9 (36.00%) patients with normal wall. In the 16 patients with atherosclerosis, plaque was found in 9 patients, slight wall thickening in 6 patients, and thrombus and wall thickening in 1 patient. Compared with VAH patients with normal wall, VAH patients with atherosclerosis showed atherosclerotic basilar arteries and dominant vertebral arteries more frequently (P = 0.000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Three-dimensional VISTA images enable differentiation between the acquired atherosclerotic stenosis and VAH. VAH was also prone to atherosclerotic processes.</p>