Gadolinium-DTPA as a contrast agent in MRI: initial clinical experience in 20 patients

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 20 patients before and after intravenous administration of gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg. Twelve of the patients had clinical and histologic diagnoses of cerebral tumor, six had hepatic tumors, one had hepatic cysts, and one had transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Contrast enhancement was seen with all tumors, but not with the hepatic cysts. The degree of enhancement was greater than that seen with computed tomography (CT) in 13 cases, equal to it in six, and less in one. Contrast enhancement was detectable as long as 18 hr after injection of Gd-DTPA in one case of cerebral tumor. The margin between cerebral tumor and peritumoral edema could be delineated with contrast-enhanced MRI to the degree possible with contrast-enhanced CT. In the liver isointense enhancement was seen with saturation-recovery (SR), inversion-recovery (IR), and spin-echo (SE) sequences although not with all three sequences simultaneously. In general IR sequences were most sensitive for display of the contrast agent, but the enhancement often decreased the difference between abnormal and normal tissue. No short-term side effects were encountered and no significant change was seen in urea, creatinine, electrolytes, liver function tests, blood coagulation, or urine testing after injection of Gd-DTPA. Although much more work will be required to evaluate this contrast agent, these initial experiences are very promising.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. M. Runge Notes on "Characteristics of Gadolinium-DTPA Complex: A Potential NMR Contrast Agent" Am. J. Roentgenol., June 1, 2008; 190(6): 1433 - 1434. [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. I. Goldberg and A. R. Margulis Gastrointestinal Radiology in the United States: An Overview of the Past 50 Years Radiology, July 1, 2000; 216(1): 1 - 7. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				T. Simor, W.-J. Chu, L. Johnson, A. Safranko, M. Doyle, G. M. Pohost, and G. A. Elgavish In Vivo MRI Visualization of Acute Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion in Ferrets by the Persistent Action of the Contrast Agent Gd(BME-DTTA) Circulation, December 15, 1995; 92(12): 3549 - 3559. [Abstract] [Full Text]