Value of blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating the early renal hypoxic changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the value of blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) in the assessment of renal oxygenation of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods From April 2014 to October 2015, kidney scans were conducted in eighteen patients with T2DM and twenty-two healthy controls with a Philips 3.0T scanner by using a BOLD-MRI sequence. The medullary and cortical apparent relaxation rate(R2*)values were measured in both groups. Paired samples t-test and independent samples t-test were used in data comparison within or between groups. The correlation between the renal glomerular filtration rate estimated using cystatin C(CysC-GFR) and the R2* values was analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient analysis. Results The medullary R2* values were significantly higher than those of cortex in both groups (t=21.5, 21.1, both P 0.05). The medullary R2* values in the patients with T2DM and healthy controls were (38.1±4.1) and (29.6±2.7) 1/s respectively, it was significantly higher in the type 2 diabetic patients than that in healthy controls (t=8.0, P 0.05). Conclusion BOLD-MRI can detect and assess the renal medullary hypoxia in patients with T2DM at the early stage, and medullary R2* value may reflect the changes of renal function. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Renal function; Blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging