Gd-DPTA: an i.v. contrast agent for clinical MRI

Contrast enhancement significantly improves the diagnostic utility of NMR imaging in the setting of intracranial neoplastic disease. The application of Gd-DTPA permits the differentiation of neoplastic tissue from surrounding cerebral oedema. The use of such contrast media furthermore improves the sensitivity to disease. Enhancement on NMR imaging proved to be equal or superior to that on X-ray CT in all cases. The pattern of enhancement may lend further diagnostic specificity, as it has in CT. Short SE type sequences proved best for visualization of Gd-DTPA, although contrast enhancement could be observed, in some cases, on T2 weighted images. (U.K.)