Academic Editor: Carmela Rita Balistreri
Background: Determination of disease activity in Takayasu
arteritis (TAK) is crucial for clinical management but challenging. The value of
different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics for the assessment of
disease activity remains unclear. This study investigated the imaging findings of
the thoracic aortic wall and elasticity by using a comprehensive 3.0 T MRI
protocol. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 52 consecutive TAK
patients. TAK activity was recorded according to the ITAS2010. All the patients
underwent thoracic aortic MRI. The luminal morphology of the thoracic aorta and
its main branches were quantitatively evaluated using a contrast-enhanced
magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) sequence. The maximum wall thickness of the
thoracic aorta, postcontrast enhancement ratio, and aortic wall edema were
analyzed in each patient through pre- and post-enhanced T1-weighted and
T2-weighted imaging. Pulse-wave velocity (PWV) of the thoracic aorta was
calculated using a four-dimensional flow technique. Results: The majority of the 52 patients had type V disease (34.62%, 18/52). Among all
the MRI indicators of the thoracic aorta, the area under the curve was the
largest for the maximal wall thickness (0.804, 95% confidence interval [CI] =
0.667–0.941). The maximal wall thickness (93.33%, 95% CI = 68.1%–99.8%)
exhibited the highest sensitivity with a cutoff value of 3.12 mm. Wall edema
(84.00%, 95% CI = 63.9%–95.5%) presented the highest specificity. A positive
correlation was noted between PWV and patients’ age (r = 0.54, p