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CompletedNCT03084523Updated Sep 12, 2025

Treatment Targets for Inflamed Intracranial Atherosclerosis on Vessel Wall MRI

A Phase 1 interventional study of Ferumoxytol Injectable Product in Stroke and Intracranial Atherosclerosis, sponsored by Yale University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-09-12.

Sponsored by Yale University · Phase 1, Interventional, and Diagnostic

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Jun 2024, 2 years 4 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) accounts for 10 to 40%, depending on ethnicity, of the 700,000 ischemic strokes in the United States every year. The annual rate of recurrent stroke in patients with optimally treated ICAS remains more than twice the average of other stroke etiologies (12.5% vs. 5). A robust literature has established that vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (vwMRI) of extracranial carotid vessel wall enhancement (VWE) can predict stroke, independent of stenosis. VWE has been reported in symptomatic ICAS, but the role of local and systemic inflammation is unknown. Inflammatory biomarkers are elevated in symptomatic extracranial atherosclerosis, but the association with vwMRI findings in ICAS has not yet been explored. VWE is typically demonstrated by the uptake of gadolinium MRI contrast into the aneurysm wall or atherosclerotic plaque. A novel MRI contrast agent, ferumoxytol, allows multi-contrast weighting on T1w and T2w images and provides important insight into the role of local vessel wall inflammation by accumulating in macrophages on delayed T2* sequences. To identify effective prevention and treatment strategies for cerebrovascular disease, we need to critically evaluate vwMRI techniques, determine VWE prevalence, and explore the link between VWE and inflammation.

Read the detailed description

Intracranial atherosclerosis accounts for 10 to 40%, depending on ethnicity, of the 700,000 ischemic strokes in the United States every year.The annual rate of recurrent stroke in patients with optimally treated Intracranial atherosclerosis remains more than twice the average of other stroke etiologies (12.5% vs. 5%).A robust literature has established that vessel wall MRI of extracranial carotid vessel wall enhancement can predict stroke, independent of stenosis. Vessel wall enhancement has been reported in symptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis. Vessel wall enhancement is typically demonstrated by the uptake of gadolinium MRI contrast into the atherosclerotic plaque. A novel MRI contrast agent, ferumoxytol, allows multicontrast weighting on T1w and T2w images and provides important insight into the role of local vessel wall inflammation by accumulating in macrophages on delayed T2* sequences.

To identify effective prevention and treatment strategies for cerebrovascular disease, the investigator(s) need to critically evaluate vessel wall MRI techniques, determine vessel wall enhancement prevalence, and explore the link between vessel wall enhancement and inflammation. The investigator(s) hypothesize that vessel wall enhancement is reliable, associated with symptomatic Intracranial atherosclerosis. In order to answer our hypotheses, the investigator(s) propose a pilot study on 80 participants. The investigator(s) will opportunistically enroll participants who receive standard of care vessel wall MRI with gadolinium contrast or perform a baseline vessel wall MRI with gadolinium if needed. Intracranial atherosclerosis participants will have a total of 2-3 study vessel wall MRIs. Study MRI #1 will be performed with gadolinium, if a standard of care MRI has not already been performed. Study MRI #2 will be performed 72-78 hours post- using ferumoxytol contrast infusion. Study MRI #3 is a follow-up vessel wall MRI with gadolinium in 1 year.

02

Conditions studied

  • Stroke
  • Intracranial Atherosclerosis
03

In context

Stroke

7,286 studies on the registry are indexed under Stroke; 2,007 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 50 across 5,369 interventional studies indexed under Stroke.

Browse Stroke studies →

Lead sponsor

Yale University is the lead sponsor of 1,724 studies on the registry; 298 are open to participants now.

Of its 210 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 126 (60%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

80 patients will be enrolled in this prospective cross-sectional study of Intracranial atherosclerosis.

Inclusion criteria

  • Inclusion Criteria:

    • intracranial atherosclerosis (stenosis ≥50%)
    • recent ischemic stroke (less than or equal to 14 days)

Exclusion criteria

  • Less than 18 years old

    • Documented history of atrial fibrillation
    • Carotid stenosis greater than 70%
    • Pregnant women
    • Contrast allergy
    • Acute or chronic kidney disease with glomerular filtration rate\<30 ml/min/1.73m2
    • Intravenous iron sensitivity
    • Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation above age-adjusted upper limit of normal. If serum ferritin is above normal, but transferrin saturation is normal, the patient is not excluded.
    • Pacemaker or other MRI contraindications
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Diagnostic
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    1

    80 patients with intracranial atherosclerosis

    Drug: Ferumoxytol Injectable Product

Interventions

  • DrugFerumoxytol Injectable Product

    Patients will be administered a single dose of ferumoxytol as an MRI contrast

    Also known as: Feraheme

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Vessel Wall Enhancement with Gadolinium compared to Vessel Wall Enhancement with Ferumoxytol in intracranial atherosclerosis (ICAS) group.

    Both patient groups will have a high-resolution vessel wall enhancement-gadolinium MRI at baseline with a delayed high-resolution vessel wall enhancement-Ferumoxytol MRI. Prevalence will be analyzed between the different participants in each group. Hypothesis: Participants with intracranial atherosclerosis will have a high prevalence of vessel wall enhancement.

    Time frame: 1 year

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Yale University
    New Haven, Connecticut 06510, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 12, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03084523
Lead sponsor
Yale University
Responsible party
Adam de Havenon (Principle Investigator, Yale University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 21, 2017
Start date
Apr 26, 2017
Primary completion
Jun 3, 2024
Completion
Jun 3, 2024
Last update
Sep 12, 2025

Study contacts

Adam de Havenon, MD
principal investigator · Yale University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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