Quantitative 3T MR imaging of the descending thoracic aorta: patients with familial hypercholesterolemia have an increased aortic plaque burden despite long-term lipid-lowering therapy.

Purpose: To compare the aortic plaque burden in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia on long-term statin treatment with that of matched control subjects.

Materials And Methods: The authors studied 11 heterozygous, nonsmoking, nondiabetic, and nonhypertensive patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (mean age, 44 years +/- 10) who had been receiving cholesterol-lowering management for a mean of 12 years +/- 5, including 8.25 years +/- 4.

Cardiac T2* and lipid measurement at 3.0 T-initial experience.

This study was designed to assess whether breath-hold cardiac multiecho imaging at 3.0 T is achievable without significant image artefacts and if fat/water phase interference modulates the exponential T2* signal decay. Twelve healthy volunteers (mean age 39) were imaged on a Philips Intera 3.

MRI at 3 Tesla detects no evidence for ischemic brain damage in intensively treated patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Introduction: Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is considered a model disease for excessive plasma cholesterol levels. Patients with untreated homozygous FH have a markedly increased risk for premature atherosclerosis. The frequency and extent of ischemic brain damage detectable by high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after long-term intensive treatment are unknown.

Neurovascular contact and blood pressure response in young, healthy, normotensive men.

Background: Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the left rostral ventrolateral medulla has been implicated in the pathogenesis of "essential" hypertension, and recent studies suggest that this anomaly may be genetically determined. We therefore assessed the prevalence of this vascular anomaly in young normotensive volunteers. We also studied blood pressure, heart rate reactivity, and changes in baroreflex sensitivity in response to mental and physical stress in a subset of subjects with positive and negative brainstem findings.

Neurovascular Contact of Cranial Nerve IX and X Root-Entry Zone in Hypertensive Patients.

-Neurovascular contact of the left rostral ventrolateral medulla has been implicated in the pathogenesis of "essential" hypertension, and recent intervention studies suggest that surgical decompression of the ventrolateral medulla lowers blood pressure in these patients. We assessed the prevalence of this vascular anomaly in patients with essential hypertension by using an advanced MRI technique. We performed MRI of the brain stem in 125 hypertensive patients and in 105 age-matched, sex-matched, and body mass index-matched normotensive control subjects.