Contralateral renal change in a unilateral ureteral obstruction rat model using intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging

Objectives Most functional magnetic resonance research has primarily examined alterations in the affected kidney, often neglecting the contralateral kidney. Our study aims to investigate whether imaging parameters accurately depict changes in both the renal cortex and medulla in a unilateral ureteral obstruction rat model, thereby showcasing the utility of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) in evaluating contralateral renal changes.Methods Six rats underwent MR scans and were subsequently sacrificed for baseline histological examination. Following the induction of left ureteral obstruction, 48 rats were scanned, and the histopathological examinations were conducted on days 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), pure molecular diffusion (D), pseudodiffusion (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) values were measured using IVIM.Results On the 10th day of obstruction, both cortical and medullary ADC values differed significantly between the UUO10 group and the sham group (p