Delayed contrast-enhanced MRI of the aortic wall in Takayasu's arteritis: Initial experience

OBJECTIVE. Delayed contrast-enhanced MRI is increasingly being used for cardiac viability imaging. Takayasu's arteritis is a rare inflammatory disorder of unknown cause that affects the aorta, its major branches, and the pulmonary artery it is characterized by inflammation and fibrosis in the arterial wall. We report our initial experience with seven patients (six women, one man; age range, 25-62 years) with delayed (20 min) gadolinium-enhanced MRI (inversion recovery prepared gated fast gradient-echo pulse sequence) in patients with known Takayasu's arteritis. CONCLUSION. Patients with Takayasu's arteritis (particularly those with abnormal laboratory values) have evidence of delayed hyperenhancement on delayed contrast-enhanced MRI. Thus, delayed contrast-enhanced MRI might be a useful technique to identify inflammation in arterial wall.