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Multiparametric Quantitative MRI of Peripheral Nerves in the Leg: A Reliability Study.
- Source :
-
Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI [J Magn Reson Imaging] 2024 Feb; Vol. 59 (2), pp. 563-574. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 16. - Publication Year :
- 2024
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Abstract
- Background: Patients with polyneuropathies typically have demyelination and/or axonal degeneration in peripheral nerves. Currently, there is a lack of imaging biomarkers to track the changes in these pathologies.<br />Purpose: To develop and evaluate the reliability of a multiparametric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) method of peripheral nerves in the leg.<br />Study Type: Prospective.<br />Subjects: Seventeen healthy volunteers (36.2 ± 13.8 years old, 9 males) with 10 of them scanned twice for test-retest.<br />Field Strength/sequence: 3 T, three-dimensional gradient echo and diffusion tensor imaging.<br />Assessment: A qMRI protocol and processing pipeline was established for quantifying the following nerve parameters that are sensitive to myelin and axonal pathologies: magnetization transfer (MT) ratio (MTR), MT saturation index (MTsat), T <subscript>2</subscript> *, T <subscript>1</subscript> , proton density (PD), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean/axial/radial diffusivities (MD, AD, and RD). The qMRI protocol also measures the volume of nerve fascicles (fVOL) and the fat fraction (FF) of muscles.<br />Statistical Tests: The intersession reproducibility and inter-rater reliability of each qMRI parameter were assessed by Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Pairwise Pearson correlation analyses were performed to investigate the intrinsic association between qMRI parameters. Distal-to-proximal variations were evaluated by paired t-tests with Bonferroni-Holm multiple comparison corrections. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.<br />Results: The MTR, MTsat, T <subscript>2</subscript> *, T <subscript>1</subscript> , PD, FA, AD, and fVOL of the sciatic and tibial nerves, and the FF of leg muscles, had an overall good-to-excellent test-retest agreement (ICC varying from 0.78 to 0.99). All the qMRI parameters had good-to-excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC > 0.80). The data demonstrated a pattern of distal-to-proximal changes of an increased nerve MTsat and FA, and a decreased nerve T <subscript>1</subscript> , PD, MD, and RD, as well as a significantly increased muscle FF.<br />Data Conclusion: The proposed multiparametric qMRI method of the peripheral nerves is highly reproducible and provided healthy control data which will be used in developing monitoring biomarkers in patients with polyneuropathies.<br />Level of Evidence: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.<br /> (© 2023 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1522-2586
- Volume :
- 59
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37191075
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jmri.28778