Wednesday, December 3 | 1:40 p.m.-1:50 p.m. | W6-SSGU05-2 | Room E353B
In this Wednesday afternoon session, researchers will describe how functional MRI (fMRI) allows for noninvasive assessment of diabetic nephropathy by identifying renal histological changes beyond traditional markers.
The technique "may improve risk classification and reduce the need for renal biopsy, aiding clinical decision-making across disease stages," wrote a team led by Akira Yamamoto, MD, PhD, of Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan.
Diabetic nephropathy can cause renal failure, the group explained, noting that effective early-stage evaluation of the condition is limited. Yamamoto and colleagues sought to assess whether various functional MRI parameters could track changes in the kidney and allow for noninvasive risk stratification according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) classification.
Their study included 122 patients who underwent 3-tesla renal MRI between December 2018 and October 2021. Of these, 23 were healthy volunteers and 99 had type 2 diabetes. The patients with diabetes were divided into five KDIGO risk groups based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria. The MRI exam parameters included T1 and T2; BOLD-derived T2* and R2*; Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM)-derived apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC); f, D*, D, ASL perfusion; and corticomedullary differentiation assessed by Steady-State Free Precession (SSFP) with inversion recovery.
One of the overall findings the investigators reported was that T1 and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) increased between high and very high-risk KDIGO categories, and corticomedullary differentiation decreased from very high to highest risk categories – results that could indicate the development of fibrosis and ischemia.
Check out this presentation to discover what other MRI parameters the group suggests can help assess diabetic nephropathy.
