International Trial Shows Non-Contrast Renal MRA Accurate in Detecting Renal Artery Stenosis

Since a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning in 2006 about the risks associated with the use of gadolinium-containing contrast agents in patients with acute renal failure, chronic kidney disease, or end-stage renal disease, companies have been trying to develop Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) techniques that do not rely on contrast agents.

Now, for the first time, the results of the international multicenter REnal Artery Contrast-free Trial (REACT) study, have been published in the January 2015 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The study evaluated 75 patients in the United States, China, Spain, Japan, and France who underwent non-contrast renal MRA, and Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) imaging exams. The study was sponsored by Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Otawara, Japan).

The results of the study show that non-contrast renal MRA was clinically useful and also validated that Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse (Time-SLIP) was robust enough to provide highly sensitive, specific, and accurate diagnosis of non-contrast renal artery stenosis. There was no statistical difference between CTA and non-contrast MRA in the ability to diagnose renal artery stenosis.

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