Diffusion MRI for Heart Failure
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This trial explores how the heart changes before heart failure develops, using a special type of MRI called Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI) to observe water movement in the heart. The goal is to better understand the heart's structure and identify changes that lead to heart failure. It involves healthy volunteers and two groups of patients: those who recently had a heart attack and those with heart muscle thickening and past heart failure. Good candidates include individuals who had a heart attack in the last 6-10 weeks or experienced heart failure in the past year with thickened heart muscle, as shown by tests like an MRI. As an Early Phase 1 trial, this research focuses on understanding how the treatment works in people, offering participants a chance to contribute to groundbreaking insights.
Do I need to stop my current medications for the trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It's best to discuss this with the trial coordinators or your doctor.
What prior data suggests that diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) is safe for imaging the heart?
Research has shown that Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI) is a specialized imaging technique that uses water movement to create detailed pictures. Although DTI is primarily used for brain scans, this study explores its application for heart scans.
DTI is generally safe and similar to a regular MRI, a common and safe procedure. However, DTI takes longer, which might be uncomfortable for some people who need to lie still for an extended period. While DTI itself poses no specific safety concerns, the longer scan time can cause discomfort or issues if movement occurs.
This trial is in the early stages and aims to better understand the heart's structure. Since it is early, detailed safety information for heart imaging with DTI might not be fully available yet. However, based on its use in other areas, DTI is considered safe with manageable risks.1234Why are researchers excited about this trial?
Researchers are excited about Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI) because it offers a new way to understand heart conditions at a detailed level. Unlike standard imaging methods, DTI can map the heart's fiber architecture, giving insights into how heart tissues change in cases like myocardial infarction and left ventricular hypertrophy. This technique could reveal how these changes correlate with heart failure progression, potentially leading to better-targeted treatments in the future. By providing more detailed and dynamic images, DTI might uncover early signs of heart issues that typical scans might miss.
What evidence suggests that diffusion tensor MRI is effective for characterizing heart microstructure changes?
Research shows that a special type of MRI called Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI) can detect changes in the heart's structure after a heart attack. In this trial, DTI will image patients with recent myocardial infarction to identify changes in fiber architecture and their correlation with left ventricle remodeling. Studies have found that damaged heart tissue shows increased water movement and decreased directional water movement. This indicates that DTI can provide crucial information about changes in the heart muscle. For people with left ventricular hypertrophy, another group in this trial, DTI offers a non-surgical way to examine the heart's structure. These findings suggest that DTI might help doctors understand changes in the heart that can lead to heart failure.56789
Who Is on the Research Team?
David E. Sosnovik, MD
Principal Investigator
Massachusetts General Hospital
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for healthy adults without heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes; patients who had a severe type of heart attack (ST Elevation MI) in the last 6-10 weeks and are stable; and those with recent heart failure plus thickened heart muscle as shown by echo or MRI.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Imaging
Participants undergo serial diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) imaging of the heart to characterize changes in myocardial microstructure over time
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after imaging
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Diffusion Tensor MRI (DTI)
- Gadolinium DOTA Meglumine
Trial Overview
The study uses advanced MRI techniques to track how water moves inside the heart's muscles. This can show changes in the tiny structures of the heart over time, which might explain why some people develop worsening heart problems.
How Is the Trial Designed?
3
Treatment groups
Active Control
DTI will be performed in healthy volunteers to characterize normal fiber architecture in the heart and provide a comparison group for the patients imaged in the other arms.
Patients with recent ST elevation myocardial infarcts will be recruited and imaged serially with DTI to detect changes in fiber architecture and their correlation with remodeling of the left ventricle.
Patients with left ventricular hypertrophy and a history of heart failure will be recruited and imaged serially with DTI to detect changes in fiber architecture and their correlation with the onset and progression of heart failure.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Massachusetts General Hospital
Lead Sponsor
Citations
Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance for the Differentiation ...
Cardiac MRI assessed left ventricular hypertrophy in differentiating hypertensive heart disease from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy attributable to a ...
Translational Insights Into Myocardial Deformation and ...
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has substantially advanced cardiac imaging by offering a noninvasive window into the microstructural integrity ...
Optimising Cardiac Diffusion Tensor Imaging In Vivo
Spin echo cDTI data with 2nd order motion compensated diffusion encoding gradients were acquired in ten healthy volunteers on a 3 T MRI scanner ...
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mapping ...
In vivo DT-MRI of postinfarct myocardium revealed a significant increase in trace ADC and a decrease in FA, indicating altered tissue integrity.
Insight Into Myocardial Microstructure of Athletes and ...
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an emerging MRI method that allows noninvasive in vivo characterization of myocardial microstructure. DTI is ...
Diffusion Tensor Imaging - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
Diffusion tensor imaging is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging modality that uses the Brownian motion of water molecules to provide data for images.
Principles of Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Its Applications ...
The relatively long scanning time required for DTI also has adverse effects on the suppression of physiological motions. Later in this review, imaging of mouse ...
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journals.lww.com
journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/fulltext/2025/04001/1078_limitations_of_diffusion_tensor_imaging_in.382.aspx1078 Limitations of Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Predicting...
Diffusion tensor imaging, as it has been utilized in the past decade, may not have the prognostic implications for TN that it is believed to have. © Congress of ...
Diffusion Tensor Imaging of TBI: Potentials and Challenges
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an advanced magnetic resonance imaging technique that is capable of providing rich information on the brain's neuroanatomic ...
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