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Figure 1 The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) slices of aortas and morphometric analysis. At baseline, nine slices of the thoracic aorta were obtained at 12-mm intervals above the lower corner of the ninth thoracic vertebrae (arrow), and nine slices of the abdominal aorta were obtained at 12-mm intervals above the upper corner of the fourth lumbar vertebrae (arrow). After 12 months of treatment, three contiguous slices for each plaque were obtained. The slice most closely matching the one at baseline was selected. The lumen area and total vascular area were calculated from the traced luminal and outer wall boundaries.