Yanping Sun1, Brian O'Sullivan2,
Ronn P. Walvick1,3, Austin L. Reno1, Linxi Shi1,4,
Dawn Baker2, Joey Mansour1, Mitchell S. Albert1
1Radiology, University of
Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, United States; 2Pediatrics,
University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, United States; 3Biomedical
Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
, Worcester, MA, United States; 4Biomedical Engineering,
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
Cystic
fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease impairing chloride permeability in
epithelial cells; CF causes thick, viscous mucus, leading to lung congestion,
frequent infections, and over time, debilitating lung damage. In this study,
we used HP 3He static ventilation MRI scans to assess improvement of lung
ventilation in three CF patients following treatment with intravenous
antibiotics, daily administration of hypertonic saline, and administration of
rhDNase. In one of the subjects, there was a 25% increase in ventilation
measured by HP 3He MRI following treatment, which corresponded with
spirometry. The other two subjects showed no changes in 3He ventilation.