Plaque characteristics of middle cerebral artery assessed using strategically acquired gradient echo (STAGE) and vessel wall MR contribute to misery downstream perfusion in patients with intracranial atherosclerosis

ObjectivesTo assess plaque vulnerability of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) using strategically acquired gradient echo (STAGE) versus high-resolution vessel wall MRI (hr-vwMRI), and explore the relationship between plaque characteristics and misery downstream perfusion.MethodsNinety-one patients with single MCA atherosclerotic plaques underwent STAGE and hr-vwMRI were categorized into a group with misery perfusion and a group without based on …