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Renal fat fraction and diffusion tensor imaging in patients with early-stage diabetic nephropathy

  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

To investigate the renal fat fraction and water molecular diffusion features in patients with early-stage DN using Dixon imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Methods

Sixty-one type 2 diabetics (normoalbuminuria: n = 40; microalbuminuria: n = 21) and 34 non-diabetic volunteers were included. All participants received three-point Dixon imaging and DTI using a 3.0-T magnetic resonance imager. The fat fraction [FF] and DTI features [fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), tract counts and length from DTI tractography] were collected. All image features were compared between cohorts using one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis.

Results

Renal FF in the microalbuminuric group was significantly higher than in the normoalbuminuric and control groups (5.6% ± 1.3%, 4.7% ± 1.1% and 4.3% ± 0.5%, respectively; p < 0.001). Medullary FA in the microalbuminuric group was the lowest (0.31 ± 0.06) in all cohorts. The tract counts and length in the renal medulla were significantly lower in the microalbuminuric group than in the other two groups.

Conclusions

Dixon imaging and DTI are able to detect renal lipid deposition and water molecule diffusion abnormalities in patients with early-stage DN. Both techniques have the potential to noninvasively evaluate early renal impairment in type 2 diabetes.

Key points

• Dixon imaging demonstrated renal fat deposition in early-stage DN;

• Renal fractional anisotropy decreased in patients with early-stage DN;

• Renal tractography demonstrated reduced track counts and length in early-stage DN.

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent Diffusion Coefficient

BMI:

Body Mass Index

DN:

Diabetic Nephropathy

DTI:

Diffusion Tensor Imaging

eGFR:

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate

FA:

Fractional Anisotropy

FF:

Fat Fraction

fMRI:

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

FOV:

Field of View

ROI:

Region of Interest

TE:

Echo Time

TR:

Repetition Time

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC, no. 81525014), the Jiangsu Provincial Special Program of Medical Science (BL2013029) and the Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province (BE2016782).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School of Southeast University, 87 Ding Jia Qiao Road, Nanjing, 210009, China

    Yuan-Cheng Wang, Yinglian Feng, Chun-Qiang Lu & Shenghong Ju

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  1. Yuan-Cheng Wang
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  2. Yinglian Feng
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Correspondence to Shenghong Ju.

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The scientific guarantor of this publication is Shenghong Ju.

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The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study.

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Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Methodology

• observational

• performed at one institution

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Wang, YC., Feng, Y., Lu, CQ. et al. Renal fat fraction and diffusion tensor imaging in patients with early-stage diabetic nephropathy. Eur Radiol 28, 3326–3334 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5298-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5298-6

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