Age-related differences in cerebral blood flow and cortical thickness with an application to age prediction.

Cerebral cortex thinning and cerebral blood flow (CBF) reduction are typically observed during normal healthy aging. However, imaging-based age prediction models have primarily used morphological features of the brain. Complementary physiological CBF information might result in an improvement in age estimation.

Cerebrovascular reactivity in cerebral amyloid angiopathy, Alzheimer disease, and mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To assess cerebrovascular reactivity in response to a visual task in participants with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), Alzheimer disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using fMRI.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 40 patients with CAA, 22 with AD, 27 with MCI, and 25 healthy controls. Each participant underwent a visual fMRI task using a contrast-reversing checkerboard stimulus.

Perfusion has no effect on the in vivo CEST effect from Cr (CrCEST) in skeletal muscle.

Creatine, a key component of muscle energy metabolism, exhibits a chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) effect between its amine group and bulk water, which has been exploited to spatially and temporally map creatine changes in skeletal muscle before and after exercise. In addition, exercise leads to an increase in muscle perfusion. In this work, we determined the effects of perfused blood on the CEST effects from creatine in skeletal muscle.

An Actively Decoupled Dual Transceiver Coil System for Continuous ASL at 7 T.

7 T arterial spin labeling (ASL) faces major challenges including the increased specific absorption rate (SAR) and increased B and B inhomogeneity. This work describes the design and implementation of a dual-coil system that allows for continuous ASL (CASL) at 7 T. This system consisted of an actively detunable eight-channel transceiver head coil, and a three-channel transceiver labeling coil.

Comparison of non-invasive MRI measurements of cerebral blood flow in a large multisite cohort.

Unlabelled: Arterial spin labeling and phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging provide independent non-invasive methods for measuring cerebral blood flow. We compared global cerebral blood flow measurements obtained using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling and phase contrast in 436 middle-aged subjects acquired at two sites in the NHLBI CARDIA multisite study. Cerebral blood flow measured by phase contrast (CBFPC: 55.

Longitudinal decrease in blood oxygenation level dependent response in cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Lower blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal changes in response to a visual stimulus in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been observed in cross-sectional studies of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), and are presumed to reflect impaired vascular reactivity. We used fMRI to detect a longitudinal change in BOLD responses to a visual stimulus in CAA, and to determine any correlations between these changes and other established biomarkers of CAA progression. Data were acquired from 22 patients diagnosed with probable CAA (using the Boston Criteria) and 16 healthy controls at baseline and one year.

Improved susceptibility weighted imaging method using multi-echo acquisition.

Purpose: To introduce novel acquisition and postprocessing approaches for susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) to remove background field inhomogeneity artifacts in both magnitude and phase data.

Methods: The proposed method acquires three echoes in a three-dimensional gradient echo (GRE) sequence, with a field compensation gradient (z-shim gradient) applied to the third echo. The artifacts in the magnitude data are compensated by signal estimation from all three echoes.

Accelerated passive MR catheter tracking into the carotid artery of canines.

Background: Using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for navigating catheters has several advantages when compared with the current "gold standard" modality of X-ray imaging. A significant drawback to interventional MR is inferior temporal and spatial resolutions, as high spatial resolution images cannot be collected and displayed at rates equal to X-ray imaging. In particular, passive MR catheter tracking experiments that use positive contrast mechanisms have poor temporal imaging rates and signal-to-noise ratio.

Microvascular perfusion based on arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI as a measure of vascular risk in Alzheimer's disease.

There is growing recognition of an interaction between cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, but the mechanisms of this interaction remain poorly understood. While macroscopic stroke can clearly produce cognitive deficits and accelerate Alzheimer's disease, the prevalence and implications of microvascular disease in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis has been harder to define. At present, white matter (WM) lesions, primarily defined as hyperintensities seen on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), provide the best biomarker of cerebrovascular disease at the microvascular level.

Unenhanced MR angiography of the renal arteries with balanced steady-state free precession dixon method.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a novel technique for fat-water separation to image the renal arteries without using a contrast agent.

Conclusion: Five healthy volunteers were imaged on a 3-T clinical MR scanner using the balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) Dixon method. We were able to image the proximal renal arteries with high conspicuity within a 3-minute overall scanning time.

3D non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography with balanced steady-state free precession Dixon method.

Balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) is capable of producing ample fat-water separation. In the case of the bSSFP Dixon method, the phase between fat and water can be manipulated by setting repetition time (TR) to an odd-half-multiple of the cycle time and adjusting the center frequency to acquire fat-water in in-phase and opposed-phase images. Adding an image collected when fat and water are in-phase to an image in which fat and water are opposed-phase produces a water-only image.

Magnetization evolution in balanced steady-state free precession with continuously moving table.

Diagnostic imaging of systemic disorders, such as peripheral vascular diseases, requires a field-of-view (FOV) larger than the local FOV available on clinical MR scanners. The continuously moving table (CMT) method acquires large FOV images in a single acquisition. Balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) is an attractive candidate for the CMT method due to its short repetition time and high signal-to-noise ratio.