Abstract
To perform T1 signal intensity (SI) measurements in the dentate nuclei of adult patients with confirmed multiple sclerosis (MS) after serial administrations of the macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), gadoterate meglumine and gadobutrol. This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board and informed consent was waived. A review of our PACS database for the period from March 1, 2007 to July 31, 2016 revealed 158 confirmed MS patients who received exclusively either gadoterate meglumine (n = 81) or gadobutrol (n = 77) for diagnosis and follow-up. SI measurements on unenhanced T1-weighted images were performed on all scans of all patients and at regions of interest (ROIs) positioned on the dentate nucleus (DN) and pons. The dentate nucleus-to-pons (DNP) T1-SI ratio was subsequently calculated. Unpaired T test and regression analysis were used to evaluate statistical differences. An increase in DNP was noted between the first and last MR examinations for both gadoterate meglumine (0.0032 ± 0.0216) and gadobutrol (0.0019 ± 0.0346). Although the differences were not statistically significant based across the entire patient population, visible T1 hyperintensity in the DN was noted in approximately one-third of all patients in each group that received at least five administrations of either GBCA. SI increases on unenhanced T1-weighted images possibly indicative of gadolinium retention occur after serial administrations of the macrocyclic GBCAs, gadoterate meglumine and gadobutrol.
Highlights
This conclusion is, not supported by the results presented in the core of the article and the abstract
The authors showed an increase in dentate nucleusto-pons (DNP) signal intensities (SI) ratio of extremely limited amplitude: 0.0032 ± 0.0216 for gadoterate meglumine and 0.0019 ± 0.0346 for gadobutrol
The means of the DNP SI ratios were extremely close to the minimum and far from the maximum of the 95% confidence intervals: mean [min; max] were 0.0032 [0.0025; 0.0495] for gadoterate meglumine and 0.0019 [0.0017; 0.0235] for gadobutrol
Summary
This conclusion is, not supported by the results presented in the core of the article and the abstract. The authors showed an increase in dentate nucleusto-pons (DNP) SI ratio of extremely limited amplitude: 0.0032 ± 0.0216 for gadoterate meglumine and 0.0019 ± 0.0346 for gadobutrol.
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