Magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging: quantitative evaluation of age-related changes in healthy liver parenchyma.

The purpose of this study was to verify in healthy liver parenchyma the possible influence of age on DwI-related parameters: apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), perfusion fraction (PF), diffusion and pseudodiffusion coefficient (D and D*). Forty healthy adult volunteers (age range 26-86 years), divided into four age groups, were prospectively submitted to a breath-hold magnetic resonance diffusion imaging (MR-DwI) (two b values, 0-300 and 0-1000 s/mm²). A smaller cohort of 16 subjects underwent a free-breath multi-b acquisition (16 b values, 0-750 s/mm²). Quantitative analysis was performed by two observers with manually defined regions of interest, on the most homogeneous portion of the right liver lobe. Individual and group statistical analysis of data was performed: ANOVA to establish differences between groups and Pearson correlation coefficient to investigate the association between DwI parameters and age. The mean, S.D. and 95% limits of agreement of ADC values for each age-defined group are reported. ANOVA showed no significant differences between group means (P always >.05). No significant correlation between subjects' age and DwI parameters was established, both in breath-hold and free-breath acquisitions, on the whole range of adopted b values. Our study conducted on healthy liver parenchyma shows that there are no significant differences in ADC, PF, D and D* of younger or older subjects.

[1]  H. Schild,et al.  Abdomen: diffusion-weighted MR imaging with pulse-triggered single-shot sequences. , 2002, Radiology.

[2]  E. Merkle,et al.  Short- and midterm reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient measurements at 3.0-T diffusion-weighted imaging of the abdomen. , 2009, Radiology.

[3]  A. Mclean,et al.  The Aging Liver , 1998, Clinical pharmacokinetics.

[4]  Bachir Taouli,et al.  Diffusion-weighted MRI for quantification of liver fibrosis: preliminary experience. , 2007, AJR. American journal of roentgenology.

[5]  Michael D. Abràmoff,et al.  Image processing with ImageJ , 2004 .

[6]  K. Kichikawa,et al.  Early Detection of Therapeutic Response to Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy of Liver Metastases from Colorectal Cancer Using Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging , 2009, CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology.

[7]  A. Luciani,et al.  Liver Cirrhosis : Intravoxel Incoherent Motion MR Imaging — Pilot Study 1 , 2008 .

[8]  D. Le Bihan,et al.  Separation of diffusion and perfusion in intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging. , 1988, Radiology.

[9]  Jean-Luc Daire,et al.  Evaluation of liver diffusion isotropy and characterization of focal hepatic lesions with two single-shot echo-planar MR imaging sequences: prospective study in 66 patients. , 2003, Radiology.

[10]  B. V. Van Beers,et al.  Assessment of diffusion‐weighted MR imaging in liver fibrosis , 2007, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[11]  C. Zuiani,et al.  Diffusion-weighted MRI in evaluating liver fibrosis: a feasibility study in cirrhotic patients , 2007, La radiologia medica.

[12]  C. Zuiani,et al.  Relevance of b‐values in evaluating liver fibrosis: A study in healthy and cirrhotic subjects using two single‐shot spin‐echo echo‐planar diffusion‐weighted sequences , 2008, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[13]  H. Kawai,et al.  Diffusion-weighted imaging of the liver: technical challenges and prospects for the future. , 2005, Magnetic resonance in medical sciences : MRMS : an official journal of Japan Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

[14]  H. Popper.  Aging and the liver. , 1986, Progress in liver diseases.

[15]  B. Siewert,et al.  Abdominal diffusion mapping with use of a whole-body echo-planar system. , 1994, Radiology.

[16]  N. Villari,et al.  The Influence of Diffusion- and Relaxation-Related Factors on Signal Intensity: An Introductive Guide to Magnetic Resonance Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Studies , 2008, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[17]  F. Iber,et al.  Age-related changes in the gastrointestinal system. Effects on drug therapy. , 1994, Drugs & aging.

[18]  T E Conturo,et al.  Diffusion MRI: Precision, accuracy and flow effects , 1995, NMR in biomedicine.

[19]  B. Smedsrød,et al.  Age-related changes in the hepatic microcirculation in mice , 2007, Experimental Gerontology.

[20]  Han Wen,et al.  In vivo study of microcirculation in canine myocardium using the IVIM method † , 2003, Magnetic resonance in medicine.

