Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Atherosclerosis is a systemic inflammatory disease resulting in vascular complications such as myocardial infarction or stroke. Noninvasive imaging of early stages of this systemic disease could help guide early interventional or medical therapies. Molecular targeting with MRI using epitope-specific contrast agents has proven to be effective in detection of different stages of atherosclerosis, beginning with an endothelial dysfunction and ending in plaque rupture with superimposed thrombosis. Animal models of atherosclerosis and thrombosis in combination with molecular imaging can help us to understand more about disease progression, therapeutic impact, and molecular mechanisms. This article reviews recent developments in molecular MRI concerning atherosclerosis, highlighting the vulnerable plaque as a key structure of plaque pathology. © 2009 Springer.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s12410-009-0002-0

Type

Journal article

Journal

Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports

Publication Date

01/12/2009

Volume

2

Pages

5 - 14