The emerging role of ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI in the management of cerebrovascular lesions.

Publication/Presentation Date

8-13-2013

Abstract

Inflammation is increasingly being understood to be a key component to the pathophysiology of cerebrovascular lesions. Ferumoxytol, an iron oxide nanoparticle coated by a carbohydrate shell, has been used in MRI studies as an inflammatory marker because it is cleared by macrophages. Ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI has emerged as an important tool for noninvasive assessment of the inflammatory status of cerebrovascular lesions, namely aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. Moreover, preliminary evidence suggests that ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI could be applied as a non-invasive tool to differentiate "unstable" lesions that require early intervention from "stable" lesions in which observation may be safe. Assessment of the effects of anti-inflammatory pharmacological interventions on cerebrovascular lesions is also a potentially crucial application of the technique. Future improvements in technique and MRI signal quantification will certainly pave the way for widespread and efficient use of ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI in clinical practice. In this paper, we review current data regarding ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI and discuss its current/potential applications and future perspectives.

Volume

18

Issue

8

First Page

9670

Last Page

9683

ISSN

1420-3049

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

23945642

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article

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