Non-invasive assessment of intracranial wall shear stress using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging in combination with computational fluid dynamics technique

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

In vivo studies on association between wall shear stress (WSS) and intracranial plaque are deficient. Based on the three-dimensional T1-weighted high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (3DT1 HR-MRI) data of patients with low-grade stenotic ( p p 0.001) and lower at the inner wall than at the outer wall of the MCA curve ( p 0.001). In atherosclerotic MCAs, similar low WSS regions were observed where plaques developed. The WSS ratio of the ventral-inferior wall to the dorsal-superior wall in atherosclerotic MCAs was lower than that in normal MCAs ( p = 0.002). The WSS inner-outer ratio in atherosclerotic MCAs was lower than that in normal MCAs ( p = 0.002). Low WSS was associated with MCA atherosclerosis formation and occurred mainly at the ventral-inferior wall, which was anatomically opposite the orifices of penetrating arteries, and at the inner wall of the MCA curve. Overall, the results were well consistent with the low WSS theory in atherosclerosis formation. The reconstructed WSS model is a promising novel method for assessing an individualized vascular profile once validated by further studies.

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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