Diffusion Weighted Whole Body Imaging with Background Body Signal Suppression (DWIBS) Was Useful for the Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Giant Cell Arteritis

Abstract

A 66-year-old woman with symptoms of fatigue and headache was diagnosed with giant cell arteritis (GCA). Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/computed tomography (CT) revealed the strong accumulation of FDG in the descending aorta, abdominal aorta, bilateral subclavian artery, and total iliac artery. Diffusion-weighted whole-body imaging with background body signal suppression (DWIBS) showed signal enhancement at the descending aorta and abdominal aorta. We repeated FDG-PET and DWIBS 2 months after the initiation of therapy with prednisolone. In line with the FDG-PET findings, the signal enhancement of the aortic wall completely vanished on DWIBS. DWIBS may be a novel useful tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of GCA treatment.