Multiparametric MRI analysis for the evaluation of renal function in patients with hyperuricemia: a preliminary study

Abstract

Background To investigate the renal dysfunction in patients with hyperuricemia by employing a multiparametric MRI protocol, consisting of quantitative water molecule diffusion, microstructure, microscopic perfusion, and oxygenation measurements in kidneys. Materials and methods A total of 48 patients with hyperuricemia (HU) and 22 age-matched healthy control subjects (HC) were enrolled in the study. For each participant, three different functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequences were acquired and analyzed, including intravoxel incoherent motion imaging (IVIM), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and blood-oxygen-level-dependent MRI (BOLD). Thereafter, an independent two-sample t-test was applied to discover the significant differences of MRI indices between the hyperuricemia (HU) and HC groups, and the specific potential biomarkers between two subgroups of HU group (asymptomatic hyperuricemia group (AH) and gouty arthritis group (GA)). Further, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to classify the AH from the GA group using the MRI indices with significant between-group differences. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the performance of each MR index for differentiation between the AH and GA groups. Results Ten parametric values of the HU group were significantly lower than those of the HC group among the 14 fMRI parameters (P < 0.05). The cortical D, D*, and f values and medullary D and R2*values had significant differences between the AH and GA groups (P < 0.05). Combining the cortical D and f values and medullary R2* value gave the best diagnostic efficacy, yielding an AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.967 ± 0.022, 91.67%, and 95.83%, respectively. Conclusions A multiparametric MR analysis plays an important role in the evaluation of renal dysfunction in hyperuricemia from multiple perspectives. It could be a promising method for noninvasive detection and identification of the early-stage renal damage induced by hyperuricemia.

Value of blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging in early evaluation of the response and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy: A preliminary study

“…Since deoxyhemoglobin shortens T2* relaxation time, R2* (= 1/T2* relaxation time) can re ect the relative content of deoxyhemoglobin in tissue and is regarded as a quantitative parameter of signal attenuation in BOLD images. Currently, R2* value has been widely utilized in assessing cerebrovascular reactivity [10], muscle activation [11,12], renal function [13,14], blood perfusion and histopathological status of tumors [15][16][17][18]. Especially, BOLD MRI has been demonstrated to be effective in evaluating the treatment response and prognosis to chemoradiotherapy in various tumors, such as prostate [19], cervical [20,21] and breast cancer [22].…”