From the Departments of Cardiology (J.W., H.L., H.X., L.X., C.L.), Neurology (S.Y.), and Radiology (X.H., Z.G., L.W.), People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China; Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle (J.S., C.Y.); and Center for Biomedical Imaging Research, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Beijing, China (C.Y., X.Z., H.C.).
Stroke. 2014 Jun;45(6):1842-5. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.114.005147. Epub 2014 May 1.
(18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI have been proposed to quantitatively assess plaque inflammation by probing macrophages and neovessels, respectively. We examined their correlation to study the in vivo relationship between macrophage and neovessel activities in atherogenesis.
Forty-one patients (34 men; aged 65±12 years) with a total of 68 carotid plaques (thickness ≥2 mm on ultrasound; 20 symptomatic) were assessed by both (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI within 2 weeks, measured as target-to-background ratio and transfer constant (K(trans)), respectively.
Overall, the correlation between target-to-background ratio and K(trans) was weak and marginal (r=0.22; P=0.068). They were correlated in the symptomatic plaques (r=0.59; P=0.006) but not in the asymptomatic plaques (r=0.07; P=0.625; P=0.033 for difference in r). Neither target-to-background ratio nor K(trans) was significantly higher in the symptomatic plaques, but both showed an inverse relationship with time since last neurological event (r=-0.94 and -0.69 for target-to-background ratio and K(trans), respectively).
The correlation between (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI measurements varied with clinical conditions, pointing to a complex interplay between macrophages and neovessels under different pathophysiological conditions. The moderate correlation shown only in symptomatic plaques indicates the presence of acute plaque inflammation with increased metabolic activity and cytokine production by inflammatory cells.
（18）F-氟代脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描和动态对比增强 MRI 已被提出用于分别探测巨噬细胞和新生血管来定量评估斑块炎症。我们检查了它们的相关性，以研究动脉粥样硬化形成过程中巨噬细胞和新生血管活性的体内关系。
41 名患者（34 名男性；年龄 65±12 岁）共有 68 个颈动脉斑块（超声厚度≥2mm；20 个有症状）在 2 周内通过（18）F-氟代脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描和动态对比增强 MRI 进行评估，分别测量为靶与背景比和转移常数（Ktrans）。
总体而言，靶与背景比与 Ktrans 之间的相关性较弱且边缘相关（r=0.22；P=0.068）。它们在有症状的斑块中相关（r=0.59；P=0.006），但在无症状斑块中不相关（r=0.07；P=0.625；P=0.033 为 r 的差异）。有症状的斑块中靶与背景比和 Ktrans 均无显著升高，但两者均与上次神经事件后时间呈反比（r=-0.94 和-0.69 分别为靶与背景比和 Ktrans）。
（18）F-氟代脱氧葡萄糖正电子发射断层扫描和动态对比增强 MRI 测量值之间的相关性随临床情况而变化，表明在不同病理生理条件下巨噬细胞和新生血管之间存在复杂的相互作用。仅在有症状的斑块中显示出中等相关性表明存在急性斑块炎症，炎症细胞的代谢活性和细胞因子产生增加。