[21]  S. Brockstedt,et al.  Perfusion-related parameters in intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging compared with CBV and CBF measured by dynamic susceptibility-contrast MR technique , 2001, Acta radiologica.

[22]  F. Iber,et al.  Age-Related Changes in the Gastrointestinal System , 1994 .

[23]  E. Schiff,et al.  Liver disease in the elderly. , 2001, Gastroenterology clinics of North America.

[24]  S. Park,et al.  Unenhanced CT for assessment of macrovesicular hepatic steatosis in living liver donors: comparison of visual grading with liver attenuation index. , 2007, Radiology.

[25]  H. Shirato,et al.  Microstructural white matter abnormalities of multiple system atrophy: in vivo topographic illustration by using diffusion-tensor MR imaging. , 2010, Radiology.

[26]  P. Pereira,et al.  Navigator respiratory‐triggered diffusion‐weighted imaging in the follow‐up after hepatic radiofrequency ablation—initial results , 2009, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[27]  Douglas L. Schmucker,et al.  Age-related changes in liver structure and function: Implications for disease ? , 2005, Experimental Gerontology.

[28]  Giacomo Belli,et al.  MR‐diffusion weighted imaging of healthy liver parenchyma: Repeatability and reproducibility of apparent diffusion coefficient measurement , 2010, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[29]  D. L. Le Couteur,et al.  Aging Biology and Geriatric Clinical Pharmacology , 2004, Pharmacological Reviews.

[30]  L. Shen,et al.  Apparent diffusion coefficient: potential imaging biomarker for prediction and early detection of response to chemotherapy in hepatic metastases. , 2008, Radiology.

[31]  Jian Xu,et al.  Diffusion‐weighted imaging of the liver: Comparison of navigator triggered and breathhold acquisitions , 2009, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[32]  Peter R. Luijten,et al.  Influence of cardiac motion on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the liver , 2009, Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine.

[33]  H. Wynne,et al.  The effect of age and frailty upon acetanilide clearance in man. , 1989, Age and ageing.

[34]  A. Levy,et al.  Focal Liver Lesion Detection and Characterization with Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging: Comparison with Standard Breath-hold T2-weighted Imaging , 2009 .

[35]  A. Mclean,et al.  Hepatic pseudocapillarisation and atherosclerosis in ageing , 2002, The Lancet.

[36]  A. Istratov,et al.  Exponential analysis in physical phenomena , 1999 .

[37]  Denis Le Bihan,et al.  Intravoxel incoherent motion perfusion MR imaging: a wake-up call. , 2008 .

[38]  E. Hecht,et al.  Focal liver lesion detection and characterization with diffusion-weighted MR imaging: comparison with standard breath-hold T2-weighted imaging. , 2008, Radiology.

[39]  N. Villari,et al.  The diffusion parameter in magnetic resonance: physics, techniques, and semeiotics. , 2005, La Radiologia medica.

[40]  H. Rusinek,et al.  Diagnosis of cirrhosis with intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion MRI and dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI alone and in combination: Preliminary experience , 2010, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[41]  P. Choyke,et al.  Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging as a cancer biomarker: consensus and recommendations. , 2009, Neoplasia.

[42]  Bilal Tahir,et al.  The value of diffusion-weighted imaging in characterizing focal liver masses. , 2009, Academic radiology.

[43]  Richard L Ehman,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging of hepatic fibrosis: Emerging clinical applications , 2007, Hepatology.

[44]  R. Edelman,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging (2) , 1993, The New England journal of medicine.

[45]  A. Evans,et al.  Prostate tissue composition and MR measurements: investigating the relationships between ADC, T2, K(trans), v(e), and corresponding histologic features. , 2010, Radiology.

[46]  Peter R Luijten,et al.  Comparison and reproducibility of ADC measurements in breathhold, respiratory triggered, and free‐breathing diffusion‐weighted MR imaging of the liver , 2008, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[47]  Ernst J Rummeny,et al.  Characterization of small (≤10 mm) focal liver lesions: value of respiratory-triggered echo-planar diffusion-weighted MR imaging. , 2010, European journal of radiology.

[48]  Harsh Kandpal,et al.  Respiratory-triggered versus breath-hold diffusion-weighted MRI of liver lesions: comparison of image quality and apparent diffusion coefficient values. , 2009, AJR. American journal of roentgenology.